[T-R]

You probably got downvoted for being off-topic - it'd be better to ask that kind of question on Stack Overflow. Leave out the subjective "is it because I'm a noob?" parts, and stick with the more objective "is there a better way to do this?", and you'll probably be able to figure out from that where any holes in your knowledge/experience might be.

[EMRo]

I appreciate the constructive response. I'm going to do that. Just joined this community so just learning the rules now. Thanks.