Before completing the Codeacademy assignments, I was nervous about the complexity of HTML and CSS. I was expecting to use a series of zeros and ones to create a simple webpage. I was shocked to learn that I could type in phrases such as “<title>, <body>, and <p> (paragraph)” to add headings and content to a page. The basic structure of HTML was very straight-forward and, after a while, I began memorizing the tags. Creating ordered lists and tables was fun but very tedious because each set of data needed a tag. I liked using CSS to customize the pages because, at first, I was curious how my plain page that I created would turn into a decent looking website. I still find it confusing differentiating between class and id and when to use them. I intend to fiddle around more in CSS to become more familiar with the tags.
Learning how to use the web inspector to read a websites HTML was very interesting. Websites that we visit every day like Twitter, Google, and YouTube begin with basic HTML code and fan out into complex styles. After learning the basics of HTML, I was able to identify the tags in the code of a Google page. It’s interesting how all the information comes full circle and you’re finally able to apply the information you learned to the real world.
After using all the new software, I found GitHub to be confusing because of the new vocabulary I was never exposed to. The software layout was kind of confusing as well because I wasn’t sure where things were located. I’ve never heard of a repository, nor did I understand the function of GitHub itself. I see that it can be compared a social media site for web developers to share codes and tips.