In Challange # 5. Largest Value, there is a new code
float(“-inf”)
used that I don’t think we learned about in the Python 3 course up to that point. Is this normal to be expected to use things we didn’t learn about yet? Or are we expected to search the web (google) for help with some of the challenges? I wasn’t expecting to be expected to use stuff we didn’t learn yet I thought the exercise would stick with stuff we learned. I know a big part of programing is looking stuff up, but just want to know, since I’ll add that strategy to doing exercises going forward, thanks.
This point minus one lesson. You just learned it now. Negative infinity syntax uses float() since negative infinity also includes rationals and irrationals approaching zero from the left.
Thanks! But I was asking more about the way Codecademy teaches not the meaning of the code snippet. Do you know if this is the way Codecademy teaches? It is a teaching style for sure I just want clarification if that code snipet was already taught and I somehow missed it or did Codecademy in fact not teach it and expects students to research it on our own? As it stands right now, for exercises that I do, I use/research only what I’ve been taught up to that point. In fact Codecademy has seemd to do this before with dir() code snipet, never learned it but codecademy exercise used it.
No, I do not know. All I do know is that this is a MOOC, and not particularly fashioned to any one teaching/learning style. The onus is on the learner to set their pace and discover holes and/or contradictions in the material. Nothing is exhaustive and to stick only to the material in the course without any looking ahead is a very narrow approach.
The focused learning approach and wide learning approach are both different styles of teaching. Since Codecademy has more of a wide learning approach, unlike Coursera with a focused approach, to teaching I know to switch gears in my learning style, looking forward to completing the course.