How to become a Computer Programmer

Computer programming, also known as programming, coding, or software development (there are subtle differences between each term), is the process of “writing instructions that a computer can execute”.

As an example:

If you’ve ever written code in a mainstream programming language like: BASIC, Pascal, C, Java, JavaScript, or PHP, you’ve definitely been inaugurated into the world of computer programming.

Why is Programming necessary ?

Programming is needed because computers are not very smart. Without someone telling them what to do, they are nothing more than a hunk of hardware & some flashing lights. Software is what runs on top of the hardware.

A computer program, also known as an application, or computer software, is a “collection of instructions or code” written by one or more programmers & then executed on computers. The code can be written in any one of a number of programming languages, such as C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, PHP, etc. 

The computers that this software runs on can be desktop computers internal to a company, external customer computers, web servers, or other lesser-known specialized computers that run in cars, and microwave. Microsoft Word, and the entire office suite, is a program that runs on many of our desktop (or laptop) computers.

Being a Programmer is not just about writing code

Software Development, is an umbrella term that encompasses the process of “going from concept to finished product”. 

While programming is the act of typing instructions, software development is the entire act of creating software, with a multitude of tasks, including:

• Speaking with potential users of your software to generate new feature ideas.

• Writing spec documents to describe how software will function or work.

• Discussing features and design approaches with other programmers.

• Writing code (i.e. programming).

• Writing tests.

• Testing your code.

• Fixing bugs (or errors occurred).

• Preparing software for release.

• Releasing it to a production environment or to manufacturing, where it will be distributed to its users. And etc.

Advantages of becoming a Programmer….

You can easily acquire:

• Jobs

• Hard skills

• High paying

• Flexible

• Challenging requirements

• The Act of Creation

• Constantly updation of skills

Sources for expanding your Programming knowledge

• Learn while doing

• Books

• Online

• A Software Apprenticeship

• College

• Tech school

Different Programming languages that are used

• Desktop Application Programming languages like: C, C++, C#, VB.NET, JAVA.

• Web Application Programming languages like: ASP.NET, PHP,  JAVA.

• Advanced modeling techniques like: UML or ORM.

How to become a Computer  programmer ?

• Learn, Learn, Learn

An introductory level course in digital circuits design & another in computer architecture is useful;  so reading two or three tutorial articles suffice. Then go back to learning your first programming language.

• Transition into concepts

              Being a good programmer begins with learning logic concepts and language syntax; they are much easier to understand when taken together.  What make a good programmer is not knowledge of each language, but keen desire to understand and refine concepts.

• Try to be more than a programmer “an Engineer”

                       Nowadays, what is needed, and what you should be, is an “engineer.” Programming should be taught, but only as a facet of software engineering:

• Learn how to gather requirements.

• Learn how to design a system based on the requirements, and look for design patterns, such as n-tier, MVC, etc.

• Write your code so that it is testable and maintainable. 

• Learn to WRITE TESTS!! 

• Learn to refactor.

 Honestly, programming should be about half of what an engineer does.