rbookout (guest) 03 Mar 2015 00:04
I've been studying your tutorials on using and creating classes, and I kept struggling to wrap my head around the topic until I copied and pasted the code into a word document and began to color code the different pieces of the code. This helped me to keep track of what each part of the code was referring to as it was used.
So, for example, the code you use to explain classes is:
Random random = new Random();
and the code you use to explain the creation of classes is:
Player player = new Player(string name);
The repeated use of the same word throughout the code is what kept throwing me off. If I saw the word "Player," I wasn't certain if it was referring to the Player class, the player object, or the Player constructor method. It was even more confusing while attempting to keep track of what variable belonged to what scope. For example, "this.name = name" in the Player constructor method.
Once I began to color code the different pieces, it all became clear. If "Player" was orange, then I knew it was referring to the Class. If it was green, then I knew it was the name of the object. If name was orange, then I knew it's scope was the class, while if it was blue I knew it was limited to the method, etc…
The colors I picked were arbitrary, and no relation to the automatic coloring used in Visual Studio. It was about learning how to "see" the code without being distracted by the actual text of the code, if that makes any sense, lol…
So I'm curious what you would think about color coding your tutorials, or making colored versions of them. If the reader had a color key to refer to, then they could jump between tutorials and be able to tell, quickly, if they're looking at a Class, a method, a constructor method, etc. Or do you think this would just be too confusing for beginners?
Anyway, hope it gives you some ideas!