Start Over Coder

Think Like A Programmer by V. Anton Spraul aims to teach the fundamentals of computer programming. It’s not perfect, but it offers some great takeaways for anyone learning to code.

In the book Spraul breaks down how to go about solving a problem step-by-step, covering fundamental topics like arrays, pointers, dynamic memory, classes, and recursion. Each topic comes with code snippets written in C++, and the chapters conclude with a list of exercises you can do on your own to make sure the information sticks.

The key takeaways were:

This episode was originally published 25 July, 2017.

Learning to code while working full time is a huge undertaking. Here are some strategies to help you get there.

The main 2 requirements are:

With these things squared away, you can try the following strategies:

If you’re a parent, all is not lost! Here are a few of the articles I mentioned about other parents who have learned to code with young kids in tow:

In the end, you may find that you just don’t want to spend the little free time you have learning how to code, no matter how much you may want to know how to code. And that’s ok! This is where being clear on your goals will help you figure out how much pressure to put on yourself.

This episode was originally published 18 July, 2017.

Finally starting to understand backend programming and how it all comes together with the front end! Since it’s still pretty new to me, here’s an explanation in the simplest terms possible.

If you missed episode 20 you can go back and listen to my first introduction to the backend..it was a major FAIL!

So why is the backend necessary? It basically comes down to what your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) can and can’t do. It can process HTML to put content on the page. It can process CSS to style the content and make it look interesting. And it can process JavaScript to make things a little bit more dynamic.

What it can’t do is process information from the user in a permanent way (like if they fill out a form for example), or pull existing information from a database (like if you want their name, photos, or personalized content to show). That’s where the server comes in. The server can process all of this information (and more) and then translate it into the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that your browser can understand.

Backend frameworks give you the ability to host a server on your local computer. The most popular frameworks (for the time being) are Node.js for JavaScript, Rails for Ruby, Django and Flash for Python, and Laravel for PHP. Of course there are many more frameworks for each of these languages, as well as other frameworks for other programming languages.

With these frameworks installed, you can start writing instructions to the server about what to do when people visit your site. For example, if they fill out a form, where to send the information! Or if they want to look through some pictures, which pictures should be displayed!

With JavaScript backend programming, Express is a popular framework that accomplishes these tasks in conjunction with Node and npm packages. Much of the code to build a dynamic website has already been written, it’s just a matter of finding what will work best for your project and getting everything to work together.

Now that I’ve gained a proper understanding of the backend, there are many related topics to come in future episodes!

This episode was originally published 11 July, 2017.

With an endless list of programming languages and topics to try & master, it can be tempting to try to learn more than one language at a time. In this episode I explain why I think that’s a bad idea!

This episode was originally published 5 July, 2017.

I attended a massively interesting* talk last week by some developers at Disney, talking about how they use code to build the amazing worlds and characters in their films. From Wall-E to Moana to Star Wars, the developers at Pixar, Disney Animation Studios, and Industrial Light & Magic (LucasFilm) play a big role in creating some awesome movies!

Besides seeing how cool their work and jobs are, I learned that for new developers, working at this level is many, many years away, and probably not a career path to focus on with a quicker transition in mind. Regardless, it was fascinating to learn about a new facet of programming and meet some cool people in the process.

PS* - this is a great episode if you like the word ‘interesting,’ apparently I love it! ;P

This episode was originally published 28 June, 2017.

When learning to code, it’s important to jump into the deep end every now and then to keep leveling up. Unfortunately it didn’t work out in my favor when I gave a go to Node.js!

The workshop I attended was a purposeful break from my learning plan.

I’d love to include a clear & concise definition of Node.js here (intended for total newbies), but I still haven’t found one! If you know of a good one please leave a comment below. Otherwise, here are some of the resources I found which provide a bit of context:

If you want to give Node.js a try here are some links:

This episode was originally published 21 June, 2017.

Even when we know in theory that there are many ways to solve a problem, living with this fact in the context of programming has been a big lesson this week.

This week I discovered two great (and free!) resources for learning to code. The Learn To Code With Me podcast is a great thought starter and source of inspiration. And did you know you can access Lynda.com courses for free!?

This episode was originally published 7 June, 2017.

Breaking down a problem into smaller steps is a great start, but it’s not enough! This week I’m talking about what more can be done to accomplish a goal, whether that goal is some tricky algorithm scripting or changing careers.

To see a visual of the Mario exercise, visit this episode's show notes.

This episode was originally published 31 May, 2017.

Continuing the Learn To Code series, today’s episode is all about mobile apps.

This episode was originally published 24 May, 2017.