Author Archives: Catherine Miller

HTML & CSS

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.

A Hidden History

I’ve always thought that computers were something created in recent years. It is always correlated with the younger generations of the late 90’s to present day. I was shocked to learn that the use of computers date back to the 50’s. Although they weren’t fast-running laptops for commercial-use, I assumed the technology would’ve been nearly prehistoric. Something as simple as an ATM machine was a huge advance in technology in the 70’s. When someone thinks of a computer, the description is usually a machine used to search the internet. Computers actually come in all shapes and sizes. Their job is to perform tasks that are programmed into them and we fail to acknowledge the other forms that exist around us. I also thought coding was a process that became popular in the 2010’s. It seems like a complicated language of 0’s and 1’s. According to the Software Guild, the first coding system used was Autocode in the 50’s. I found that interesting because during that time there weren’t high-tech cellphones or flat-screen televisions. I thought coding was something too complex for programmers back then to use. Software engineers have been using coding for years to create multiple programs and it provides a set of instructions for the machine. Coding plays an important role in a majority of technology I use today. Reading these articles provided me with an insight into the world of programmers and software engineers. I don’t put in much thought when I Shazam a song or type in a question into Google. Someone had to work the back-end and program the machine to perform my requests. I’m excited to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and I expect to take away a few skills that I can apply towards my own projects. In our growing technological society, it is important to be aware of all components required to create websites that we go on every day.