Introduction
As part of the seminar "Fundamentals of Digital Communication," we explored various aspects of digital design. In addition to programming and coding, we also focused on analog technologies and hardware.
Through a combination of theory and practice, we learned the fundamentals necessary for working with web design.
HTML and CSS
At the beginning, we focused solely on HTML and CSS, the essential components of a website's structure. We learned how to organize texts, images, and links using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). With CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), we were able to style our code, defining colors, fonts, and spacing.
At this point, I was under the misconception that coding wasn’t even that hard. The approach and implementation were clear, and it felt more like a task of memorizing all the important commands.
p5.js
As p5.js came, so did the tears. This JavaScript library is, in itself, a fantastic way to develop animations and graphics directly within the code. With our first task, where we had to represent perspectives graphically, it honestly felt more like digital drawing.
However, there are of course many more aspects that can be implemented through p5.js. It’s truly overwhelming what you can achieve with just a few lines of code. We not only learned how to create interactive graphics or websites, but also how to generate movements. This made things a bit more complicated, as many new concepts were introduced, such as arrays (a way to collect elements in an ordered manner and store them in a variable).
We are certainly just at the beginning of learning to program, but it’s amazing that with a bit of research, when you have an idea for something like a game, you can at least create the basic concept.
Physical Computing
It was time to turn our attention to hardware. In Physical Computing, we worked with components such as sensors to connect physical objects with the digital world. We used the Arduino IDE to control LED lights through coding.
At the end of this topic, and thus at the end of the semester, we implemented the project Blinkenlichten, where we applied the previously learned concepts of Physical Computing.
Reflection
In retrospect, the insights I gained about programming during this semester have surprised me, for example, the fact that I enjoy it. I have learned a lot from this course, and I see many possibilities with the ability to at least grasp the concept of coding. Understanding the structure and design of websites is something I consider worth pursuing.