Let the Code Kata begin

Once again, it has been awhile since I have posted anything in my blog.  I have been very busy at work with more new projects to work on.  Each step of the way I have gained more knowledge in web design.  I have learned more about ASP.Net, and thanks to my coworker Brian, I have had the pleasure of dabbling in Jquery, Ajax and Linq.  I am developing a really cool project that I think the users will really appreciate when they compare it to what they are curently using. 

Now, I find myself with some small chunks of time where I can work on something else.  I have decided (since my boss mentioned it to me in our last one on one meeting) that I will begin to look at the code katas that he suggested.  Per his suggestion, I am starting on Code Kata #4.  It seems like something simple enough for me to start out with.  It is three parts and I will post each of my answers as I complete them.

Stay tuned for futher updates.....

Okay, I'm back!  It has only been one day and I have begun to work on the first part of Code Kata #4.  Here is what I have so far:
Part 1
Dim result as Integer = 0
Dim saveResult as Integer = 0
Dim saveDay as Integer

For each w as weather in Weather.dat
   result = w.MxT -w.MnT
   If result > saveResult then
      saveResult = result
      saveDay = w.Dy
   End If
Next

console.writeline(saveDay)

Time Marches On....

     Well, it has been a while since my first blog.  I have been working diligently on my project.  It has been a lot of fun and a great learning experience for me.  My project has now reached completion and is entering the testing phase.  I will be rolling out it to a select group of users to get their feedback.  I would like to consider this project as completed, but according to my boss this is just the start.  He anticipates, and I have to agree with him base on past projects, that once the users see the new view of their system that they will start to ask for additional modifications and additions. 
     I have learned so many things about ASP.Net and HTML, but there is still so much more to learn.  There were some parts of my project that were written by a coworker that has more experience and I am very grateful for his help and guidance in assisting me on this project.  I look forward to my next project and hope that I will be able to do more of it on my own.  I also had another coworker help put some finishing touches on my project by adding some animation to the web form.  I am not sure if the animation will stay or the uers will ask to remove it, but I think it looks so cool!
     What did I learn you are wondering???  I now have some knowledge in Cascading Style Sheets(css), in which I can create inline tables and image mapping as well as adding background images to my forms.  I am still not quite sure about the positioning of controls as far as absolute and relative go, but I managed to set the forms up and have it display nicely on 19" monitors as well as on the laptops our company uses.  Also, I learned how to retrieve data from a database and create a dataset to use in order to populate the controls on my forms.  I don't know if there was a lot more that I learned, but what was important to me was that I have become more comfortable in doing development in ASP.Net.  I am still nervous about doing my next project whatever that may be, however I have a slightly higher confidence level that I didn't have before and I look forward to my next opportunity to expand my knowledge and experience.
    My final step in this process is to have a code review meeting with my coworkers.  I have a delicate ego and I must be honest and say that I do not look forward to this meeting.  I will however try and keep an open mind and remind myself that this is an opportunity to improve my programming skills by having others look at my code and see what I could have done differently.  Not an easy thing for me to do!

The beginning of the journey

Today I am embarking on a new opportunity. The opportunity to learn. My name is Renee and I am 49 years old. I have been working in the wonderful world of IT for almost 25 years. Over the past several years the company that I work for has slowly been transitioning from development on an AS/400 using RPG to the Microsoft platform using VB.Net. I have not had the opportunity to learn the new development tools like others in my department because the software that I support is not included in this process. It is written in VBScript which I have also had to learn as I go.

However, that is all about to change. I have a new boss now and he would like me to start learning the new development tools but it has been a real challenge for me to learn them since my knowledge is so limited outside of the AS/400 world.

I have taken online classes in Database Design and Introduction To Networks and Networking to try and get a better understanding of what is being talked about around me, but my learning is far from over. I have taught myself some basic SQL and T-SQL so that I can write a few simple stored procedures and queries. I even managed to write a simple web application using VB and ASP.Net. But once again, because of my lack of knowledge I needed to ask a lot of questions to get the job done and there were many things that I did but have no idea why.

I am now working on a new web application and have the pleasure of working with one of my coworkers named Mike. He has been a great teacher so far and has taken the time to not only show me what it is I need to do but to also explain what we are doing and why. As I progress through my project I will share how it is going and what I seem to struggle with.