Week 2 - BALT 4363 - CH 2

Chapter Two of Data Toolkit, and more specifically the exercises within the chapter, helped me understand the basics of how Python can control and organize what a program does. Control structures like loops are like giving a set of instructions that the computer can follow repeatedly or only under certain conditions. The examples using “for” and “while” loops made it clearer how repetition works. An example of this would be repeating something a certain number of times or until a condition changes. I liked the comparison to a remote-control car, because it helped me see how code can “steer” what happens in a program.

Seeing the examples with “if” and “if-else” statements helped me see how Python can make decisions, like checking whether a number is even or odd. The guessing game example at the end was especially interesting because it combined all the ideas, loops, conditions, and user input into one project. It made Python feel a little less intimidating, since I could see how simple commands can be built into something that actually interacts with the user.

I also took a look at the learn tech skills website. I was super impressed with how quickly the crab game came together in that conversation with ChatGPT. It is a simple game, but that does not mean it is not fun to play. I know I ended up playing the pong game on the website for a good ten minutes. Knowing I do not need to be an expert coder to make a fun game is cool.

                                             Picture of Pong game on Learn Tech Skills - Pong