With the growing scope of careers in programming, there is also a increasing number of prospective programmers . However majority of prospective programmers are unknown to the difficulties they will have to face in their path to become a great programmer. Generally, Some newbies think that they have become a good programmer just by writing some bunch of lines of codes and running it. This blog post is aimed at the novice programmers who want tips to be successful in this career of programming.
Note that I have mentioned programmers ,not software engineers or software developers or any other complex terms. When I mention programmer/or programming , i simply mean writing codes(instructions) to machines(computers) to make them work the way you want.So whether you are designing a classy web page , or you are developing a tool/app to (..um.. lets say.. ) play a music , or lets say you are writing a back-end , you are simply programming (because you have to write some codes) , So Programming is a generalized term (at least for me 🙂 ) . Anyway cutting these boring explanation, i will come to the point ,, JUST HOW TO BECOME A GREAT PROGRAMMER?? Here are few tips :-Â
Determine what you want to do :-
Ok, until now you probably have already decided on learning some “programming” , so the question for you is what do you want to do next? Know what you want to do. As I have mentioned Programming is more like generalized term for various different fields and those fields are different to each other . So you have to determine in which field you want to build your career. If you are more interested in creating a beautiful websites , you might not need to learn to mess with Unix System .
However If you are interested in creating different type of utility softwares , you might not need to play with those nasty little TAGS in html. So know what you want to do.. There are various options like :-Â
- Being a full fledged web developer specialized in building dynamic webpages and richer user interfaces
- Being a System level programmer to work with PC hardwares directly .
- Being a Back-End expert who is expert at creating secure and efficient server-side applications .
- Being a front-End expert who is expert at creating sleek GUIs for any type of softwares and web application.
- Being an Android App Developer (or IOS app developers) who works with creating applications for portable devices like smartphones.
There are more to be added. You might be easily overwhelmed by these various options . But don’t panic , This is your first step towards being a PROGRAMMER : to know what you want to do.
Choose Appropriate Programming language to start learning first :
You probably have done some research on programming before this and you must have been confused on which programming language to choose. As there are many languages in our world , in the same way there exists many languages in Computer World . It is to be noted that Computer only understands machine language like (0010011 ) , you need not understand this machine language unless you are an insane guy .(Trust me, you shouldn’t learn it ) .
Programming languages can be classified into Low Level Language and High Level Language. Low level languages (like machine language) are really hard for beginners and should not be used until you are fluent in some High Level Languages. High Level Languages consists of language which are human-friendly (easily interpreted by humans ). In the pool of High level languages , there are languages like C,C++,C#,Java,HTML,PHP,CSS etc .
The choice of programming language depends upon your aim and what you want to do. So briefly speaking if you want to dive into the field of web developing ,learn HTML first,then CSS ,then PHP and so on . If you want to enter the field of Software developing, you should start by learning C++ . You can start by learning java too. Remember the choice of language can play important role in your dream of becoming a great Programmer. If you want help on this matter,you may contact me . I will be more than happy to assist you 🙂 .
Learn the systematic way of solving problem :
Computers can perform calculations faster than us humans. However Computers are not smart. They are really dumb. They only do what you tell them to do. If you want to make Computers do your homework , you can’t just order them like “Do my homeworks”. You have to tell them how to do it step by step . Remember “Step by Step” . Lets say you want computers to add the numbers inputted by user ,at first you have to learn the simple steps required to do this task. The steps might be:
- Get 1st Input from User
- Get 2nd Input from User
- Add 1st and 2nd inputs
- Display the results
Remember that these steps can further be broken into steps . Step 1 can further be broken in following steps
- Prompt User to input a number
- Wait for user to input the number
- After user has finished inputting the number, store that somewhere and get ready for next instructions
In this way a simple program might have many simpler steps. So a good programmer should try to think of the solution to the problems in the same way. If you develop this skill , you will indeed be a great programmer
Develop your patience :
Suppose you and your girlfriend(boyfriend for girls 😉 ) have planned a date in a place, You reached the place on time but your partner is not there. You are left there waiting and waiting for hours. If you can wait for him/her for hours without being angry , you will most probably do good in programming.
Programming requires patience and devotion. A simple error may puzzle you for hours or worse for weeks . So don’t let those simple errors to break your patience . Don’t get frustrated over your code not working the way you want even after you have tried harder for it for long period of time. Think calmly and relax, this is what programming is. If you fall into the category of people who throw TVs and Desktops because of just being frustrated over a cat , you are not eligible to learn programming as programming may frustrates you more than that noob partner in Counter Strike game.
Use your Information Gathering Ability to its finest:
You might encounter many problems in your path to be a programmer(great one 😉 ) . Either it can be nasty alien-ish compiler errors and message or it can be logical error with your “creation” . In any type of problem ,you won’t get solution right away . If you are self-studying , this is more than a problem.
Thus to find solutions,you need to develop your ability to gather information from vast ocean called “World Wide Web”. “World wide web” can be the solution to your annoying error messages. So learn to use them fine. With vastness ,there comes the difficulty 😀 😀 .. Although WWW can be your great source of information,you may easily get confused about the information it presents. So in the end,Hit and Trial method is your only solution. Learn to use google effectively, you may find it easier to learn programming.
Thats all, The ultimate technique for mastering programming is your willpower. Don’t get hopeless. Just keep on learning new things, you will be great programmer yearning for more.. Good Luck..
P.S.: If you want to learn programming you may find these sites useful:
and ultimately : YOUR FAVOURITE SEARCH ENGINE