Okay, so the other day I was messing around with some data and needed to figure out the average of a bunch of numbers. Nothing fancy, just a simple mean. But then I thought, “Hey, I haven’t done this in pure code for a while, let’s make it a little project.” So, I decided to build a basic “813 mean” calculator.
The Setup
First, I grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down the numbers I wanted to average. It was just a random set, something like 8, 1, 3, 8, 1, and 3. You know, keeping it simple.
The Process
I opened up my trusty text editor. Didn’t need anything fancy, just a place to write some code. I could have used an online calculator, but where’s the fun in that? Then I started to create some code, I choose Javascript because it’s easy.
- I created a function.
- I put my numbers in the array called “numbers.”
- I added all the numbers up. Classic stuff. Just looping through the list, keeping a running total.
- Next,I divided the total sum by the count of numbers in the list. That’s the core of finding the mean, right?
Then just keep writing:
function calculateMean(numbers) {
let sum = 0;
for (let i = 0; i < *; i++) {
sum += numbers[i];
}
const mean = sum / *;
return mean;
}
const numbers = [8, 1, 3,8,1,3];
const result = calculateMean(numbers);
*("The 813 mean is:", result); // Output: 4
The Result
I ran the code, and boom! It spit out the average.I got the number of “4”. I double-checked it with a regular calculator, just to be sure, and yep, it matched. Feeling pretty good about myself at this point.
It’s nothing groundbreaking, I know. But it was a fun little exercise to remind myself of the basics. It also made me appreciate how easy it is to whip up a simple tool to do something you need. Sometimes, you just gotta get back to the fundamentals, you know? And it was way more satisfying than just typing it into a calculator app.
