Learn to Code: Episode 002 – Introduction to Google Sheets

In the previous episode, we learned about the basics of how computers work. We have limited time so I would like to teach you programming as fast as possible. What is the best and possibly the most efficient way to learn programming?

The best way to learn programming is to work on a project yourself. But what project? That’s the best part! It’s up to you! Think of a problem that you would think can be solved by a program or the skill you wanted to learn and then start from that.

In this lesson, I will show you how a simple but common problem like tracking income and expenses can be solved by a spreadsheet application like Google Sheets. But what does Google Sheets have to do with programming? Good question. Google Sheets uses formulas and functions which is equivalent to an expression in programming. Consider the following JavaScript expression:

var total = mySumFunction(23,100);

The code above is equivalent to (A1) = SUM(23,100) in Google Sheets or Excel. Where A1 is the cell address where you want to store the result of the SUM function.

Additionally, using Google Sheets or Excel and spreadsheet apps in general is such an important skill to learn if you want to learn programming. You may find that it is so useful when working with data. You may also find that not all problems should be solved by creating a program for it. A simple spreadsheet document may suffice in some cases.

This lesson will also pave way when we start learning web development. Because we will migrate the Budget Tracker sample project to a web application!

For now, please watch the following video and try to learn as much as you can in Google Sheets. This lesson is in Tagalog.

This video shows the Google Sheets basic commands and functions while creating a simple Personal Budget Tracker.

In this video, you will learn:

• Basic operations: Copying formatting, copying formulas, Paste Special, Inserting/Deleting Rows and Columns
• Basic formulas – Formatting – Conditional Formatting
• Working with Data – Sorting, Filtering, Data Validation, Lookup values from another list using VLOOKUP
• Relative vs Absolute Reference
• Creating charts
• Preview of App Script

Here is the lesson resource:

Link to the Personal Budget Tracker Document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O3h2bkqWOFd-k6qyQ11E-Xf7EeZ3hQDGuo701XEpc9I/edit?usp=sharing

Next Episode: 003 – Introduction to Websites (how Internet works, how websites works, WordPress, Hosting, Domain name, etc)

See you next time!