✅ Passed JavaScript Programming (D280)!

My 1st term at WGU is coming to an end soon. I only have one class left after today. I got my score this morning for “JavaScript Programming (D280)” and saw that I passed. D280 is a course about the practical application of JavaScript to enhance website functionality. Topics included working with pre-existing frameworks, assets, and web content, harnessing the potential of APIs and web services, and the development of user interfaces.

It is important to note that this course has a prerequisite, “User Interface Design and Development,” which lays the groundwork for the concepts explored in the class. I did not take that course before taking D280, but I will be taking it after.

The most formidable challenge I encountered during this project was my limited experience with Angular. With a mere week at my disposal, I immersed myself in online tutorials and videos to get caught up. Although the resources provided by WGU were invaluable, I actually found that I often needed to supplement my learning with external materials to ensure I was getting enough of an understanding with the subjects covered in class.

I guess this is nothing new with complex subjects like programming and university classes in general. It’s always beneficial to explore additional resources and seek out different perspectives to deepen your understanding. Overall, I’m happy with my time spent learning the basics and proud of my accomplishment in passing the course.

The course ended with the completion of a final project called ‘World Map’, which involved the creation of an interactive world map utilizing the Angular framework. This project had a list of requirements. One of those requirements was to have each country on the map be clickable. Once a user clicked on a country on the map, the code was supposed to pull information about the selected country via either the Geomaps or Worldbank API.

Here’s a structured breakdown of my approach to this project:

1. SVG Map Utilization: I started the project by getting a world map SVG from this site. This SVG file contained path tags with attributes corresponding to each country, which helped with identifying each country in the code.
2. Data Extraction: I extracted pertinent information from these path tags. The ‘ID’ attribute was used to obtain the country’s code, while the ‘title’ attribute facilitated the retrieval of the country’s name.
3. API Integration: I used the Geomaps API and the Worldbank API to extract data about the country using the country code and country name. This integration allowed my app to fill a column inside the page with dynamic data such as income level, region, population, and capital. Users simply had to select a country to get this information.

In retrospect, the choice of Angular as the framework for this project, while an interesting one, raised questions. A project centered on vanilla JavaScript could potentially have provided a more comprehensive understanding of foundational JavaScript programming principles. This was supposed to be a beginner JavaScript class, after all. Nevertheless, I appreciate the opportunity to expand my skill set and I’m grateful for the experience gained.

In the future, I plan to further explore the world of JavaScript and expand my knowledge beyond the scope of this course. I am particularly interested in diving deeper into front-end frameworks such as React and Vue.js. Overall, I am glad I was able to pass this course. I’m excited to find out what I will learn next.

Last Updated on December 3, 2023