By this time my class is starting to finish up with scratch. I've made a few new programs, all of which are not exceptional, but have increased my understanding of Scratch. While I've completed most of my assignments with Scratch, there remains one that I haven't quite grasped.
This assignment requires that I make the Scratch cat move around randomly within the confines a box with a width and height of 200 units each. For me, it was easy to make the cat move in a random manner, but I didn't have the right setup to limit the cat within the box. I used an if-else loop to command the cat based on its position in the screen, since any movement past the box should be prevented with the if statement.
My teacher told me that the cat should not move if the intended number of steps in a direction plus its coordinate position is greater than 100 or less than -100. This helped me out, but I'm still sure what I should do about direction. If I make the cat change directions randomly, then I can't simply use the aforementioned formula to limit the cat's movement.
I'm close to being done with this, and I should have it finished after next period. Anyways, it's been nice knowing you Scratch, but I'm afraid I'll have to move on at some point!
-zk : out
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Scratch: not just a cat
This week my class did further experimenting with the program Scratch. While this program seems to be used mainly for helping students learn about programming, I was surprised to see what Scratch could create in the right hands. My teacher showed my class a fully-functional galaga-type game created using Scratch, complete with decent graphics and excellent gameplay. I marveled at how Scratch was even capable to render this, and realized I underestimated the silly yellow cat.
Since I'm still learning the ropes around Scratch, I haven't been able to create any games with it, but I hope to in the future. Scratch really is a neat programming language, and the cool thing is, you don't have to worry about syntax!
Since I'm still learning the ropes around Scratch, I haven't been able to create any games with it, but I hope to in the future. Scratch really is a neat programming language, and the cool thing is, you don't have to worry about syntax!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Html - Check, Java Script - Nothing
This week I finished making my html site. I'm sure I could have spent much more time adding details to it, but it honestly turned out pretty well. I seem to have some sort of grasp on html formatting, but the one thing I'm still confused about is javascript integration.
My teacher gave us access to the files for the "light show," a popular gimmick that allows an internet-user to click on an image to make it pop up in a new box. I couldn't find any practical use for this, but I wanted to include it anyways just for the fun of it. Naturally, I couldn't get it to work correctly, but it has sparked some interest in java script. Having taking a computer class before, I've heard of java script, but I never learned exactly what it is in context with the internet. I know it has something to do with active elements within a static web page, but I would like to learn more about it in the future.
My teacher gave us access to the files for the "light show," a popular gimmick that allows an internet-user to click on an image to make it pop up in a new box. I couldn't find any practical use for this, but I wanted to include it anyways just for the fun of it. Naturally, I couldn't get it to work correctly, but it has sparked some interest in java script. Having taking a computer class before, I've heard of java script, but I never learned exactly what it is in context with the internet. I know it has something to do with active elements within a static web page, but I would like to learn more about it in the future.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Changes
The past week has been very important in the tech world. With the unfortunate loss of Apple's former CEO, Steve Jobs, certainly the future of the company will change. In contrast, Apple also released the new IPhone 4S, which is said to be an updated version of the IPhone 4, which was released only around a year ago. This new gadget is said to sport a sharper processor and more stable camera features than those of its predecessor.
While Apple's popular line of products seems to be rapidly advanced through their numerous new-releases, the direction that it will take in the long-term still seems unclear. Though it is obvious that Apple can't hold on to their classic iOS phone interface forever, the company seems to be holding on to it for as long as they can with new releases that only provide a few improvements to the same formula. Apple will be remembered as a great company for their success in becoming the king of the smartphone, I want to see them take a different, more dramatic step for their products. Or perhaps the rapidly expanding world of apps will do it for them.
-zk : out
While Apple's popular line of products seems to be rapidly advanced through their numerous new-releases, the direction that it will take in the long-term still seems unclear. Though it is obvious that Apple can't hold on to their classic iOS phone interface forever, the company seems to be holding on to it for as long as they can with new releases that only provide a few improvements to the same formula. Apple will be remembered as a great company for their success in becoming the king of the smartphone, I want to see them take a different, more dramatic step for their products. Or perhaps the rapidly expanding world of apps will do it for them.
-zk : out
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Programming?
This week I made my own website using html, and is decent to some extent. Now that I have a grasp of html, I find myself wondering: is html a programming language? One internet source and my teacher tell that it isn't but I'm still not exactly sure why.
Of course, the answer to this question comes with the understanding of the term "programming." In my own words, I can say that programming is the process of telling a computer what to do (a.k.a writing an algorithm). I also understand that html is way of designing pages, which are ultimately processed by a server.
With html, you are still telling the computer what to do, just in less direct way. It also doesn't involve nearly as much algorithmic thinking, at least in basic web designing, as idiosyncratic programming does. So, in this case, I do agree that html is not a "true" programming language, but nevertheless, it is still important in many computer science applications.
Of course, the answer to this question comes with the understanding of the term "programming." In my own words, I can say that programming is the process of telling a computer what to do (a.k.a writing an algorithm). I also understand that html is way of designing pages, which are ultimately processed by a server.
With html, you are still telling the computer what to do, just in less direct way. It also doesn't involve nearly as much algorithmic thinking, at least in basic web designing, as idiosyncratic programming does. So, in this case, I do agree that html is not a "true" programming language, but nevertheless, it is still important in many computer science applications.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)