Welcome to the coding corner!

[Bri MT]

Hey everyone,

I saw that a bunch of people were interested in learning or developing coding skills so I thought I'd set up this board to give people a place to hang out and do that!

Feel free to use the coding corner as a place to share projects, ask questions, keep each other updated, and discuss your coding journeys.


To kick off, maybe people could chip in with:
- why you are interested in coding
- any languages you have used or are interested  in
- any projects you'd like to talk about (past, current, or planned)


For example:
- I first looked at coding in year 9 because I was bored and wanted to learn more. Now I use coding for data analysis
- The first language I practiced was javascript (interactive websites, very simple games) but now I use R the most by far.
- At the moment what I'm working on is making an agricultural land use web app (doing this as part of an internship). I've worked a tiny bit with spatial data in the past but this is project is definitely a lot of learning for me

[Chessnutter]

Why I am interested in coding:
It's fun - I like problem solving. Going to do Bachelors of Computer Science Advanced (Honours) at Monash next year. Started off learning how to make games from a Udemy tutorial, then branched off to python when I did Algorithmics.
Languages:
Python mainly. I know some C# (doing stuff with Microsoft Forms in Visual Studio, Unity). I also know how to use Edgy (a 'block' programming language like scratch. It was used for Algorithmics).
Projects:
Made this game in year 10: https://chessnutter.itch.io/youll-fail
Currently working through a tutorial - Neural Networks from Scratch. It is very interesting but very challenging, would not recommend unless you at least completed methods 1/2 with flying colours and have some python knowledge. It goes into the maths behind dense neural networks (lots of calculus) and how to code one without using the standard ML libraries.

I am looking for an internship over summer doing programming/CS, so if anyone has any contacts let me know!

[owidjaja]

Omg so hyped for this coding corner!

Why am I interested in coding?
Well, it's a prerequisite for what I do at uni and with what I'm doing at work right now. But also, I'm not the best at coding but I'm quite fascinated with how it works and how it's used in the aerospace field. It's a love-hate relationship, but it's very satisfying when the code actually works haha

Languages
Started off learning C (but lowkey traumatised because semicolons and compiling is annoying lol), but mainly Python and Matlab

Projects
As a part of an internship, I'm currently writing code that sifts through the large volume of data from Mt Stromlo to help deal with space debris issues. It's been a slow start but it's really pushing me out of my comfort zone and teaching me the different types of Python modules I can use (since so far I've only worked with numpy and matplotlib).

[Chessnutter]

Projects
As a part of an internship, I'm currently writing code that sifts through the large volume of data from Mt Stromlo to help deal with space debris issues. It's been a slow start but it's really pushing me out of my comfort zone and teaching me the different types of Python modules I can use (since so far I've only worked with numpy and matplotlib).

The two best libraries change my mind xD.
"space debris issues" That's cool! So what do you do if you notice an imminent collision? Dial Elon Musk's personal number?

[Aaron]

Love this! Looking forward to seeing a whole range of creative ideas and products

In terms of my background:
Interested in computers from a very young age, started getting interested in coding around the 11-12 year old mark. Started off with web development HTML then moved onto PHP then CSS (weird order I know). Tinkered around on some MMO projects when I was in high school. Got a IT degree which covered A LOT of Java, C etc. and self-taught Python in spare time. Part of my IT degree involved a stats minor where I learnt R (so many languages out there.... most share similar syntax in one way or another).

If you click below (in my sig) my website is an example - it's not much visually because my design skills are horrible (strength is backend stuff e.g. the coding) but there's a lot going on behind the scenes. Uses Bootstrap and Laravel mainly. Host it on my own server.

Happy to take any questions anytime - keeping in mind I am a teacher full time so my responses may be quite delayed so it might be better posting in this awesome new board to get some other keen eyes. I'll keep my eyes peeled in this section as I have a lot to offer (but not the only one!)

P.S - Learn by doing. It is honestly the best way to learn a programming/coding language. Sitting through tutorial after tutorial is OK if you learn great that way but practicing the skill, changing things and seeing what happens when that change is made, is honestly the best way to do it imo. Do something small and build up - do a project that interests you and has relevance to you. To be successful you must be determined and not give up as soon as something goes wrong or is difficult to comprehend. You will encounter it at some stage and you must be prepared to push through, that's how you'll be successful.

[AR1472]

Yes!!! Thank you for making this!

Why I'm interested in coding:
I took a coding elective in year 9 just for fun, just to see what it would be like. I've been hooked since! I took year 10 coding as a result, and have just finished Software Development 3/4. I'm hoping to get into Computer Science Advanced (Honours) at Monash Uni next year 

Languages I've used/ am interested in:
I first started out with HTML and CSS in years 9 and 10 and I love them for their simplicity. I used Python back in year 11, and this year I used PHP and SQL. In the past I've lightly touched on JavaScript.

Projects:
As a part of the Software Development course I made this mini application that basically uses a webscraper to gather weather data from the BOM. The data is displayed to the user so that they can make appropriate clothing choices should they go out. The user can create an event and write down what they were wearing and any other additional information. The image of what they wear, as well as relevant information is displayed in the user's inventory so that they can make informed clothing choices in the future- particularly to suit the weather, or to make sure they don't wear the same outfit in front of the same people too many times.
It... kinda worked out. The application didn't really work as I hoped it would oops.
Currently I'm just looking at some side projects to do with a friend in our free time!

[Aaron]

Why I'm interested in coding:
I took a coding elective in year 9 just for fun, just to see what it would be like. I've been hooked since! I took year 10 coding as a result, and have just finished Software Development 3/4. I'm hoping to get into Computer Science Advanced (Honours) at Monash Uni next year 

That's awesome - the fact that an elective at year 9 was the catalyst for not only completion of Computing at VCE but potentially an entry into a compsci degree. What would've been if you didn't take that elective?... You can only wonder.

[AR1472]

That's awesome - the fact that an elective at year 9 was the catalyst for not only completion of Computing at VCE but potentially an entry into a compsci degree. What would've been if you didn't take that elective?... You can only wonder.

I know right? I wonder where I would be right now if I never took that elective. It's crazy to think about 

[owidjaja]

The two best libraries change my mind xD.
"space debris issues" That's cool! So what do you do if you notice an imminent collision? Dial Elon Musk's personal number?

Haha if only! Actually the astronomers aren't liking Elon at the moment because SpaceX released like thousands of satellites which isn't good for space traffic and terrible to make observations

Nah we have lasers to deal with that! The reason why space debris is a big issue is because these small pieces of junk are travelling so fast that if it collides with, say, a satellite, it can create a hole. So that's why we use code to predict their trajectory and some more code to identify the unknown object. If we notice that there's an incoming collision, we shoot a laser beam to the piece of junk, which is enough energy to change their original trajectory.

[Chessnutter]

Haha if only! Actually the astronomers aren't liking Elon at the moment because SpaceX released like thousands of satellites which isn't good for space traffic and terrible to make observations

Nah we have lasers to deal with that! The reason why space debris is a big issue is because these small pieces of junk are travelling so fast that if it collides with, say, a satellite, it can create a hole. So that's why we use code to predict their trajectory and some more code to identify the unknown object. If we notice that there's an incoming collision, we shoot a laser beam to the piece of junk, which is enough energy to change their original trajectory.

Damn that's cool.
Would you fire the junk off into deep space or to a higher orbit? Shame there isn't a way to force it into a lower orbit for it to eventually burn up.

[Chessnutter]

P.S - Learn by doing. It is honestly the best way to learn a programming/coding language. Sitting through tutorial after tutorial is OK if you learn great that way but practicing the skill, changing things and seeing what happens when that change is made, is honestly the best way to do it imo. Do something small and build up - do a project that interests you and has relevance to you. To be successful you must be determined and not give up as soon as something goes wrong or is difficult to comprehend. You will encounter it at some stage and you must be prepared to push through, that's how you'll be successful.

Completely agree. It's fine to start off with a tutorial, but make sure you actually understand what you are coding and do not be afraid to branch off when you want to do something that interests you more.

Here's some project ideas that I have finished, in the order I did them in:
- Pong
- A small, original game which you can add to over time
- Maze generator/Maze completer
- Non-comparison based sorting algorithm (I naively thought I had invented the world's fastest sorting algorithm)
- Tic Tac Toe (naughts and crosses) with an 'AI' that plays optimally (minimax)

Things that are visual are the best to start with, you can show them to others and get a confidence boost.