The last time I really dealt with anything involving coding or any sort of digital inter-workings was years ago in high school. Even then, I only dabbled in basic java and eclipse. You can imagine that at the high school level it wasn’t very much of an exposure to programming or coding languages. That is why it is particularly exciting to be encouraged to learn any type of programming and coding.
I figured the best way to start was so expose myself to HTML and CSS. They tend to be regarded as the most basic and easiest to learn of all the programming languages. Anybody can make a webpage now with even the most minimal of knowledge of HTML.
It was funny because everything started out pretty easy with the but I made a mistake when I was first introduced to tags, elements, and attributes. I initially thought I broke my first webpage because it came up blank after my first edit including the tags. I was like, “I MESSED UP ALREADY!” But, it turns out I forgot to save and refresh my textedit document and webpage respectively. I felt a little silly to say the least.
It turns out I continued to make very minor technical mistakes throughout my initial exposure to HTML. I would forget a </p> or I would misplace a <h2> and make the HTML file look like a mess. However, it was somewhat enjoyable. Each little addition to the webpage felt like a tiny achievement. When I got to the forms section of the tutorials and managed to incorporate it into my HTML file, it was somewhat like an “ahhhh haaaa” moment. I remember saying, “So thats how they have comment boxes.” Comment boxes are virtually a given on any webpage, so it was interesting to see and understand the actually language that goes behind incorporating that within a HTML file.
The basic lessons of HTML were rather enjoyable and easy to understand despite the mix ups I had. However, I began to be a bit confused when I started dabbling in CSS. I found HTML fairly straightforward, CSS felt more technical. The color gradients, font sizes, and trying to incorporate these elements into my HTML file felt tricky to me. The tutorial mentioned that HTML is the content and meaning while CSS is the presentation. With that in mind, it became clear I had more difficulties prettying up my webpage that actually getting content on it.
However, I just have to continue to experiment and dabble with HTML and CSS. I understand the basics of both, it is just the tiny details that can somethings throw me off. It is really only a matter of time and practice until I am able to complete wrap my head around HTML and CSS. Figuratively speaking of course.
ENG435: Intro to Digital Humanities 