| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/10/2008 3:37:49 PM | LOL...after doing this today I had one of those...yup...I am a programmer moments
If you can log into your unix server and do this
[zero@Ares woot]$ ./checkWoot.sh
PowerStar Whole House Electric Tankless Water Heater
Woot-Off Flag: TRUE
[zero@Ares woot]$
you might be a programmer | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/10/2008 5:53:06 PM | as Donald Knuth once said
Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms...*pant* *pant*
Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms,Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms............ | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/12/2008 9:10:00 PM |
Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms...*pant* *pant*
Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms,Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms, Algorithms
That is meta-nerd! I love it. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/13/2008 11:49:36 AM | I started programming when I was 14. The list of languages I mastered or understand is too long to list. I currently have been out of programming professionally for a while but will be going back to get my degree when the dust settles in my life. But as a teenager I automated a Laboratory to the point we amazed the manufacturers of the hardware we used. We were at least 10 years ahead of everyone else.
Don't let anyone fool you. School gives you a base to be able to perform. It is up to you to see where you take it from there. A lot of the classes you took have nothing to do with computers but as in all college degrees the classes have to do with building a base for you to perform in business period and is a big reason why a lot of people get jobs that have nothing to do with their degree. You can become a programmer without going to school but you will not be very well rounded to handle what the business world has to offer. A lot of intangibles are involved as well. NOTHING can replace the importance of school for this stuff. Unless you happen to be a wiz bang programmer and wrote an awesome piece of freeware/shareware equal to none that someone is willing to take a chance on you for.
But as someone else has said, you can look up the syntax and all that. Generally when I program I have a number of books to use as reference with anything I am doing. The Microsoft Certifications are a good thing to have as well. Remember the intangibles are more important then the syntax. The syntax of the languages you can look up. Its the mind set you need to have as a programmer you can't really pull out of books. You should have learned that in school if you were paying attention. It is also why I always excel in the classes I have had about computers.
When you start out you will likely work with other programmers unless you freelance. I would suggest using them as a learning tool as best you can while you have them there.
If you write software by yourself one of the most important things is the user interface and making sure the program works as intended runs a close second. I learned my lesson by being screamed at by people who didn't want to have to use computers. They were afraid for their jobs. When I was 18 and automating the lab that I did, there were a couple labtechs that were afraid of the computers so they took ANY little bug there was and literally screamed in my ear how much of an idiot I was and all this because of a simple bug in the software that really didn't mean anything. It is very sobering to go home in tears and had my boss at the time not taken me to the side and offer support I would have likely left there with a bad taste in my mouth for computers. If you are in business programming it can be a whole lot simpler but don't assume because using the program is easy to you that everyone else sees it that way. You want to survey the people actually using it to see how it works for them.
I agree that you should also pay attention to the C stuff.. Most of your programs you use today to include the operating system as well are written in C. A majority of the languages out there have a basic beginning somewhere in C. So with that idea in mind it might be a good thing to also learn C++ and understand all the concepts. I would put most of my energy into learning those two languages inside and out. C++ is essentially C with alot of Object Orientated programming thrown in. If you do learn both you should make sure you understand how they are the same and how they are different. The majority of Languages out there today are very simple to understand if you master C/C++.
While you are going through this stuff you should do yourself a favor and start writing software on your own and use what you already know. It will not only build up your experience but you might catch someones eye . With the world of programmers out there and there being alot of them out there you need to differentiate yourself from them or you will end up stuck in a programmers pool with a bunch of average programmers making average programming money. Set yourself apart and you could start up the ladder further and go further.
Rodney | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/17/2008 8:14:54 PM | I do consider myself a programmer - now. I work with JavaScript, XML, CSS, C++, and a bit of Perl.
More specifically, I hack Mozilla code for a living. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/19/2008 6:46:18 AM | I've been programming since I was 8 (memory a bit fuzzy about that though). I prefer to work in C, though most people seem to want code in C++. Did lots of assembly in the 8 bit days and a small variety of other languages, Basic, Lisp, Cobol and others.
I'd agree C is the best thing to learn. C++ is C with more restrictions and extra potential for programmer mystification. C# (anything MS specific) is a dead end, one way street.
I work in games, PC and console, for Sony, EA, Codemasters that kind of place. I do contracting nowadys, pay is better that way. Generally the wages are good but there is a ceiling and the hours can be unecessarily long (through poor management). | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/19/2008 6:51:28 PM | I'm a "programmer" - I work with SQL & lower-level Java GUI. I dropped out of college because I couldn't make tuition, so I'm not a full-fledged programmer, but I want to go back & get my degree.
I agree C is a must to know - I would imagine at least 1 class is a requirement for any computer science curriculum, no matter what the main language is!
I am happy I took a few computer engineering classes as well - it's enlightening to realize the whole interaction between your keyboard input strokes & the volts & non-volts flowing through the hardware of your computer. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/24/2008 4:45:22 PM | | Programmers are pretty buff too since they can go down to the gym and pump lemmas all day long. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/27/2008 10:40:02 PM | I, too, am a developer/programmer.
My skill base is strictly the "dinosaur" of the IBM 3090 series, COBOL/CICS/SQL-DB2-JCL, etc.
I "piddle " in PHP, mySQL, Javascript hoping to add to my longevity..
Just recently laid off from a WONDERFUL company here in Kansas City after 3-months. Was so hoping to get hired on perm/FT.
??? Where are the female posters to this thread???
 | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/28/2008 4:12:53 AM | Speaking from experience at Uni we had 1 female in our whole department, now I'm teaching I have over 50 students and they are all male. And to think I fell for the image of software development as a veritable smorgasbord of women:)
I dabble in Java, SQL, Cocoa and the occasional bit of PHP for teaching. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/28/2008 3:00:00 PM | I do some programming at work; usually SQL or PL/SQL, but occasionally I get to do some Perl  . Other than what I do at work, I have also worked with/or dabbled in C++, JAVA, Python, BASH, ANTLR, and HTML. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/31/2008 2:39:41 AM | Since 1986 :) . Resume on the website
http://www.users.bigpond.com/pmurray
but it doesn't include the latest couple of contracts.
But if you are after programming help, there are plenty of other forums besides this dating site. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 12/31/2008 6:57:06 PM | This thread is old. I wonder how the OP is doing? Anyway, it looks like a perfect opportunity for shameless self-promotion.
I started programming with TRS-80 model 1’s using MS Level II BASIC… Bill Gates wasn’t a rich man back then.
Moved on to Z80 and 8080 Assembly and also some 6809 Assembly.
(Some people went the Apple II route (6502) over the TRS-80. It was like the Beta vs. VHS wars)
Then the IBM PC came out...
So I started programming in MS GWBASIC, MS QuickBASIC 4-6 and 8086 Assembly.
Also started programming PLC controllers using ladder logic... Allen Bradley SLC 100’s and newer Micrologix controllers.
I helped my wife (at the time) with her homework when she was taking COBOL in college.
I’ve written a few Lotus123 macro’s for data acquisition systems.
Did some time in dBase2/3 and then FoxPro2 database programming (FoxPro was so good Microsoft bought them out).
Then along came Windows… Visual Studio VB6/8, VC++, VFoxPro.
BASIC Stamps… they are a lot of fun to play with… with some added hardware, a quite capable micro-controller.
Various proprietary motion control system languages.
Acuity and Sherlock machine vision system languages.
I’m sure I’ve left some out, but they all start to run together after a while.
I’ve learned to read HTML enough to hack it. I know nothing of SQL, but I did learn to program the clock on my VCR so it doesn't flash 12:00 all the time! | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/20/2009 4:33:43 PM | I work in electronics which basically means I do a lot of embedded systems programming. If you don't know, an embedded system is a smaller electronic device. I work with C/C++, Assembler, VHDL (FPGA / Integrated Circuit programming) and I've encountered TCL script, Java Script, Visual Basic, Python, Java, and VB Scripting over the last 10 years.
School is the best place to learn how to program. Yes, you will learn a lot more on your own when you're working on larger projects. But, good schooling will give you a foundation, a stronger grasp of the fundamentals, a good introduction to process, and a good handle on what the lingo is. It's probably more important to be proficient in managing, testing, and developing code then every minor language under the sun. They are all fairly easily picked up when necessary. If you're not using them, you'll probably be relearning them anyway.
I consider myself a hack. We did very little programming in College, and my BASIC days in high school are long forgotten. My knowledge comes from reading, referencing other pieces of code, looking stuff up online, following the instruction of mentors, and editing until the compiler likes it. If you have the opportunity to learn programming in a structured way you should take advantage of it.
If you're looking for a quick and dirty intro to programming try the Python tutorial at Python.org | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/21/2009 3:50:27 AM |
C# (anything MS specific) is a dead end, one way street.
C# isn't microsoft specific, even the .Net stuff has it's compile paths for other operating systems (mono comes to mind). It's a great language with it's own pros and cons, just like C and C++, you also alike other languages have to learn it's strengths and weaknesses to be able to do anything fantastic with it. I've built pretty much the same game engine on C++ and C#, they run pretty much the same speed, but the C# variant is much easier to work with and a lot less complex though it's failing is how carefully you have to watch reference object creation/destruction, the garbage collector is very easy to tip over the edge when you get careless though when your careful it's a huge help. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/21/2009 5:33:59 AM | C# for the PS3? C# for the Wii? C# for Gameboy? C# for embedded systems? Only people who can't tell a computer from a Windows PC could think C# is a portable language.
It's a dead end because MS will eventually drop it, they will find a shiny new toy and push that instead. Their focus is to control, C#/.NET is their latest means of doing that. When IT takes a new direction, they will quitely forget .NET and C#.
Besides, if it wasn't MS specific, why would they create it? MS don't do altruistic. They aren't developing .NET for any other OS, and have no intention of supporting other systems. It's the cross platform language that only runs one platform.
Mono is a noble thing, but I wish they'd drop it. Every .NET supporter uses it, the single solitary example of .NET outside of Windows. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/21/2009 11:11:49 AM | | I picked up on C# a little more than a year ago after I had a good money making idea, and now I'm browsing online for help in C++ because I can't do the things I need to do in C#. I'm hoping to go back to college this fall to learn more and get a better grasp of it. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/21/2009 4:17:58 PM | There is no language that actually runs on every platform. C# doesn't have an interpreter for the PS3 or Wii - but I'd like to see you compile and run something written for those on a Windows PC too. Once you leave the console world, platform portability becomes a serious lacking in many languages - even the standardized stuff like C/C++ have to have different code to support GUIs on different environments. The only cross-platform GUI-capable stuff I know of is Java and several scripting languages - Python, Perl, Tcl/Tk, etc...
C# fills a need - which is an easy, powerful language for Windows. It's great for writing ASP.NET web applications as well, which could be considered cross-platform since the only client requirement is a browser. Or would you rather be writing ISAPI filters for all of your web-based stuff yet?
Yes, Mono is noble and probably over-used as an example. While it is getting better, it still isn't quite as good as the real .NET runtime. If I'm going to do something is C#, I pretty much assume that it's Windows-only. However, I'll still use the language because it is a good language. Sometimes you don't care as much about other platforms because they already have a good solution but there is no 'good' solution on Windows, or the app you're working on is targeted towards a specific group (say an internal app at work) that only uses a single platform anyways.
And yes, C# does work on embedded systems - Windows CE (pocket PC, smartphones, Zune, etc...) are all capable of running .NET applications on them. Maybe not the embedded systems you were thinking of, but it is an embedded environment that can be targeted by .NET. Though, for a hard real-time embedded system, I wouldn't touch any garbage collected language. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/21/2009 5:21:51 PM |
There is no language that actually runs on every platform.
True, though the C standard libraries and C++ stdlib work on every platform I mentioned. C has worked on every system I've used from the 16 bit days till now.
C# fills a need - which is an easy, powerful language for Windows.
I don't really have an issue with C# purely as a language, its the baggage that comes with it that I find is the problem.
If I'm going to do something is C#, I pretty much assume that it's Windows-only
That was my point. Like you say, if cross platform is not important, then C# is an answer. By going the C#/.NET route, you're restricting yourself to Window's only, internal app sort of work, and even these that depend on MS support to continue working in the future. That restricts your earning potential and your livelyhood depends on MS.
Besides, I think that knowing C (or occasionally using assembler) gives a far better idea of what a computer is actually doing, and that makes a better programmer.
C# does work on embedded systems - Windows CE (pocket PC, smartphones, Zune, etc...) are all capable of running .NET applications on them. Maybe not the embedded systems you were thinking of
No, those aren't what I'd consider embedded systems. I guess you're pretty clear on what I was really thinking of. | |
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_Rio_
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Joined: 1/20/2009
Msg: 45 | |
| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/24/2009 4:00:37 PM | I teach programming part-time at two colleges. Mostly web based languages and ActionScript (to the artsy types.. but I usually focus a lot on the code and scare them). | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 1/24/2009 11:52:25 PM |
Besides, I think that knowing C (or occasionally using assembler) gives a far better idea of what a computer is actually doing, and that makes a better programmer.
That's something I definitely won't argue against. Unless you know what's going on under the hood your product will slowly get more and more unmanageable until you end up having to start from the ground up or admit to your customers that's the extent of your ability.
XBox360 is another platform which supports C# to an extent, but admittedly the 360s interpreter really sucks at floating point math forcing most people that get serious about C# 360 development to work out their own compilers to incorporate some of the more advanced functionality of the 360 (like microcode and most importantly SSE optimizations). | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 2/4/2009 7:12:50 PM | | My advice ... get some good domain specific knowledge in addition to programming. Something you can get excited about. There are lot's of generic programmers out there, but you set yourself apart and open up your options with knowledge in a specific domain. | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 2/4/2009 9:39:45 PM | while (!Lux_Interior.isAProgrammer())
{
Lux_Interior.goToSchool();
Lux_Interior.readBooks();
Lux_Interior.getDegree();
} | |
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 2/5/2009 2:37:22 PM | I am studying Cert 4 IT (programming) stage1 - Java this year at Newcastle Tafe.
I think analysis will be the hardest subject because design and code flow from it... so have to account for all variables in analysis.
Hate to get to the code part and have to change lots of documentation in analsis and design to correspond with the code.
Goodluck lots of work to learn those studying
If your studying would love some advice on my subject later, thankyou
Also goodluck all in finding a partner.
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| Are there any programmers here?
Posted: 6/17/2009 11:03:51 PM | a female coding/hacking partner would be about the best thing ever.
it just might be better than sex, and then you could have that too.
i'm allowed to fantasize right? | |
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