# I have finally started to make progress with HTML+CSS (self-confidence) :)



## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

This is HUGE for my confidence. One of my life-long goals has been to learn how to program wepages. Even if it wasn't done professionally it's something that I could do it on the side for. I could do it for friends or for people who know me who want a webpage developed too. I always thought it was really daunting and it was too difficult for me. 

Lately, I've been finding that all the things that I was lacking were in CSS. CSS has been able to help my pages be more dynamic than they ever were. I've been able to figure out how to bring my pages to life. 

I am only doing it on notepad... so I haven't bought any domain names. But, I've found some template online, and, I've been fiddling around with it, and I've been adding my own code to it to make my own website and I've actually been successful at it. It feels really good to know that all the things that I've been studying actually work.

Granted, there are some websites that don't really tell me what the best way to code something is, or, how to make something... and a lot of code I find doesn't work, or doesn't work the way it says it will- willy-nilly. So I still need to find out how to work around the nuances. Also, I am still struggling with the CSS stylesheet. I need to figure out how to use that. And tables. So there are some things that I don't get. But, I've gotten enough so that I feel like I would be fully capable of creating a website, then creating other pages and linking each other page to that website. There is still a lot I need to learn. But, I feel like a lot of my effort has been vindicated. 

This is a really good first step. My time of staring at code and trying to figure out how it's used is over. I have found that copying and pasting+tinkering around with it- is the best way to actually learn what it does. So, this is a huge self-confidence booster. It shows my method works.


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## AntiAnxiety (Jan 8, 2011)

Congratulations. I understand how that can be satisfying. You change something and it's reflected immediately.

Have you checked out W3schools? I think they do have some info on best practices.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

Yup!! I check them too. I want to learn java after I learn html and css. But my goal is to practice with both for a while and try to learn to make more complicated websites because I don't know how to do that yet (I need to learn how to scroll etc).


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## AntiAnxiety (Jan 8, 2011)

Javascript would be a great direction to turn to next, because, to make complicated websites, the use of a combination of languages is always the case. You would integrate that with your HTML. And some PHP for good measure


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

Awesome!! I kind of really want to learn how to make websites so that I could help other people and maybe I could provide it as a service of sorts, also, I want to learn enough HTMl so I can make them for my own purposes and not need to rely on blog-sites. I think the biggest change that's marked my improvement with HTML and CSS is actually trying stuff. Before all I was doing was just looking at it and not trying to do anything with it. Probably because maybe I didn't think of what could be done. But now that I am actually trying and attempting to do things with it- it's definitely making more sense to me than it was before. I will look into java next. Right now, I want to master CSS. I'm still learning the ropes- but- I think that I eventually will get there. 

I'm still having a little trouble with using style-sheet commands. Do you have any tips? I've ended up having to sometimes use CSS inline with the regular HTML document to get things like texts displayed. It seems that I have a little ways to go. I can do really well when it comes to doing in-document stuff, but, when it comes to CSS by itself... I have a bit to learn. But I am making progress. I still need a little help in understanding div and class... but at least I am starting to understand the differences...


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## MylesB93 (Feb 25, 2014)

Anti depressant said:


> I'm still having a little trouble with using style-sheet commands. Do you have any tips? I've ended up having to sometimes use CSS inline with the regular HTML document to get things like texts displayed. It seems that I have a little ways to go. I can do really well when it comes to doing in-document stuff, but, when it comes to CSS by itself... I have a bit to learn. But I am making progress. I still need a little help in understanding div and class... but at least I am starting to understand the differences...


What are you struggling with stylesheets? I've been doing for a few months now so I may be able to help a little


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## inerameia (Jan 26, 2012)

Congrats, man. I'm actually interested in starting to program. What are good resources to get started?


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## AntiAnxiety (Jan 8, 2011)

Anti depressant said:


> Awesome!! I kind of really want to learn how to make websites so that I could help other people and maybe I could provide it as a service of sorts, also, I want to learn enough HTMl so I can make them for my own purposes and not need to rely on blog-sites. I think the biggest change that's marked my improvement with HTML and CSS is actually trying stuff. Before all I was doing was just looking at it and not trying to do anything with it. Probably because maybe I didn't think of what could be done. But now that I am actually trying and attempting to do things with it- it's definitely making more sense to me than it was before. I will look into java next. Right now, I want to master CSS. I'm still learning the ropes- but- I think that I eventually will get there.
> 
> I'm still having a little trouble with using style-sheet commands. Do you have any tips? I've ended up having to sometimes use CSS inline with the regular HTML document to get things like texts displayed. It seems that I have a little ways to go. I can do really well when it comes to doing in-document stuff, but, when it comes to CSS by itself... I have a bit to learn. But I am making progress. I still need a little help in understanding div and class... but at least I am starting to understand the differences...


I see. If you want to make money off of this kind of stuff, then your interest in Java is really great, because it's one of the languages that is most desired today.

I'm a little rusty, but I believe a div is a container of sorts. I believe you can set styles to apply within a div that won't apply to the rest of the html document. For a class, you can define a set list of rules for it inside of a CSS sheet, then reference it inside the html document that the CSS sheet is linked to.

For classes, make sure you understand how elements and ID's work first, and it should become clearer.

For CSS, make sure you start slow. Try to change one thing, and then when that works, change something else. Be very sequential with it all. Once you get used to the flow of it all, it will be very smooth. Also, make sure your declarations and references are correct. It won't matter


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## AntiAnxiety (Jan 8, 2011)

Peregrínus said:


> Congrats, man. I'm actually interested in starting to program. What are good resources to get started?


Really comes down to what you're interested in. Build websites? Then you'll want to learn what AntiDepressant is learning. Scripts, which are little programs that can perform certain tasks like organizing files, you may look into scripting languages. Interested in learning bread-and-butter programming from the ground up as a hobby? Take a look at C, which many other things are based off of.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

AntiAnxiety said:


> I see. If you want to make money off of this kind of stuff, then your interest in Java is really great, because it's one of the languages that is most desired today.
> 
> I'm a little rusty, but I believe a div is a container of sorts. I believe you can set styles to apply within a div that won't apply to the rest of the html document. For a class, you can define a set list of rules for it inside of a CSS sheet, then reference it inside the html document that the CSS sheet is linked to.
> 
> ...


Oh yeah. I think that's all becoming very clear to me now. It wasn't clear to me at all before... before I was like... what are all of these Divs or IDs? Are these people making it up as they go along? Now I see that they are- but the whole point of divs is to have something to reference to so that when you edit a certain piece of the document then you can attach that piece of coding on the document. And YES- I agree whole-heartedly about trying it slow.

I feel like I am the type of person that can't understand anything until I fully grasp the concept of something, so, I'm trying to make sure I understand everything or as much as I can about one thing before I proceed to the next. That level of detail seems to be useful with HTML and CSS. Knowing how to float things or getting an image to have a boarder or padding may seem extremely complicated at first- but- once you learn how to do it I find it's extremely useful.

If I do it for money it would be on an individual basis for friends or family... I wouldn't charge a ridiculous price like all the other people would. But I would charge based on labor. My Mom believes that I am wasting energy on it, but, I don't think I am at all. My knowledge of websites are improving and my understanding of computers are increasing as well.-which will help me with other areas of interests. I think that if it could help me make money on the side too- even better.

BTW, do you have any books that you would recommend to read further? I am learning online and I find that helps with practice but I want to learn from books too. Maybe I could ask some of my computer-science friends if I could borrow some of their books.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

MylesB93 said:


> What are you struggling with stylesheets? I've been doing for a few months now so I may be able to help a little


I think before I was confused in general but my confusion now is more along specific lines. More like- how do I get to change the style to the

in the style sheet? What I've done- is use a div id tag and then change the font-color for that particular section as a substitute, but, I would like to know how to get that to work.

Also, I'm a little unclear about how to specify the img{ } in CSS when you're trying to move around the padding or boarder of an image.

Things like that.


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## AntiAnxiety (Jan 8, 2011)

Anti depressant said:


> Oh yeah. I think that's all becoming very clear to me now. It wasn't clear to me at all before... before I was like... what are all of these Divs or IDs? Are these people making it up as they go along? Now I see that they are- but the whole point of divs is to have something to reference to so that when you edit a certain piece of the document then you can attach that piece of coding on the document. And YES- I agree whole-heartedly about trying it slow.
> 
> I feel like I am the type of person that can't understand anything until I fully grasp the concept of something, so, I'm trying to make sure I understand everything or as much as I can about one thing before I proceed to the next. That level of detail seems to be useful with HTML and CSS. Knowing how to float things or getting an image to have a boarder or padding may seem extremely complicated at first- but- once you learn how to do it I find it's extremely useful.
> 
> ...


I knew some stuff already, but New Perspectives on HTML, CSS and Dynamic HTML by Patrick M. Carey is what really helped drive everything home for me. It goes from the basics you've mentioned to some advanced topics, but I know it's nothing you wouldn't be able to understand. You get everything in that book down, you'll be well on your way to becoming a web designer.

It's not a waste of time at all, by the way. The IT industry is the fastest growing industry today. You can find tons of surveys and studies to show to your mom which state this. There are seasoned professionals in their 30's and 40's who are jumping ship and trying to get into this stuff because this is where the money is at. And there are many people who program as independent contractors for a living. Or you could very well earn a few certifications and get a job working for a firm in the field. Maybe you'll even get interested in other areas of IT (become a networking guy like me, perhaps? ) There are lots of ways of ways to, not only make a living, but legitimately live well above your means with this type of work.


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Congratulations !.

Technically though, CSS wont make your pages more dynamic, they have some cool features for sure. CSS is mostly a way to separate structure from design to make a website much more manageable.

HTML -> structure
CSS -> design
Javascript -> Interaction
PHP -> Dynamism (content generated via programming)
SQL -> Database (choose a system, you will probably start with MySQL)
Bootstrap Library (by twitter) -> Best practice for CSS and some javascript
AJAX -> Best practice for async javascript

http://cs.harvard.edu/malan/courses/

Based on your needs I recommend you E-75 (building dynamic web pages), although for a first step to computer science CS50 is great. The rest are also interesting but they are aimed at other stuff like software engineering and mobile application development.


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## scubadiver007 (Dec 27, 2014)

I taught myself HTML and CSS over a number of years and it is enjoyable. Once you master it, it clicks and falls into place about how to manage the code ... but it is the creative side of website design that I find difficult. I really envy those designers and freelancers who do it for a living. There are some great designs out there.


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## DocHalladay (Jan 19, 2013)

cool, I felt the same way when I made my first javascript key-logger and it worked ! hehe.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

sajs said:


> Congratulations !.
> 
> Technically though, CSS wont make your pages more dynamic, they have some cool features for sure. CSS is mostly a way to separate structure from design to make a website much more manageable.
> 
> ...


 I was wondering about taking a class from Harvard's online course database... what kind of stuff do they have in there? It would save me a LOT of money if I could study that on my own time and get find out more specific things. I love w3schools a lot and it's helping me learn things in an easier way by letting me try it out but I think actually knowing the concepts behind it will help too.


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Anti depressant said:


> I was wondering about taking a class from Harvard's online course database... what kind of stuff do they have in there? It would save me a LOT of money if I could study that on my own time and get find out more specific things. I love w3schools a lot and it's helping me learn things in an easier way by letting me try it out but I think actually knowing the concepts behind it will help too.


The link I provided has the courses and descriptions, they are ONLINE and FREE university courses. And David J. Malan is a great instructor, very pedagogic.


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## debutante (Dec 29, 2009)

awesome congrats! i started html back in 97 and havent touched it since cause i went towards c++/java during high school & college. i was surprised how much it still looked the same. one day at a time and you'll master it!


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

sajs said:


> The link I provided has the courses and descriptions, they are ONLINE and FREE university courses. And David J. Malan is a great instructor, very pedagogic.


Cool! I think for now I'll just try to understand the computer programming parts and what the big deal is with those concepts. So, I'm just going to watch the videos and then when I get to the web-programming stuff I'll try to pay a lot of attention to that. I finally understand what binary is now. A lot of people make it a big deal but it really isn't.


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Anti depressant said:


> Cool! I think for now I'll just try to understand the computer programming parts and what the big deal is with those concepts. So, I'm just going to watch the videos and then when I get to the web-programming stuff I'll try to pay a lot of attention to that. I finally understand what binary is now. A lot of people make it a big deal but it really isn't.


Then see first CS50 which is an introductory course on computer science, rather than E-75 which is about web programming.


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Anti depressant said:


> Cool! I think for now I'll just try to understand the computer programming parts and what the big deal is with those concepts. So, I'm just going to watch the videos and then when I get to the web-programming stuff I'll try to pay a lot of attention to that. I finally understand what binary is now. A lot of people make it a big deal but it really isn't.


Even if those courses are great, I will recommend you first a book I loved, Charles Petzold CODE.
Then CS50 and so on.


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## macrotus (Aug 31, 2014)

Yeah, a few years ago I taught myself the basics of web design and administration, setup a forum using phpbb with a custom design I made. Too bad I blew most of that knowledge on short term projects.


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## That Random Guy (Jan 31, 2015)

*Good for you!*



Anti depressant said:


> This is HUGE for my confidence. One of my life-long goals has been to learn how to program wepages. Even if it wasn't done professionally it's something that I could do it on the side for. I could do it for friends or for people who know me who want a webpage developed too. I always thought it was really daunting and it was too difficult for me.
> 
> Lately, I've been finding that all the things that I was lacking were in CSS. CSS has been able to help my pages be more dynamic than they ever were. I've been able to figure out how to bring my pages to life.
> 
> ...


A little late, but way to go!
I'm currently majoring in IT at my community college and plan on transferring to a 4 year university with my associates come this fall. I honestly don't know what field of IT I fit in quite just yet, but hell, I'm trying. I too find an interest in coding. I'm currently taking a Java class and hope to be able to at least find a minor in web design of some sort as time goes on. I know just about the basics in both HTML and CSS, but as you mentioned it can be quite daunting when you don't know how to work everything. I'll agree that looking at other sites for reference is a great start into getting the hang of things. Another site I reccomend for those who are interested in scripting (for web) is: http://www.codecademy.com/learn

This site offers a very hands on type of learning that really worked for me when trying to learn HTML and CSS. Since then I've taken one of their courses on Java Script, and boy it sure did help and gave my an interesting perspective on how web sites work fundamentally. They offer other scripting languages such as Pearl and PHP. So, I figure if you have the time and want to learn, I highly suggest taking a look at those courses--all for free mind you! While they don't get too deep into detail, they are without a doubt some of the most exceptional introductory courses you could ever take. I hope this is of help to some of you. Good luck with your progress.
I myself am building a website--dedicated to my passion and interests.

Best be to you,

Bryan


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## slowlyimproving (Jan 2, 2014)

That's great! I got HTML down and I'm in the process of learning CSS. Speaking of which, I need to resume reading "CSS the missing manual".


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## ForeverInBloom (Oct 4, 2010)

That is awesome! 

Are you going to try JavaScript?


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

sajs said:


> Then see first CS50 which is an introductory course on computer science, rather than E-75 which is about web programming.


I think you misunderstood my interests. I want web-programming. But I need to understand computers in general and I don't want to take a lot of other courses (to pay for them) in order to pay for it. I would just watch the videos for them. But I would also watch web-programming ones (if you knew what html or css was you would know that I was referring to web programming).


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

slowlyimproving said:


> That's great! I got HTML down and I'm in the process of learning CSS. Speaking of which, I need to resume reading "CSS the missing manual".


 I strongly recommend reading the book Designing&Building Websites: Using HTML and CSS (I think that's what it's called). After I made this topic... I read that book heavily, and, fully-through, and, it really was able to focus in on a lot of the things that I was having difficulty with. I cannot stress how important having a working reset sheet is. Once you have a good working reset sheet, then, the rest of the code will follow through.

Now, when you say you have HTML down do you mean all the things- like the forms, tables, pictures, etc, and everything else? Or just the structure? There's a difference.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

That Random Guy said:


> A little late, but way to go!
> I'm currently majoring in IT at my community college and plan on transferring to a 4 year university with my associates come this fall. I honestly don't know what field of IT I fit in quite just yet, but hell, I'm trying. I too find an interest in coding. I'm currently taking a Java class and hope to be able to at least find a minor in web design of some sort as time goes on. I know just about the basics in both HTML and CSS, but as you mentioned it can be quite daunting when you don't know how to work everything. I'll agree that looking at other sites for reference is a great start into getting the hang of things. Another site I reccomend for those who are interested in scripting (for web) is: http://www.codecademy.com/learn
> 
> This site offers a very hands on type of learning that really worked for me when trying to learn HTML and CSS. Since then I've taken one of their courses on Java Script, and boy it sure did help and gave my an interesting perspective on how web sites work fundamentally. They offer other scripting languages such as Pearl and PHP. So, I figure if you have the time and want to learn, I highly suggest taking a look at those courses--all for free mind you! While they don't get too deep into detail, they are without a doubt some of the most exceptional introductory courses you could ever take. I hope this is of help to some of you. Good luck with your progress.
> ...


I will! Thank you. I think I've gotten the hang of HTML and CSS (I understand the different properties and what-not) and was thinking of trying out java next. Once I lay out the basic structure of the website I am planning on building, I will definitely check them out. Got any good books about java that you'd recommend?


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

ForeverInBloom said:


> That is awesome!
> 
> Are you going to try JavaScript?


Yes!! Of course. I was planning on doing that next. What kinds of things can it do?


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## Sleeper92 (Oct 3, 2010)

A little of topic . Are there any Machine Learning enthusiasts on this site ?


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## scubadiver007 (Dec 27, 2014)

On the HTML and CSS, a really great idea is to find a few websites, view the source code and save the text file on your hard drive with a ".html" extension. Make a copy then you can deconstruct the code to see how it is put together. Then you can also look for the css code, save that as well so you can study it and how it works with the HTML code.

*If you like any changes you make save the text file with a new name*



Anti depressant said:


> Yes!! Of course. I was planning on doing that next. What kinds of things can it do?


There is loads of great stuff you can do: anything from image rollovers to a bouncing ball or do you fancy some falling snowflakes? Or would you like to produce text on a page like a typewriter? 

Javascript is a lot of fun but it can also help with serious website development as well.

http://www.javascriptsource.com/


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## slowlyimproving (Jan 2, 2014)

Anti depressant said:


> I strongly recommend reading the book Designing&Building Websites: Using HTML and CSS (I think that's what it's called). After I made this topic... I read that book heavily, and, fully-through, and, it really was able to focus in on a lot of the things that I was having difficulty with. I cannot stress how important having a working reset sheet is. Once you have a good working reset sheet, then, the rest of the code will follow through.
> 
> Now, when you say you have HTML down do you mean all the things- like the forms, tables, pictures, etc, and everything else? Or just the structure? There's a difference.


Thanks, I'll take a look! All things (forms, tables, etc).


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Anti depressant said:


> I think you misunderstood my interests. I want web-programming. But I need to understand computers in general and I don't want to take a lot of other courses (to pay for them) in order to pay for it. I would just watch the videos for them. But I would also watch web-programming ones (if you knew what html or css was you would know that I was referring to web programming).


Well, I know pretty well what html and css is. I probably misunderstood your interests because you werent pretty clear. Yoy started talking about html snd css and then about how you would like to understand binary and stuff, and that has NOTHING (well, not nothing) to do with web programming. Because web programming is at the upper levels of abstractions.

I was saying that if you want to understand binary and all the stuff related to computer science, then see CS50 which has that and it also has introductory classes in web developmen covering technologies and fundamentals (HTML5, CSS, Javascript, PHP and SQL) and then move to the other course E-75 which is just about web development.

Oh, and HTML and CSS are not web programming per se because there is no logic involved.

Regards.


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## Anti depressant (Jan 29, 2011)

sajs said:


> Then see first CS50 which is an introductory course on computer science, rather than E-75 which is about web programming.


Dude my bad!!! I reread your first message and I saw that you were recommending me both!! Thank you so much!! I will check the E75 out after the CS50. I'll at least give the other one a shot.


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## sajs (Jan 3, 2015)

Anti depressant said:


> Dude my bad!!! I reread your first message and I saw that you were recommending me both!! Thank you so much!! I will check the E75 out after the CS50. I'll at least give the other one a shot.


No problem, you're welcome. I've also gave you a book recommendation. The book is just theoretical and explains concepts, I mean, there is no programming exercises for example. But there is an explanation of what programming is (in the later chapters).

If you are a native english speaker I recommend you to read this book first because it is AMAZING and you might finish it in less than a week, its for the layman but if you are a guy who sees the big picture you can create much more neuronal connections in your future readings with the knowledge you gain. After all, if you start with something too complicated then you must roll back and its harder to grasp the simple concepts of stuff and if you start with simple overviews of any concept then there are gaps and you must roll back too. I think CS50 is good for computer science explanations and to try programming but concepts like binary and ascii and such stuff are too "weak" for my tastes, this is why I recommend the book first.

So if you want to this is my advice :

1 - Book: Charles Petzold - CODE (you can find it on the net, if not I can email it to you)
2 - CS50
3 - E-75


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