To all the programmers out there.

hi there all :)

I will be writing my n+ in the next month.

After passing that (im sure I will) I want to broaden my mind a little bit.

http://www.intec.edu.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=62

Seeing as though I am working I cant go and study full time so I will have to do correspondance.

Would it be beneficial for me to lean towards programming?

I did abit of Java in high school but thats about it.

EDIT: Well I think an introductory course to programming will be beneficial, it will tel me whther it is for me and give me a fell into what language I would like to go http://www.intec.edu.za/courses/K-08...o-programming/

I always see c# jobs at about triple my current salary.

What does every suggest I try to obtain?

If you arent into programming you are more than welcome to give your view on this.

a MCSE , security + is also in the pipeline.

I would also very much love to get into the *nix part of things.

Please give me your opinions.

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Would it be beneficial for me to lean towards programming?

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No...................you can buy code monkeys in India for less than it is worth waking up for.

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I did abit of Java in high school but thats about it.

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Yeah........... I found Benzedrine sulphate more "inspirational" :cool:

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I always see c# jobs at about triple my current salary.

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Recruitment agencies are like real estate agencies............ congenital liars;)

MCSE might well have credence in your part of the World?

Hey Nihil

Thanks for your advice as always.


MCSE is getting old isnt it :P

The salarys are straight from companies, this is not through a recruitment agency.

Well, you have to learn it first and you can bet that they only offer good money to experienced people. Getting that experience is the hard part.

Basically tier 1 helpdesk and telesales are right at the bottom of the foodchain.

The problem with going into programming is it will be an uphill struggle when you didn't start out doing it and are working full-time on something quite different.

I would say analysis, design, infrastructure support/management and project management are better fields to look at, as they demand a local presence, whereas code can be cut anywhere at any time.

Just do a Google search on C# programmers and you will see that India, China and Russia are all offering offshore development facilities.

Apart from web development, programming is actually a lot rarer than it was in my day. Most stuff is satisfied by package solutions these days.

I agree with Nihil. If you are very fresh and have never done programming before then you might want to think on that. If you become a programmer and want to work on the security then I guess application security would be your only option. AFAIK when it comes to application security, the first thing that comes to my mind is secure code (which is a broad term) and cryptography (which always has a good learning curve).

If you like databases then you should look into becoming a DBA, they are paid well.

And if you sole interest is security then *nix sys admins is the job for you but not that of a good pay.

knowing a language or at least basic programing models will always help.

I've always liked visual basic and Java. Transact SQL is a must! I don't care what you are programing, from a enterprise widget to a mom pop web site, there will be a database behind the app.

AJAX, dot net, C# meh. most of the stuff I do does not require that much power. (For lack of a better term)

C, C++ sorry but you need to know the basics. But then again I know RPG and COBOL

I think Billy Gates said it best. If you want to be a good programmer, read other peoples code. That was from his days of dumpster diving. Today, as far as I'm concerned, it's all been written before.

w3schools.com is a wonderful place to try new things and see if you like. I live on devguru.com

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by dinowuff

C, C++ sorry but you need to know the basics. But then again I know RPG and COBOL

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I don't know if I'd completely agree with that. C doesn't actually require the need to understand pointers, structures, and system calls (etc), and if you start out doing command-line software, studying C isn't actually difficult, does help you learn the basics, and can help familiarize you with the CLI in the meantime.

Then once you get a grasp of what's going on doing simple things in C, you don't have to learn a new language to start doing advanced programming with hardware and whatnot.

well,

I would say analysis, design, infrastructure support/management and project management are better fields to look at, as they demand a local presence, whereas code can be cut anywhere at any time.

Just do a Google search on C# programmers and you will see that India, China and Russia are all offering offshore development facilities
for any thins else :
http://www.techyv.com/questions/what...al-programming

I'm starting with assembly language. Honestly I think once I understand a low level machine code I can breeze through the high level stuff.

If you're going to start with assembly language, I would start with something like MIPS instead of x86, as it is a reduced instruction set architecture and is easier to get the basics. Also, using the MARS simulator tends to be easier to get started with than using an x86 assembler and having to learn to deal with all the syscalls at the same time. ;)

Got any good books on MIPS?

Since I'm not a Programmer, I think I might add some form of insight here; I'm not by any means a true Programmer, but, I do know, and think, that you should know some form of Coding.

What I mean is, you should learn something that will benefit you not just from a job, but something you can actually use in a day to day kind of thing.

For example, I use Unix a lot; Not just Linux, but BSD, which, from a technical AND Historic point of view, has more rights than System VII to be called Unix in the first place, and my views on OSs aside, it's very beneficial to know Perl, as you can do a lot of work with Perl on any Unix out there, be it Linux, Unix / BSD, and so on.

I can say almost the exact same thing for Python and Ruby. And Ruby on Rails, again, is the same. I see it all the time.

Someone else brought up the Database idea as well, and SQL is something you should aim for having at least a basic understanding of.

I don't think of HTML as a Programming Language at all, and I've gotten into Arguments before because I referred to it as a Glorified Web Browser Configuration thing. I know HTML and I can do Web Design, but I don't even remotely consider it Programming.

If I could choose languages I could just "learn" without trying though, I'd choose C, Assembler, and then Perl / Python / Ruby and Maybe Java.

So for whatever it might be worth, this is my list of good to know ****:

C
Assembler
Java
Perl
Python
Ruby

And then, Shell Scripting for Multiple Shells is also nice. Everyone who uses a form of Unix seems to have their thoughts on what Shells / Environments they want to use, and I too, am very opinionated on that as well, because well, Linux comes with Bash as the default Shell, and BSD uses Csh as the default, which is actually TCsh, and then some people like Korn Shell (ksh) and then there's me, who installs Zsh on everything I use.

I've got BSD on my Laptop, and a Desktop, and I use Zsh on both, and, I also use it on my Linux machines. Zsh is my favorite Shell. It can understand everything Bash can, AND it can handle Korn Shell stuff.

Just a tad off topic here. I was looking for something to use to teach my 10 year old programing. Now I remember Atari BASIC and the IMB and M$ BASIC. Those were great programs to learn on. Simple logic, loops, whatnot.

I think I'm going to see if I can run BASIC on 64 bit Windows. I need to find a copy of DOS 6.11 and a 3.5" drive. Unless it's downloadable from technet. Off to google.

Then this maybe of interest.
How to install DOS 6.11 and Windows 3.1 in VMWare
http://technologyplusblog.com/2012/c...3-1-in-vmware/

NICE Thanks

I don't know if you've ever heard of Liberty Basic, but it's made for more current systems, and is mostly compatible with old BASIC code, but you may have to make some minor changes to existing code (although it seems your child is just starting out, so you won't need to worry about that). I started on it when I was around 10 years old. It also has a wonderful online community that helps newer users get started. It currently only runs on windows (and wine for linux), but I believe they're working on native mac and linux versions.

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Originally Posted by chaosclown

Got any good books on MIPS?

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http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Organ.../dp/0123744938

this is the book I used when learning MIPS (it was the book used at our university), however it also contains a lot of information on the inner workings of computers in order to help you understand HOW the processor works, which usually results in a better programmer. I'm not sure if you want something that in depth though. And yes, it's a text book. But I usually find those are the best for learning something, at least for me.

My reason for learning assembly language was to get a better understanding of the way computers work so the more information the better. I love textbooks, i dont have to make up a problem i dont understand they do that for you.

There was a BASIC interpreter we used for "Into to Computers" I slept through in college. It ran on XP, which is sort of new enough I suspect you could get it rolling on a 64 bit OS, and with Windows 7's Ability to run crap from years ago, it would probably work.

I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was either QBASIC, or based ON that one. If you check Wikipedia for BASIC I'm pretty sure they had something on ways to use it today, which would link you to whatever still works.

Wikipedia needs at least SOME use.