November 2021 Update (11/7)
I was able to complete week 1's lab and problem set, as well as week 2's lectures, shorts, and lab. I struggled to complete the labs and problem sets and it took longer for me to do them than I had planned. This was because I had a weak foundation in C, thus, I had to do trial and error while coding these projects. I found the Mario program in problem set 1 challenging because of the loops and character substitution I had to use. In addition, I also found the scrabble program quite challenging due to the use of arrays, loops, and ASCII functions. I was able to complete it with the help of Ms. Shah, and after a long trial and error process, I felt relieved and proud. Through the process, I was not only able to learn to be open-minded and seek help whenever I needed it but to also keep trying until I get it. I felt a great sense of accomplishment and it allowed me to become more confident as well as excited for to learn new coding languages.
November 2021 Update (11/19)
This week I am starting problem set 2 which has two parts: the program readability and Caesar. The program readability follows the Scholastic book grading system. For example, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is between a second to fourth-grade reading level while The Giver by Lois Lowry is between an eighth to twelfth-grade reading level. There are a few traits that determine the level of texts such as how long words and sentences imply a higher reading level. Though there are many ways to determine the reading level, this program focuses on the Coleman Liau Index: index = 0.0588 * L - 0.2956 * S - 15.8, where L is the average number of letters per 100 words in the text, and S is the average number of sentences per 100 words in the text. There are three main functions in this program, the count_words, count_letters and count_sentences. I found the count_letters the hardest because of the condition in the for loop and the way I have to code it such that words are determined by ‘ ’ and, if there is no space, then there is no word. I found this logic quite complicated to code. The project is taking longer than I had initially thought, so I hope to finish it by next week.
