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| 1 | +# Jacob Krol: Resume and Information Page |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +Welcome to my GitHub! This is the host repository of my main webpage, [jacobkrol.github.io](https://jacobkrol.github.io/). This isn't my profile, but I'd like to share how my webpage got to be what it is today. |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +### Learning JavaScript |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Tasked with creating a physics engine to manipulate disks in a plane for my [Efficiency of Planar Disk Packings](https://github.com/jacobkrol/Planar-Disk-Packing/) project in Spring 2018, I turned to canvas objects using JavaScript. I learned they could be a way to quickly make visuals for my code, and I took off. Using YouTube, Lynda.com, and print references, I was able to turn lots of trial-and-error into a new coding language for my repertoire. By the end of the project, I had created an array of [fun, interactive tools](https://github.com/jacobkrol/Planar-Disk-Packing/Spring%202018/JS%20Tools) to visualize parts of our problem. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +Sure, there were plenty of mistakes. I needed to learn ES 6 notation for `let` and `const` declarations, and more importantly, why to avoid keeping so many variables in the global scope. |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +<details><summary>Expand if you dare</summary> |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +Actual copy-paste from the global scope of my `GPE for Data Collection 1.js` program... |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +```javascript |
| 16 | +var circles = []; |
| 17 | +var points = []; |
| 18 | +var density; |
| 19 | +var loops = 0; |
| 20 | +var densityWait = 50; |
| 21 | +var slider1, slider2; |
| 22 | +var generating = false; |
| 23 | +var radius; |
| 24 | +var altRadius = 0; |
| 25 | +var showCircles = true; |
| 26 | +var overShow, clickingShow, overHide, clickingHide, overClear, clickingClear = false; |
| 27 | +var overFix, overSettle, overNatural, overFreeze, overAll, overIntersect = false; |
| 28 | +var overPendFreeze, overRelease, clickingRelease, pendFreeze = false; |
| 29 | +var airSetting = "natural"; |
| 30 | +var updateSetting = "all"; |
| 31 | +var circleSize1 = 0; var circleSize2 = 0; |
| 32 | +var numIntersections = 0; |
| 33 | +var apxNumIntersections = 0; |
| 34 | +var palette = new function() { |
| 35 | + this.width = 775; |
| 36 | + this.height = 775; |
| 37 | + this.area = this.width * this.height; |
| 38 | +} |
| 39 | +var t0, t1, time, sum; |
| 40 | +var timerUpdate = 100; |
| 41 | +var ticks; |
| 42 | +var timeEstimate; |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +//MAKE ALL NEW BUTTONS HERE ************************** |
| 45 | +var buttons = [] |
| 46 | +``` |
| 47 | +</details> |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +The only direction left was upwards. |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +### Adding HTML and CSS |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +Once I was on my way with JavaScript, I added lessons from similar sources as JS to my schedule in order to pick up HTML and CSS. These, just like JavaScript and any language, have seen a great improvement over time as I have solified the foundation I set with them. I will cover those self-critiques and improvements in later sections. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +### First Design |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +With basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I was able to create my very first resume website, coded from the very bottom. |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +### First Redesign |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +While revising my code, my skills improved, and I was able to better and better notice glaring mistakes like missing cross-browser compatibility, mobile-support, and misalignment galore. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +<details><summary>Expand if you dare</summary> |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +```css |
| 68 | +.content-indent { |
| 69 | + margin-left: 20px; |
| 70 | + margin-right: -20px; |
| 71 | +} |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +/* ... */ |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +#MCL-Description { |
| 76 | + margin: 0 -30px 0 30px; |
| 77 | +} |
| 78 | +``` |
| 79 | +</details> |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +This inspired me to start all over again. I created blank files and got to work on a more modern, responsive, and responsible design. I may very well redesign my webpage more times, but this was a crucial step in the process of understanding that sometimes coding with an older version of yourself is slower than coding all alone with your new skillset. |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +### The Big Realization |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +There was a crucial moment in my web development career when I came across a random comment on a programming message board. In generic terms, it stated that a strictly-HTML webpage, like those used way back when, is never broken. Here, "broken" refers to a webpage which does not format, appear, or load correctly in particular environments. This is to say, a bare bones HTML page is cross-browser compatible, requires no dependencies, and flows on any sized screen. It's only when CSS and JS are added that suddenly issues arise. Essentially... |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +> Browsers don't break webpages. Developers break webpages. |
| 88 | +
|
| 89 | +Although I was upset that I couldn't blame all of my problems on old versions of Internet Explorer anymore, it helped my web development career massively. I began... |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +- writing out my entire HTML structure before introducing CSS and `<div>` elements |
| 92 | +- checking the effect my CSS had on my projects one line at a time |
| 93 | +- taking ownership of misaligned content |
| 94 | +- reducing my dependency on JavaScript and jQuery to style my sheets when CSS seemed too complicated |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +I cannot trace the source of this message - even though I know it isn't a one-of-a-kind thought - but whoever and wherever you are out there, thank you. |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +### Sense of Pride |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +Now that I've completed my latest redesign, I will without a doubt continue to work on my webpage. I will update content, formatting, and may even perform an entire redesign in the future from the ground-up again. However, in August of 2019, I was able to carry a sense of pride in the work I had created from blank files on my laptop and a litte bit of inspiration just 18 months later. |
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