View source for Class Journal Week 3

==David Ramirez's Response==
{{template:Dramir36}}

'''1. Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.

"You’ve read the first parts of the Wikipedia pages and a book on software project estimation. It made some sense at the time." (Ford)

:I believe that I can relate to this quote because of the experience through academics in general, where I put myself in the situation where I only can read the first few pages of an informational page, and know that I still don't understand the full concept of something. I have learned that by only reading a few portions of a document that contains critical information has to be read in full and thoroughly, or else there is a great chance that I will still not understand the significance or will be confused. Many times in the past, I would only read the first few paragraphs of a reading that had to be fully read by the beginning of class and I would know that the knowledge I gain from those paragraphs may seem to make sense at the moment, but will make no sense at all in the near future when more information builds up on the concepts that I would have learned if I did keep on reading.

"When you use computers too much—which is to say a typical amount—they start to change you." (Ford)

:In the past, I would use computers to play video games or install emulators of old video game systems that I have always wanted to try but couldn't find a way to do that. This required much learning and time on the computer to make everything functional and that I had the right plugins, as well as knowing which websites to trust. I believe I had also dreamed about finding the correct programs in order to operate an emulator that I found very hard to successfully operate. My mom also told me that being on technology too much would make my personality less patient and quick tempered. That is why when I read this quote, I found some relation with what my mom told me in the past. I guess I do feel a little less patient because I have been spending much time on computers and I have gotten used to the quick processing and functions that a computer can do in seconds, when in the past, the same functions would take minutes to complete.

'''2. What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?

:In the first section, I wasn't sure what Drupal 7 and Magento was. I think there should have been more context in explaining what exactly those are and how those are used to improve a website or program. In the second section, there were many computer references that were made which I did not understand for the lack of computer science background that I currently obtain. I definitely want to learn more about the different types of coding because I learned that coding is a lot easier to complete tasks than to do them manually.

'''3. Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)



[[User:Dramir36|Dramir36]] ([[User talk:Dramir36|talk]]) 12:14, 16 September 2019 (PDT)

[[Category:Shared]]
[[Category:Journal Entry]]

==Naomi Tesfaiohannes's Response==

{{Template:Ntesfaio}}


'''1. Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.'''

"A computer is a clock with benefits"- Paul Ford

I found this quote to be interesting since I always think of computers as being complicated pieces of metal that only a professional who spent years studying it can ever properly work. But with the way Ford explained it, computers are similar to clocks. Each tick reveals something new, and in the case of computers these marks that stimulate one another result in programming. The difference between a computer and a person is the amount of times these marks can be made, with a computer programming can be done hundreds of times per second but humans are limited in how much they can do by hand. This is why computers have allowed society to excel so quickly, as it completes long duration work in short periods of time and is then able to put the work in an organized way ( graphs, charts, excel spreadsheets, etc.)
Rather than seeing computers as being a complicated product, I should start seeing computers as a tool to assist in data collection and analysis of a lot of information into a summarized manner. It's a clock with benefits since it is not limited by external effects that humans are limited to (tiredness, hunger, etc.) it can simply work. 

"You may look over a programmer’s shoulder and think the code looks complex and boring, but it’s covering up repetitive boredom that’s unimaginably vast"-Ford

The writer began comparing programming to a tree. A tree has its base but many branchings. When thinking of programming, I usually get lost in all its branches (financial programmers, data programmers, etc.) when in reality it all comes from a base that has a large sequence of information that is being processed. Its understanding the coding that is difficult, but as soon as someone is able to decode the software, the computer seems to do the rest of the work. The different branches of programming simply focus on different things. A financial programmer could assist a bank with its financial department, perhaps assisting in online payments and ensuring the programming for that is safe and secure. A data programmer can help with video games, making sure that all the time spent on making changes in the game are saved and be revisited another time. 

'''2. What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?'''

I understand that computers are able to analyze a vast amount of information at once but say, for example, a person is completing a long code and is ready to submit it. Would there simply be an error window if an issue occurred or would the computer be able to navigate where the error is located on the code? I assume it would depend on what kind of software is used. I would like to know more about errors that occur in programming and how programmers address it. If it is able to navigate where exactly the error is, is that due to an algorithm and a disturbance in how the algorithm is appearing? The writer stated that everything is a result of something else, a prior stimulus if that, so would the stimulus be able to detect the error?  

'''3. Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)'''

SGD was the easiest database. I found it to be the best because of its category splits, the side bar of the website stated how many genes, cellular and molecular functions there were. This helped with navigating the number of possible results. Also, when typing in a word in search the word highlights on the page. I liked Ensembl the least because of the layout of the results. It doesn't breakdown the name and DNA sequence as clearly as SGD. It also has a lot of hyperlinks that can accidentally clicked when scrolling down the page. I was taken to many different pages and had to return to the main one multiple times. 

[[User:Ntesfaio|Ntesfaio]] ([[User talk:Ntesfaio|talk]]) 14:38, 16 September 2019 (PDT)

== Iliana Crespin's Responses ==
{{Template:Icrespin}}

#Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.
#*
#What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?
#*
#Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)
#*

==Ivy Macaraeg's Response==
{{Imacarae}}
#Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.
#*The quote most resonant with me was, “You can make computers do wonderful things, but you need to understand their limits. They’re not all-powerful, not conscious in the least. They’re fast, but some parts—the processor, the RAM—are faster than others—like the hard drive or the network connection. Making them seem infinite takes a great deal of work from a lot of programmers and a lot of marketers.” This quote was interesting because many times, we, myself included, think of computers as having an infinite amount of capabilities, that they can just do whatever we want them to do on a whim. I often forget that there are so many steps into performing a digital action, and there were multiple people needed to create the software for the computer to perform those actions.
#What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?
#*I would like to know more research data as to why there are less women in the programming, coding, and computer science fields. I wonder if the issue is more about lack of interest in that field among women or if the problem is more complex than that. 
#Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)
#*The database that I liked the most was the UniProt database. Although it was a little bit messy with many of the links, I liked how it was organized and it didn’t just spit out data. It was easy to understand, and it had graphics that kept me a little bit more interested.
#*I was not a big fan of the Ensembl database because I do not like how it was organized. For example, all the links were listed on the side, and although it is useful for a Table of Contents, I did not enjoy having to click through all of the links to find what I wanted. 
[[User:Imacarae|Imacarae]] ([[User talk:Imacarae|talk]]) 17:00, 16 September 2019 (PDT)

==Mihir Samdarshi's Response==
===Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.===

===What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?===

===Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)===

{{Template: msamdars}}

==Christina Dominguez's Response==

{{template:cdomin12}}

===Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.===

The quote, “Which is to say I’m not a natural. I love computers, but they never made any sense to me. And yet, after two decades of jamming information into my code-resistant brain, I’ve amassed enough knowledge that the computer has revealed itself. Its magic has been stripped away” from the first section really resonated with me. I love that he admits that he is not a natural, and coding and computers did not come easy to him- it was something he had to constantly work at. I think this is important in any discipline you are trying to learn or excel at in understanding that it takes time and effort, but you can eventually get to the point of true understanding through experience and learning.

===What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?===

He mentions that one has to “run software” to transform the code into “machine language”. I would have liked to know more about how this original software was created that is now needed to make more software. Since he states that it is now part of the process of getting to develop new software, it would have been interesting to know about how this original software came to be.

===Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)===

My favorite database that I used was SGD due to the presentation of the data. It was user friendly and made it easy to navigate the information in terms of trying to find the specific information I was looking for. My least favorite was Ensembl. The mapping of the gene was less user friendly and the way the information was presented was more complicated than needed. It involved a lot more clicking on links in order to find information instead of it being laid out on a single page. 

[[User:Cdomin12|Cdomin12]] ([[User talk:Cdomin12|talk]]) 21:45, 16 September 2019 (PDT)

==John Nimmers-Minor's Response==

{{template:Jnimmers}}

===Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.===
*In Section 2.3- 'How Does Code Become Software, Ford writes "Every character truly, truly matters. Every single stupid misplaced semicolon, space where you meant tab, bracket instead of a parenthesis—mistakes can leave the computer in a state of panic. The trees don’t know where to put their leaves. Their roots decay. The boxes don’t stack neatly. For not only are computers as dumb as a billion marbles, they’re also positively Stradivarian in their delicacy." -Paul Ford (06/11/15). This quote resonated with me because, as someone very new to the field of computer science, getting accustomed to using the systems required for this class was very time consuming and frustrating for me in the beginning. I'm still very new and inexperienced in this field of study, but this quote definitely reassured me that that small mistakes I make are ones that many people make. It's not that computer science is impossible, per say, but it requires a focus and attention as well as a delicateness to successfully make use of the programs at hand. One small mistake could take you totally off the path of the goal you're working towards.


===What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?===
*In Section 2, Ford compares software to a many trees with branches extending from each tree. While it is simple to visualize the trees with their branches, I found it a bit hard to understand what each tree and branch represented. For example, he uses a memo with paragraphs as a tree in itself, but my confusion comes from more complex trees in which he describes them as trees within trees. Where does each branch become a new tree, what are examples of said tree repetitions? Questions like these immediately popped into my head as I tried to envision this analogy.

===Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)===
*I personally found that the SGD database was the database that I enjoyed the most. The site itself was easily navigable, it allowed me to quickly and easily find my gene by searching through the library of phenotypes that were available, allowing me to pick and choose which ones I found intriguing to narrow down my search. The presentation of the site itself was also the best, neatest, and most well-organized of the four databases, which was another reason as to why I enjoyed SGD so much. 
[[User:Jnimmers|Jnimmers]] ([[User talk:Jnimmers|talk]]) 10:10, 17 September 2019 (PDT)

==Marcus Avila's Response==

===Pull out a quote from the first two sections of “What is Code?” that you find particularly interesting. Explain why this quote is particularly resonant for you.===
"The turn-of-last-century British artist William Morris once said you can't have art without resistance in the materials. The computer and its multifarious peripherals are the materials. The code is the art."

This quote resonated with me because I never thought of code as an art, but rather simply as languages. This quote makes me think of the various technological limitations of computers. The quote suggests that the code is limitless, while the computer and multifarious peripherals limit it through resistance.

===What is something from the first two sections that you need further explanation of or that you want to know more about?===

I need further explanation about the how code can be used to make software that allows the used to make a coding language.

===Also, out of the four databases you accessed for this assignment (SGD itself, NCBI Gene Database, Ensembl, UniProt), which did you like the best, and why? Which did you like the least, and why? (Refer back to the question about differences in content or presentation that you noted on your gene's wiki page.)===

UniPort database the most because it included several images, hyperlinks to sources, color organization, and was very easy to click through. I felt that the other databases were less clear in their organization or presented the information in a dull way. The hyperlinks to sources made it very easy to find the origin of the information presented. I liked the Ensembl database the least because it had several grey headers in the side table of content that made it seem like it had less information than the other databases. Also, it was annoying to me that I couldn't scroll through the information, but rather had to click through different sections.

{{Template:mavila9}}