This year we began our Python curriculum in computer class. For our first project, we had to code a chatbot in Python which would be able to perform calculations with integers or floating point operators and sustain a conversation with a user. It was also required to introduce itself and get the name of the user using Python's input feature. I decided to make my chatbot house a repository in the form of a list. Each list would contain an expected response from a user and possible responses that the chatbot would provide. Whereas some may have just had the user's conversations based on the pre-programmed interests of the chatbot, I made mine to do the opposite. I took inspiration from ELIZA, a program made in the 60s which would return questions back to the user based on what he or she said in order to bring a human element to the bot.
Personally, I prefer text coding over block coding (which is what we had been utilizing previously). I feel like it gives the programmer more control over exactly what they want. Sure, it may be more difficult, but in the end I feel like it gave me more freedom over what I made. This project came with some complications, but most of it went swimmingly. I would occasionally make very small mistakes, such as putting chunks of code under a wrong conditional. I found this very enjoyable.