Here are the notes from today’s discussion about what is a podcast. I will add an additional powerpoint here shortly as well.
HTML The Language of Love…Errr Web Pages April 3, 2008
HTML is the language of web-pages. (And the language of love I suppose, if you love the internet.) Sure there have been other variations and additions that create web pages. Things that work with HTML, or like HTML. Things like shtml, dhtml, xml, and others. But the foundation language to create web-pages is HTML, or Hyper Text Markup Language.
“Hyper Text” refers to hyperlinks (links.) These are a big deal. We take links for granted now, but being able to click on a word and be taken to a new page was pretty revolutionary stuff. Think about it, we had print materials, then we had electronic materials but they were pretty much just words on a screen instead of on a page. All of a sudden we had pages that linked together to form a web of pages. This web, spread to pages all over the wide world.
So how does HTML work? HTML uses things called tags. Tags tell your browser how to format the text on the page (and images.) Tags have an opening tag, and a closing tag. The text in between the tags is formatted to whatever style the tag say to do.
Your task today is to follow the tutorial here. On each page you’ll learn a little about HTML and also complete plenty of examples. You should actually write the code of the examples, and not justread them. This will force your brain to absorb knowledge like a sponge, a HTML absorbing sponge. Sweet. Follow the tutorial along, and at the bottom of each page just click the “next” button. You’ll notice on the left the table of contents for the tutoral (the page your are on will be in bold.) Follow along up to the page HTML Tables. Remember actually write the examples and preview them in a browser just like the tutorial says to.
Knee Deep in Ruby April 2, 2008
I think we have a pretty good handle on some programming concepts in gerneral. Things like strings, integers, variables, methods, etc. We only need to talk about one more thing before we can start playing around in Ruby. You need to know what an array is.
And array is basically a collection of things. You can think of it as a kind of a list But instead of just a list as a group of words, we have a group of objects. You can also think of an array as a long row of boxes all in a row. We can store objects in the boxes. Kind of like a long row of cubby holes.
That’s enough talk, let’s get down to business. Or as hip programmer kids say “Let’s get down to Ruby.” Once we install Ruby (we only need Ruby at this point, not RubyGems, Rails, etc.) we will follow along with a quick tutorial in Ruby directly from the developer’s website: http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/quickstart/
Classes & Decision Trees April 1, 2008
Here is the pdf version of our introduction note on Classes. The following are just some key points.
Remember that the class of objects refers to the concept, or “what it means to be that thing.” The instance of the object refers to s specific thing or “that thing over there.”
It is the difference between “Tell me about trees” and “Tell me about that tree right there.”
Classes have properties, but an instance of the class (object) has actual values. So instead of just having “number-of_leaves” as a property, it has “number_of_leaves = 345” as a property with a value.
Decision Trees
Decision trees are also referred to as “if then else” statements. Theey are also called “conditional statements” because something is done when a condition is met. When an if -else statement occurs inside of another one, it is called a nested if statement.
Room 514 