So, I wanted to make a digital scorecard for my golf rounds. You know, something simple where I could keep track of my scores without having to fiddle with those tiny pencils and paper cards they give you at the course. I’m not a coder, not by a long shot, but I figured, how hard could it be? Famous last words, right?
I started by looking up some tutorials online. Most of them were way too complicated, talking about databases and JavaScript and a whole bunch of other stuff I didn’t understand. I just wanted a simple form where I could put in my score for each hole. That’s it.
I messed around with some basic HTML, trying to create a table with rows for each hole and columns for the par, my score, and maybe some notes. It looked okay, I guess, but it was static. I mean, I had to manually type in everything, and it didn’t even calculate my total score.
My First Fail
- First Attempt: Basic HTML table, it was a mess and hard to change for each game.
- Problem: I had to type everything by myself, and it looked terrible.
Then, I stumbled upon this idea of using forms. I found some examples online, and it seemed like exactly what I needed. I could have input boxes for each hole, and maybe even a button to calculate my total score. Progress!
I spent hours trying to get the form to work. I copied and pasted code, tweaked it, broke it, and then started all over again. I’m pretty sure I invented some new swear words during this process. The biggest problem was getting the form to actually, you know, do something when I entered my scores.
Form Frustration
- Second Attempt: Tried using HTML forms, felt a little closer to what I wanted.
- Problem: I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to make the form actually calculate anything.
I realized I needed something called JavaScript to handle the calculations. JavaScript? What’s that? Back to the internet I went. I found some snippets of code that looked like they could add up numbers in a form. I tried to integrate them into my HTML, but it was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Nothing worked.
JavaScript Nightmares
- Third Attempt: Found out I needed JavaScript for calculations, sounded scary.
- Problem: Copying and pasting JavaScript code was a disaster. I was completely lost.
At this point, I was ready to give up. I was spending way too much time on this, and I still didn’t have a working scorecard. I almost threw my laptop out the window a few times. But then, I had a thought, What if I started simple and just tried to get the form to add up two numbers? It was my last hope.
I went back to basics, stripped out all the complicated code, and focused on just two input boxes and a button. I found a really simple JavaScript function that looked like it could do the trick. I carefully typed it in, praying to the coding gods that it would work. And guess what? It did!
Small Victory
- Fourth Attempt: Just focused on adding two numbers together using JavaScript.
- Success: I saw the two numbers I typed in add up. This was big for me!
It wasn’t a full scorecard yet, but seeing those two numbers add up was like winning the lottery. I slowly started adding more input boxes, one for each hole. It took some time, but eventually, I had a form that could calculate my total score for a round of golf. It wasn’t pretty, and it probably wouldn’t win any design awards, but it worked!
I’ve been using my little digital scorecard for a few weeks now, and it’s been great. It’s so much easier than using the paper ones. I’ve even added a few more features, like a way to track my putts and fairways hit. I know it’s not perfect, but I built it myself, and that’s something I’m pretty proud of.
It’s crazy to think that such a simple idea could turn into such a frustrating, but ultimately rewarding, experience. I learned a lot about HTML and JavaScript, even though I still don’t really understand most of it. I guess the biggest lesson I learned is that even if you’re not a coder, you can still build something cool if you’re willing to put in the time and effort. And maybe swear a lot along the way.
