Student build journal
Notes from the projects I am learning by building.
I’m Aarav, a Class 10 student. This page is where I keep short notes about projects I have actually
built, including what worked, what went wrong, and what I want to understand better next time.
Build notes
Two projects I am still learning from
Problem: I wanted one tab that keeps a small focus task, local to-dos, useful links, and a space image together.
What changed
- Added local focus-task and to-do persistence.
- Added a saved theme preference.
- Improved NASA APOD timeout, fallback, and retry states.
What I learned
- Browser storage needs careful empty-state handling.
- A public API can fail even when the rest of the interface is working.
- Deployment caches can show old static files.
Open deployed Focus Orbit demo
Problem: I wanted to understand how Slack slash commands and mentions work.
What changed
- Added the
/aarav-ping command.
- Added the
/aarav-help command.
- Added reply handling when the bot is mentioned.
What I learned
- Slack commands need application configuration as well as code.
- Local tests are not the same as an always-on deployment.
View Aarav Ping Bot source
What I’m learning
Things I want to understand better
- JavaScript state and browser storage. I want saved choices to stay useful without making the page hard to understand.
- Responsive CSS layouts. I want project notes to remain easy to read on a phone as well as a laptop.
- API loading and error handling. I want a failed request to explain what happened instead of leaving a blank space.
- Git commits and deployment. I want each public update to match the code I have actually tested.
About
A place to keep the useful parts of learning visible
Next, I want to improve the project notes as I build more things.