I started working through the freeCodeCamp challenges, then realized I hadn’t created an account. Now that I have, should I restart the challenges over? I have completed 35 so far, but I want to make sure I get “credit” for them on my profile.
When I started, it said that I can use an external text editor to code on? Which ones work the best? I would like to see the full screen instead of the limited code built-in if possible. Something light, as my home PC is older and runs really hard if I use something like Dreamweaver (I just recently got the Adobe Suite for other classes) - Notepad or Notepad++ would be awesome if possible.
I have started Web Design in college (as well as C++, but only as a requirement for this degree) this semester, and web design is what I am going to do as a career. I have never coded or programmed anything in the past, but I am picking up HTML really well (and now CSS on this website), and we start CSS in college next week.
I am older, 38, but really this is do or die now for me, this is what I am going to do as a career, it’s good that I am good at it (for a beginner) and like it, but does anyone have any advice for me?
If you sign up using the same browser you completed the challenges on and you have not cleared your cache, you should see those 35 challenges in your profile. If not, a bit of review is good for you, so embrace it.
This is something only you can answer for yourself. As far as FreeCodeCamp is concerned, all of the editors work equally well. You may find that Brackets is easier to get started with as it includes a preview window by default, but otherwise it’s not terribly popular. Atom, VSCode, and Sublime Text are what you’ll see the most in web development. WebStorm is the complete package if you don’t ever want to touch the command line, but it is resource heavy so you may want to skip it. Vim is the exact opposite as you’ll not just be using the command line for everything, but the entire editor runs in the terminal. Some people use Notepad++ or TextMate (for reasons I can’t quite fathom). If you’re strapped for time, go with Brackets now and change to VSCode when you get to using Node. If you want, you can try Atom, VSCode, and Sublime to see which makes the best first impression, but be warned that the plugin rabbit hole goes very deep and trying to get things set up exactly how you want will cost you time and sanity.
If you’re going to school for web design, keep in mind that FreeCodeCamp’s focus is on web development. You’re not graded on how your projects look here. Design is a great skill to have, but we focus on programming rather than styling.
I think the best is to restart from scratch,i see it as a good refresher for you to test whether you were able to understand and remember what you’ve learnt so far. 35 is only the beginning and i think you should be ready to spend time completing the challenges and understanding by doing.
PortableStick, I thank you so much for your detailed response, I will research a lot of the editors you suggested, as I do want to experiment and see what they all offer and which ones I like the most. Yes, I am going for design, as that is the program offered, but I think I’d rather focus mainly on the programming (as that’s what I’m the best at tbh), and I enjoy it more than I ever imagined (and maybe should, lol).
Henry, I agree, practice makes perfect, and I probably will redo it all, probably/possibly numerous times just so that it all does sink in as much as possible. I thank you also for your response.
I will do this, and be successful at it, and, never did I ever imagine I would enjoy it this much.
I also have to add, thank you freeCodeCamp.com for this, this is exactly what I need, and I do hope to help in the future once I get better at this.