As I sat down to design and stub out my first web scraping application, I asked myself, "What type of environment do I want to be immersed in for the next forseeable future? What information, in words and images, do I want to surround myself with while I peruse the source code of a chosen web database? Perhaps most importantly, what universe will I enjoy creating through object orientation?
Cats, cats, cats.
My siamese cats were adopted through Siamese Cat Rescue Center , and, though the site lacked some functionality, I fondly recalled using it to look for my new best friends. Perhaps I would add some really superb bells and whistles and suggest them to the organization.
The reality was different, as I learned how very much work was required for just the mildly superb bells and whistles. I grew an appreciation for what goes on under the hood in just one mouse click.
For me, creating the logic for the models was a fun experiment, while coding a series of conditionals for the command line interface, while satisfying, grew tedious. I have learned that it is exciting to attempt to translate a real scenario, with real objects and their various characteristics, into a simulated situation, which requires understanding the limitations of making that translation. Things of the world are so fluid, and the more advanced one becomes at creating unique methods and object relationships, the closer our logical, black-and-white applications can come to the reality. This is a compelling reason to continue learning.
Here's to a pawsome first application.