{ "componentChunkName": "component---src-pages-blog-index-js", "path": "/blog/", "result": {"data":{"allMarkdownRemark":{"edges":[{"node":{"frontmatter":{"title":"Advent Of Code - Day1","description":"Solving Advent Of Code problems using Python.","slug":"/blog/aoc22/day1","date":"2022-12-02T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["AdventOfCode2022","Python"],"draft":false},"html":"

Read the problem here on Advent of Code

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elves = []  # List of calories each elf is carrying\n\n# Open file in read mode\nwith open(\"day1/input.txt\", \"r\") as f:\n    # Counter variable to keep track of current elf calories\n    current_elf_calories = 0\n    # Using a while loop, read each line\n    while True:\n        # Read line\n        line = f.readline()\n\n        # If line is blank push current elf's calories to the list\n        # and continue reading the next one and reset the counter\n        if line == \"\\n\":\n            elves.append(current_elf_calories)\n            current_elf_calories = 0\n        # If end of file, break out of the loop\n        elif not line:\n            elves.append(current_elf_calories)\n            break\n        # Else add the current line value to the current elf's calorie count\n        else:\n            current_elf_calories += int(line)\n\n# Now that we have our parsed data, we can go about solving both the problems\n\n################################## PART 1 ##################################\nhighest_calorie_elf = 0  # index of the elf having the most calories\n# Finding the max number of calories\nfor i in range(len(elves)):\n    # If elf at i has more calories than the previously stored index,\n    # then update the stored index\n    if elves[i] > elves[highest_calorie_elf]:\n        highest_calorie_elf = i\n# Print the values for the elf carrying most calories\nprint(\n    \"Elf number\",\n    highest_calorie_elf + 1,\n    \"is carrying the most calories, having\",\n    elves[highest_calorie_elf],\n    \"calories in total!\",\n)\n\n################################## PART 2 ##################################\n# We just sort the list for the top three elves\n# (doing manually because list.sort() is too easy)\n# Linear sort\nfor i in range(len(elves)):\n    for j in range(i, len(elves)):\n        if elves[i] < elves[j]:\n            # The cool python way of swapping values without a temp variable\n            elves[i], elves[j] = elves[j], elves[i]\n\n# add and print top x elves\nsum_calories = 0\ncount = 3 # change this to calculate however many we want to add\nfor i in range(count):\n    sum_calories += elves[i]\n\nprint(\"The sum of calories carried by the top three elves is\", sum_calories)\n
"}},{"node":{"frontmatter":{"title":"Day 0 of learning Python","description":"Using Advent of Code 2022 as an opportunity to familiarize myself with a new programming language.","slug":"/blog/aoc22","date":"2022-12-01T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["AdventOfCode2022","Python"],"draft":false},"html":"

Using Advent of Code 2022 as an opportunity to familiarize myself with a new programming language.

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Today was the beginning of a new adventure - learning Python. Armed with a background in Java, JavaScript, and TypeScript, I was eager to see how this new language would shape my coding journey.

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Python's Simplicity

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Having spent time with Java, JavaScript, and TypeScript, Python's clean syntax felt refreshingly straightforward.

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Indentation: A New Way of Structuring Code

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One of the initial differences I noticed was Python's use of indentation to denote code blocks. Unlike the familiar curly braces and semicolons, Python relies on consistent spacing to define the structure of the code. It felt strange at first, but I quickly came to appreciate the visual clarity it brought to my programs.

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python\n# Java Code\nfor (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {\n  System.out.println(\"Hello\");\n}\n\n# Python Code\nfor i in range(len(arr)):\n  print(\"Hello\")
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Swapping Values: A Pleasant Surprise

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One of the first things that caught my attention was Python's elegant way of swapping values between variables. In Java, I was accustomed to using a temporary variable for such operations, but Python offered a more concise approach.

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// Java\nint temp = a;\na = b;\nb = temp;\n\n# Python\na, b = b, a
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Embracing the Pythonic Way

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Python's 'Pythonic' way of doing things quickly became evident. It encouraged a more streamlined and intuitive approach to problem-solving. For instance, the built-in functions and libraries were extensive and saved me from reinventing the wheel.

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# Finding the maximum value in a list\nmax_value = max(my_list) # Python\n\n// JavaScript\nconst max_value = Math.max(...myArray); // JavaScript
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Conclusion

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Day 0 of my Python journey was both exciting and enlightening. The transition from my familiar languages was smoother than expected, and Python's elegance and simplicity left me eager for more. Using Advent of Code 2022 as my playground, I could feel my confidence in Python growing with each challenge.

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As I closed my laptop, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. I was ready for the days ahead, eager to explore more of Python's capabilities. With a newfound perspective and a sense of excitement, I looked forward to Day 1, knowing it held new puzzles and new opportunities for me to sharpen my Python skills.

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Resources

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Read about Day 1 ->

"}},{"node":{"frontmatter":{"title":"Creating CLI Barcodes using JavaScript","description":"Understanding how barcodes store data and how to create your own","slug":"/blog/creating-barcodes-in-terminal","date":"2022-03-28T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Learning","School","JavaScript"],"draft":false},"html":"

There are various types of barcodes and standards, here, I'll be referring to UPC-A barcodes.

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\n \n );\n}\n\nfunction getCharRep(str) {\n return [...str].map(c => +c ? \"█\" : \" \").join('');\n}\n\nconst input = \"69420\";\n(generate(input)+\"\\n\").repeat(10);\n

output
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█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █\n█ █ ██   █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █   ██ █ █ █ █ █    ███ █  █ ███  ██ ██  ███  █ █ ███  █ █
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Resources

\n"}},{"node":{"frontmatter":{"title":"Dark Mode Toggle","description":"Dark mode without the flash of default theme","slug":"/blog/dark-mode-toggle","date":"2021-04-21T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Theming","Dark Mode"],"draft":false},"html":"

Dark mode toggle without the flash of default theme. Important bits:

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HTML

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<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html lang=\"en\" data-theme=\"light\">\n  <head>\n    <meta charset=\"utf-8\" />\n    <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\" />\n    ...\n    <script>\n      // If there's a theme stored in localStorage, use it on the <html>\n      const localStorageTheme = localStorage.getItem('theme');\n      if (localStorageTheme) {\n        document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', localStorageTheme);\n      }\n    </script>\n  </head>\n  <body>\n    <div class=\"theme-toggle\">\n      <button\n        class=\"theme-toggle-btn js-theme-toggle\"\n        aria-label=\"Activate dark mode\"\n        title=\"Activate dark mode\"\n      >\n        <!--\n        <svg class=\"light-mode\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"#sun\"></use>\n        </svg>\n        <svg class=\"dark-mode\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"#moon\"></use>\n        </svg>\n        -->\n      </button>\n    </div>\n\n    <script src=\"app.js\"></script>\n  </body>\n</html>
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CSS Variables

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:root {\n  --bg: #ffffff;\n  --text: #000000;\n}\n\n[data-theme='dark'] {\n  --bg: #000000;\n  --text: #ffffff;\n}
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JavaScript

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app.js
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const themeToggleBtn = document.querySelector('.js-theme-toggle');\n\nthemeToggleBtn.addEventListener('click', () => onToggleClick());\n\nconst onToggleClick = () => {\n  const { theme } = document.documentElement.dataset;\n  const themeTo = theme && theme === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light';\n  const label = `Activate ${theme} mode`;\n\n  document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', themeTo);\n  localStorage.setItem('theme', themeTo);\n\n  themeToggleBtn.setAttribute('aria-label', label);\n  themeToggleBtn.setAttribute('title', label);\n};
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Resources

\n"}}]}},"pageContext":{}}, "staticQueryHashes": ["1994492073","2009693873","3081057667","3825832676"]}