Today, I learnt about a new coding concept called a function. Functions are very useful coding tools. They can easily perform logical tasks that need to be repeated. This code helps to repeat the logic over and over again so that it can be repeated an infinite number of times without having to type out the code over and over again. For example, you can simply give the function a name and use that name later on in the code in order to save time by not typing all the code out. This is a much easier process as a name is a lot easier to code out than the entire code again.

This is achieved by storing the logic/code into the memory itself, so it can be easily accessed again from the memory when the programmer calls on the shortened function later on in the program. Functions must begin with a letter and contain no spaces.

After familiarising ourselves with functions by trying out several examples on PyCharm, we started a new project. This project was called the ‘Chocolate Machine Challenge’. In this challenge, we have to use functions to determine how much change we need to give back when an amount of money is inputted by the user, and how we would have to use different functions in different scenarios where different bill types are used. During this class, I was only able to start off the easier part of the coding process which was to calculate the amount of change given since I had some difficulty writing out the code for different bill types. I will continue to try and do this next class.

Today, we learnt about If-Else statements. An If-Else statement is where if the input satisfies the code, then a certain function would take place. If the input does not satisfy, then the code under ‘else’ would run. This ‘else’ code would only run if the requirements aren’t met. This loop can be useful as it gives feedback to the user if the conditions haven’t been met.

Something else that we learnt about today was the ‘Elif’ function. Like If-Else statements, the ‘Elif’ function is also very useful. An ‘Elif statement allows the code to check the validity of multiple variables at the same time. This is extremely useful since instead of of having to write out many lines of ‘if’ statement loops, we can shorten and condense that code to one line. This way, we can save time by not having to write as many lines of code but still be able to have the same outcome in the end.

One of the projects that we did in class today was a ‘vowel’ counter. This series of code was written to count the value of a word based on how many vowels there were in that word.

This series of code uses the ‘elif’ function to define which letters are vowels and how many points they’re worth. Once the user inputs their name or their word of choice, the code then counts the number of vowels in that words and then assigns a score based on what each vowel is worth.

Moving on, we also started writing the pseudo code for a guess the word game. This game uses all of the functions that we have learnt today so far.

-insert images when olivia sends them…-

So far, we have decided to use food options. Since my laptop was under repair and I couldn’t use PyCharm, I had to write out the code on a separate document. Here’s what it looks like so far:

import random

vChoices = (“fries”, “chips”, “cookie”, “burger”, “sushi”, “apple”)

vWord = (random.choice(vChoices))

vName=input(“whats yo name?”)

In order to make sure that theres a limit on what words the computer can choose to use, we decided to limit the computer so it would be a lot easier for the user to guess within 6 words rather than an infinite number.

Today, I also learnt when it is appropriate to use whichever type of loop. The ‘while’ loop is a good option to use when coding if there are multiple situations since it won’t pass unless a certain condition is met. This way, the loop is solid and closed, leaving no room for error. Meanwhile, a ‘for’ loop also has its own benefits. This loop is good to use when there is a known number of times something will repeat. Even though there will be a lot of inputs, the code will only pass after the correct input is inserted.

Since I read the wrong criteria for the blog post in the beginning (I didn’t open up the assignment and see what P8 blog posts had to include), I ended up writing the most of the code for the game at home (shown above). Anyways, I’ll probably try write to meet both requirements in this post. However, my game isn’t completed yet, so I might not be able to address all the criteria. 

So the main learning objective of this class was to identify and understand how to use pseudo code. So firstly, what is pseudo code? Pseudo code is the words and sentences in ENGLISH that help to tell the user what the computer is doing. Lines of pseudo code usually appear after a ‘#’, since the program doesn’t recognize anything after a hashtag. Since the computer doesn’t run this code, it is instead used for the user to read, thus requiring it to be in proper English.

Today, I also learnt more about flowcharts and why they’re important. Flowcharts help the programmer to visualize the steps to achieve something. In other words, a flowchart acts as the planning or ‘idea development’ stage of the design process. Sheel and I created a flowchart for feeding a pet. The flowchart is attached below:

-insert image here once I have access to my phone again-

So the feed your pet algorithm was a scenario where we had to apply our knowledge on pseudo code and use of flowcharts to solve the problem on when to feed a pet. My partner Sheel and I decided to choose Shiv (Sheel’s twin brother) as our pet so we based our process, code, and flowchart off of feeding Shiv. After creating the flowchart (above), we decided to write some pseudo code on PyCharm which basically takes the flowchart and changes it into sentences on a computer. Our pseudo code is shown below:

-insert pseudo code once sheel decides to send it to me from his laptop…-

Lastly, we started to work on our guess the number game in class today. The objective of this project is to program a game where the user is trying to guess the computer’s number based off of clues of whether or not the number is higher or lower than the user’s guess. In class, we established how to use a random number generator. This random number generator paired with the range will help the computer to pick a number between two integers which the user will then try to guess. The code I wrote at home is the image on the top of this post.

At home, I was able to finish up the basic structure of the game. I was able to use a random number generator to generate a number between 1-50 (my range). I was also able to incorporate the input function by allowing the user to tell the computer their name. I was also able to write some code that told the user if their guess was too high, too low, or if they guessed correctly.

However, there were some things that I wasn’t able to complete at home. For example, I have been unable to put a limit on the number of guesses the user has, so I’ve basically just copy and pasted the code over and over again to give the user an infinite number of guesses. This is something I need to work on next lesson so that I can further improve my game.

  In python, there are both integers and floats. Integers are the same thing in python—a whole number. A float however, has its own meaning in python. A float in python is a function that helps to keep the number in a decimal format instead of having it as a whole number.

I also learnt about slicing today. In order for slicing as a function to work in python, you need to have a string. What slicing does is it helps to divide up the string into smaller fragments. In class today, we took the month name ‘October’ as our ‘string’. We chose the slicing ratio, to see which letters we wanted to show up when we ran the code. Once we inputted our slicing settings, the code would then pick out the letters that you want. In order to choose the length of your slice, you will need to change the ratio so the code can pick out the correct amount of letters in that string.

One other important thing I learnt about today is a loop. A loop is some code that tells the program what to do until it meets certain conditions. When you visualize it in real life, it becomes more like a flowchart. The program can only advance when certain conditions are met. If those conditions are not met, then the program would have to go back to the previous step and keep running the code until those conditions are met.

To conclude, today’s session was extremely interesting, as I have learnt about a lot of skills and functions that I can apply to other situations such as games, conversations, and much more!

In this class, I learnt a lot about how to code in Python. Since I have never coded in Python before, pretty much everything that was taught this class was brand new to me.

The first function that I learnt was the ‘print’ function. When you play some code that uses ‘print’ with text in quotation marks, the output is exactly what you put inside the quotation marks. Apart from printing text word for word, this function can also solve some mathematical equations. If you don’t add quotation marks in put in a mathematical expression, the code will automatically calculate it for you in the output.

Apart from the print function, I also learnt how to define and use a variable in code. When you have an output that depends on what the user types in, you will need to use a variable. It is easier to name the variable accordingly, so that you can easily identify what the variable represents when you go back and look over your code. Once you have defined your variable, you have to use the same name for all of your lines so that the system recognizes them as the same.

So, how are users supposed to communicate through the code in order to define the variable. For this, you will need to use an input function. The input function allows the user to type in a response to the question asked by the code. This way, it can be more interactive and fitting to the user’s needs; such as asking them which times table they would like to learn.

Lastly, I also learnt about strings and integers and what sets them apart in Python. Integers are whole, negative or positive numbers. Strings, on the other hand, are bits of text that the system recognizes to be printed. In order to tell the system that, you insert quotation marks before you print.