Phase 0 in Review
Phase 0 has come to a close from Academy Xi. We have gone through some of the intricacies of HTML5, CSS, and briefly touched on JavaScript. We’ve completed multiple labs, written our first personal websites, and learned how to make them look incredible.
So let's review.
Many of us started with no prior information on where to begin creating our own web content. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones who had some prior experience with a few front-end languages. This made it significantly easier for me to pick up the new and unique aspects of HTML that you may miss when just trying to grasp the basics. HTML was a breeze that I picked up easily and found myself caught up to where I had left off in the past in no time. CSS was a little more difficult due to my lacking designer skills. However, given a template or a sketch of what to make the site look like, the Mona Lisa itself wouldn’t be too much to ask.
Unfortunately for me, I did not allow myself to have a template or any starting code when creating my personal website, and while the JavaScript that I wrote from scratch came up beautifully and functional, the website itself could definitely use a facelift and a half.
One of the key takeaways from this phase is that JavaScript can be your best (and sometimes only) friend when it comes to creating a functional, impressive website. However, if you don't have good CSS then not even a functional quantum computer working within your site is going to make it appealing to the average user. Furthermore, if your HTML structure is awful, then forget about getting any users on your site.
With all things considered, no one language is more or less important than the other. The key takeaway for me this past couple of weeks has been the understanding of how ‘the big 3’ are so integral to each other. This has made me excited to learn about frameworks and how they build on the already intuitive and complementary relationship these languages have.
While the work was a big commitment, I enjoyed every minute of it and loved the process. My process was somewhat intense as I would wake up at 5 AM every day to study and work on the labs that were assigned. Following this, I would have a full day of work only to come home and work some more. This worked well for me because if there was a problem that I got stuck on during the morning, my brain would mull it over during my shift and I would generally have figured out a solution come the end of the day. This is a process that I will stick to throughout the rest of the program and potentially beyond.
Though the beginning has been tough, I look forward to what’s to come!
