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→How to become a professional developer
==How to become a professional developer==
== Steps ==
#'''Prepare yourself for becoming a programmer:'''<ref>[http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Careers/10-Programming-Languages-You-Should-Learn-Right-Now/ Ten Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now]</ref><br><br>
##Take an introductory course in logic, discrete mathematics or both.
##Learn at least one of the following program conception techniques. As you advance in programming you may find them useful. <br><br>
##*Flow Charting (globally considered the easiest to learn)
##*Pseudo-Code
##*Unified Modeling Language (UML)<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Modeling_Language Wikipedia - Unified Modeling Language]</ref>
##*Object Relational Mapping (ORM)<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-relational_mapping Wikipedia - Object Relational Mapping]</ref>
## Learn database concepts such as tables, views/queries and procedures. You can use any simple database package to do this, such as MS access, DB V, Fox Pro, Paradox. MySQL is a particularly good database to learn because it's free, commonly used, and databases are commonly accessed with SQL queries.
##Learn about programming paradigms<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_paradigm Wikipedia - Programming Paradigms]</ref> (an introduction is enough for now), the most important being procedural,<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_programming Wikipedia - Procedural Programming]</ref> object oriented,<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming Wikipedia - Object Oriented Programming]</ref> functional,<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_programming Wikipedia - Functional Programming]</ref> logic<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_programming Wikipedia - Logic Programming]</ref> and declarative<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarative_programming Wikipedia - Declarative Programming]</ref> programming.
#'''Decide what type of programmer you are/want to be.''' Programmers generally fall under one of the following categories:<br><br>
#*[[Become a Professional Web Designer and Programmer|Web Programmer]]
#*Desktop Application Programmer<br><br>
#**[[Pick an Operating System|Operating System]] (OS) Oriented (tied to a single operating system or set of operating systems)
#**Platform Independent
#*Distributed Applications Programmer
#*Library/Platform/Framework/Core Programmer
#*System Programmer<br><br>
#**Kernel Programmer
#**Driver Programmer
#**Compiler Programmer
#*[[Become a Computer Scientist|Programming Scientist]]
#'''Learn the technologies and programming languages related to your programming field of choice.''' The following sections break down the tasks for different types of programming.
=== Web Programmers ===
[[Image:BecomeAProgrammer04_860.JPG|thumb|Web applications reside in a [[Run A Webserver From Your Computer|web server]] and are accessed via a web browser]]Web applications are software components designed to work on top of the internet architecture. This means that the applications is accessed through a web browser software such as [[Use Mozilla Firefox|Firefox]] or [[Upgrade to Internet Explorer 7|Internet Explorer]]. Being built on top of the Internet architecture does not necessarily require an active connection to the internet. It means that web applications are built on top of standard web technologies such as [[Wikipedia:HTTP|HTTP]], [[Wikipedia:FTP|FTP]], [[Wikipedia:POP3|POP3]], [[Wikipedia:SMTP|SMTP]], [[Wikipedia:TCP|TCP]], and [[Wikipedia:IP|IP]] protocols, [[Wikipedia:HTML|HTML]], [[Wikipedia:XML|XML]], [[Wikipedia:Coldfusion|Coldfusion]], [[Wikipedia:Active_Server_Pages|ASP]], [[Wikipedia:JavaServer_Pages|JSP]], [[Wikipedia:PHP|PHP]] and [[Wikipedia:ASP.NET|ASP.NET]] languages along with many other web technologies. Corporate intranets are examples of web applications that might not require an active internet connection.
#[[Browse the Internet Anonymously|Browse]] many diverse websites to learn about how they usually look like. (right click, then click view source) The diversity meant is in the type/content of the website not the quantity of websites visited. Generally, you will need to visit at least one site belonging to each of the following types of websites:
#*Corporate Presence Sites (Commercial corporate, Not-for-profit corporate/organization, Governmental organization)
#*Web Indexing Engines (Search Engine, Meta Search Site, Specialized Search Engines, Directories)
#*Data Mining Sites
#*Personal Sites
#*Informational/Encyclopedic Pages (Wikis, Data Sheets, Technical Specification, and Manuals Listing Directories, Blogs and Journals, News and News Agencies Sites, Yellow Pages)
#*Social Sites (Social Portals, Bookmarking Sites, Note Taking Sites)
#*Collaborative Sites (this includes other categories mentioned above like wikis and blogs)
#Learn at least one [[Brainstorm|brainstorming]] technique/method and a software that is used to implement that method (for example: brainstorming diagrams and MS Visio)
#Get familiar with [[Make Efficient Navigation Structure in Your Website|website structuring]] (creating conceptual web diagrams, site-maps, and navigation structures).
#Take a crash course on graphics design and learn at least one graphics editing/manipulation software package (this is optional but strongly recommended)
#Learn the basics of the internet infrastructure. This includes getting a basic idea about:
#*Base web services protocols (HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and POP3 or IMAP4)
#*[[Run A Webserver From Your Computer|Web server]] software (preferably, one for the platform you will be working on mostly)
#*Web [[Use Tabbed Browsing|browsing]] software.
#*[[Change Your Microsoft Office Incoming Mail Server|Email server]] and client software
#Learn the HTML and CSS languages, along with some "what you see is what you get([[Make a Website Using a Web Editing Program|WYSIWYG]])" software package for editing HTML.
#Learn XML and XML related technologies such as XSL and XPath (optional but recommended)
#Create simple static websites until you are familiar with and comfortable around [[Learn HTML|HTML]]
#Learn a client-side scripting language (most users either learn [[Use an Array Class in JavaScript|Javascript]] or [[Program with VBScript|VBScript]], but some learn [[Learn Perl|Perl]] or another language instead) and DHTML
#Familiarize yourself with the client side scripting language you learned. Try to reach your potential using only that language. Only go to the next step after you've at least become familiar with your client-side scripting language
#Learn at least one server side programming language. If you choose to restrict yourself to one server software, learn one of the programming languages supported by that software. If not, learn at least one programming language on each server software.
#[[Establish an IT Project|Create a pilot project]] for yourself after you finish learning the server-side programming language.
#[[Create a Free Website|Obtain your own website]] and start experimenting online within your own page.
[[Image:BecomeAProgrammer05_878.JPG|thumb|Desktop applications do not require a browser and work on their own. The browser program itself is a desktop application]]
=== Desktop Application Programmers ===
Most desktop programmers write code for business solutions, so getting an idea about businesses, their organizational and financial structure will be a big [[Manage Your Time|time saver]].
#Learn about the different [[Install Computer Hardware|computer hardware]] architectures. An introductory level course in [[Wikipedia:Digital_electronics|digital circuits]] design and another in [[Wikipedia:Computer_hardware|computer architecture]] is useful, however, some see it as being advanced for a starting point, so reading two or three tutorial articles [http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_4/index.html] [http://www.hobbyprojects.com/digital_circuits.html] might suffice, then you can go back to this step later, after you learn your first programming language.
#Learn an entry level (kids) [[Learn a Programming Language|programming language]]<ref>[http://phrogram.com/kpl.aspx Kids Programming Language and Phrogram Home]</ref>. Don't be shy to learn such a language just because you're older than being called a "kid". These programming languages can ease up the pain in learning your first programming language tremendously. However, this step is optional. It can also be done before the preceding step
#Get an introduction to the [[Wikipedia:Procedural_programming|procedural]], [[Wikipedia:Object-oriented_programming|object oriented]], and [[Wikipedia:Functional_programming|functional]] [[Wikipedia:Programming_paradigm|programming paradigms]].
#Take an introductory course in one of the [[Wikipedia:Procedural_programming#Procedural_programming_languages|procedural programming languages]]. No matter what language you choose later to be your language of choice, it will require procedural programming at some level. Also, procedural programming is reported by most programmers to be the easiest to use as a starting point to get the idea of programming in general.
#Learn at least one advanced modeling technique such as UML or ORM.
#Start writing some small console or console-like applications (you can make use of common small exercises in programming languages books). For this, choose a tool for writing programs in the programming language you are writing in.
#Take a more advanced course in the programming language you choose in 1. Make sure you understand the following concepts well and that you can apply them with relative ease before going forward:
#*Inputting and outputting information to users of a program.
#*The logical flow and the execution flow of programs in procedural languages.
#*Declaring, assigning and comparing variables.
#*Branching programming constructs such as if..then..else and select/switch..case.
#*Looping constructs such as while..do, do..while/until, for..next.
#*Your programming language syntax for creating and calling procedures and functions.
#*Data types and manipulating them.
#*User defined data types (records/structs/units) and their use.
#*If your language supports [[Wikipedia:Method_overloading|overloading functions]], understand it.
#*The memory accessing methods of your language of choice ([[Create Pointers in C|pointers]], peeking..etc)
#*If your language supports [[Wikipedia:Operator_overloading|operators overloading]], understand it.
#*If your language supports delegates/function pointers, understand it
#Apply the advanced techniques you learned.
#Take an introductory course in at least one more [[Learn a Programming Language|programming language]] in another programming paradigm, preferably one of the following paradigms (it is recommended to learn one programming language of each paradigm, and most advanced programmers do, however, you usually start with one, work for a while applying your knowledge and practicing it, then learn the other later on, after you already had a real-life experience in programming).
#*Object oriented paradigm.
#*Logic programming paradigm.
#*Functional programming paradigm.
#Try to compare the two programming languages you learned so far to see the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Usually this is done by:
#*Taking simple samples of your early work in the first programming language and re-write it using the second programming language.
#*Creating a new project and try implementing it using both languages. Sometimes, depending on your choice of project and languages, you might not be able to implement the project in one of the languages!
#*Writing a cheat-sheet or summary-table comparisons between similar constructs in the two languages and features unique to each of the languages.
#*Try finding ways to mimic features that is unique to one of the two languages using the other language.
#Learn [[Program in Visual Basic|visual]] programming concepts using one of the languages you learned (almost all programming languages have versions/libraries that support visual programming and others supporting console or console-like programming). This can be accomplished by:
#*Get an introduction to event driven programming. Most visual programming relies in some level on events and events handling (using the programming language you choose)
#*Try as many desktop software as you can and understand what the software does. Most software development companies offer beta-testing versions of their products which you can use to test the software. Keep up to date on user interface advancements.
#*Read some articles or tutorials on graphical user interfaces.
#Start applying your knowledge on small software projects you design. Try applying your programming expertise on problems you face in your day-to-day life. For example, write programs that rename files in mass, compares text files visually, copies the names of files in a directory to memory/text file, and things like that. Keep it simple at first.
#Create a virtual ''graduation project'' which you should complete to the end, applying the techniques of visual programming you learned so far.
#Widen your understanding of the visual framework/library/package you learned before by taking advanced courses, paying extra attention to detail and learning more tips and tricks for your framework from online resources.
#Search for other packages/libraries of visual elements for your programming languages and learn them.
#Taking a course in [[Use Graphics in a Java Applet|graphics]] (not graphics design) will be very helpful for programmers welling to write appealing user interface elements.
#[[Create a Game|Game]] programming is considered, in most of its parts, desktop programming. If you intend to become a games programmer, you will need to learn more about game programming after you finish these steps. A graphics course is a must for game programmers and the second language of choice in the preceding steps should be a logic/functional programming language (preferably Prolog or Lisp).
[[Image:BecomingAProgrammer01_639.jpg|thumb|Distributed applications use services and serviced components to ''distribute'' the workload of a big computing task]]
=== Distributed Applications Programmers ===
[[WikiPedia:Distributed_application|Distributed application]] programming is considered by many to be one of the hardest to learn and requires diverse knowledge in computer and communication technologies.
#Take a speed introduction to [[Wikipedia:Telephony|telephony]] systems and their hardware. This step is optional. However, it is very useful in understanding network topologies.
#Familiarize yourself with networking hardware architectures and devices such as hubs, switches and routers.
#Take a course in networking protocols and essentials. You need a good understanding of the [[Wikipedia:Open_Systems_Interconnection|Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)]] model, Ethernet, IP, TCP, [[Wikipedia:User_Datagram_Protocol|UDP]] and HTTP before you start programming distributed applications.
#Learn the XML language and familiarize yourself with it.
#Do step 2 and 3 in "prepare yourself for desktop application programming"
#Start by learning a shell scripting language. For Windows based programming, that would be any script that works with Windows Scripting Host. For Linux based programming, Bash scripts and Perl will be sufficient. [[Create Javascript Conditional Operators|Javascript]] is strongly recommended for this in both platforms for the following reasons:
#*It is supported by almost any scripting host in any operating system (Windows Scripting Host supports javascript by default, most Linux distributions has a package for javascript scripting console support).
#*It is considered to be easier to learn by many developers.
#*It has an ALGOL derived syntax which familiarizes you with much more other programming languages when you need to choose a second programming language ([[Learn to Program in C|C]], [[Create a Simple Program in C++|C++]], [[Get Started Programming in C Sharp|C#]], [[Program in Java|Java]] and J# all have ALGOL derived syntax)
#*By learning javascript, you familiarize yourself with client-side scripting of web pages which is a bonus side-effect!
#Apply only procedural programming using your scripting language of choice at first. Later, you can use more advanced programming techniques and paradigms according to your scripting language and what it supports. All scripting languages has some procedural programming aspects at some level.
#Use the scripting language you learned to write scripts that perform communications between machines. Learn what is necessary for doing that. Simple communications will suffice.
#Make a transfer to a desktop scripting/programming language. Preferably, one that is a multi-paradigm language such as [[Start Programming in Python|Python]]. Take a simple introduction to that second language. Java is considered by most programmers to be the language of choice for many reasons. However C# is gaining momentum fast in this field. Java and C# are preferred for the following reasons:
#*They are [[Understand Object Oriented Programming|object oriented]] programming languages which shields programmers in large teams from implementation details as they both supports components (units of code, pre-compiled, that perform a certain task and can be used in other programs)
#*They support [[Create an Event for a C Sharp Class|event]] driven programming as well as OO and procedural programming at some level.
#*The framework that the language is built upon is distributed by nature (in the case of Java).
#*The availability of many ready-made packages that deal with [[Network|network]]ing both as [[Contribute to Open Source|open source]] code and framework built-in packages; makes it easier for programmers to build upon the work of others.
#[[Concentrate on Studies|Concentrate]] more on the core features of the language, especially those supporting networking. Pay less attention to [[Create a Swing GUI in Java|user interface]] elements such as outputting, window design and techniques, and user interface elements.
#Take a course on distributed applications design and architectures. This can be done using books, online tutorials or academic courses. However, understanding the architecture of distributed applications and its concepts is necessary.
#Learn about building serviced components and [[Wikipedia:Windows_service|services]] using your programming language of choice.
#Learn one or more of the following technologies. It is recommended that you get at least an introduction to all of them. Most distributed application programmers do not stop at one or two programming languages, but learn at least one programming language on each operating system. That is because if you want your application to be "distributed", you should provide a version of it at least for each major operating system.
#*Common Object Request Broker Architecture ([[Wikipedia:Common_Object_Request_Broker_Architecture|CORBA]])
#*Simple Object Access Protocol ([[Wikipedia:SOAP|SOAP]])
#*'''A'''synchronous '''J'''avaScript '''a'''nd '''X'''ML ([[Wikipedia:Ajax_(programming)|AJAX]])
#*Distributed Component Object Model ([[Wikipedia:Distributed_Component_Object_Model|DCOM]])
#*[[Wikipedia:.NET_Remoting|.NET Remoting]]
#*[[Wikipedia:Web_service|XML Web Services]]
=== Library/Platform/Framework/Core Programmers ===
Core programmers are merely advanced programmers who made the transfer from programming applications to programming code units to be used by other programmers.
#Learn a programming language that supports building reusable components/packages if you have not done so already in 1.
#Take an advanced course in UML and ORM. Most library developers use one or both of them.
#Take a course in [[Become a Software Engineer|software engineering]].
#Learn at least modular, component-based, object oriented, and event-driven programming techniques and concepts. The more programming paradigms and languages you cover the more successful you become as a library/package programmer.
#Learn more about the different [[Make a Computer Operating System|operating systems]] and programming frameworks supported by these operating systems.
#Focus your learning efforts on platform-independent frameworks, programming languages and technologies.
#If the programming languages you learned so far have [[Wikipedia:American_National_Standards_Institute|ANSI]]/[[Wikipedia:International_Organization_for_Standardization|ISO]]/[[Wikipedia:Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers|IEEE]]/[[Wikipedia:World_Wide_Web_Consortium|W3C]] standard versions, master the standards. Try to use standard code whenever possible.
#Try to mimic simple, already established [[Find Headers and Libraries for C/C++ Programs Using Pkg Config|libraries]], especially open-source ones. This is useful during the early phase of becoming a library/package programmer. Start with simple packages like units conversion and intermediate scientific calculations packages. If you are a collage student, make use of your non-programming courses by trying to implement their equations and scientific core as libraries.
#Search for and try open-source packages in your field of programming. First download binaries/executables of the package. Try to use it and find its strong and weak points. After you've done that, download the source and try to figure out how it was done. Try to recreate those libraries or parts of them. At first do that after you've seen the code and later before you see the code. At later phases, try improving those libraries.
#Learn the different approaches used to distribute and deploy components to programmers
#Usually, library/package programmers tend to think recursively and/or iteratively of all problems they are presented with. Try to think of each problem as a collection of smaller problems (a sequence of simpler tasks) or as a repeated process of reducing the problem's scope to smaller scopes and then piling those scopes upon each other.
#Library/package programmers tend to generalize. That is, when presented with a simple specific problem, they usually think of a more general problem and try to solve that general problem which will automatically solve the smaller one.
=== System Programmers ===
Programming scientists deal with ''the science'' of programming not the specific implementations of it. Do not tie yourself to a specific platform.
#Follow the first three steps for Desktop Applications Programmers.
#Take an introductory course in [[Understand Linear Equations (in Algebra)|Linear Algebra]].
#Take a course in [[Take Derivatives in Calculus|Calculus]].
#Take a course in Logic and/or Discrete Mathematics.
#Introduce yourself to different bare operating systems. This can be done by:
#*Getting an idea on how operating systems are installed.
#*Learning how to [[Run Multiple Operating Systems Concurrently Using VMware|install different operating systems]] on one PC(This is optional but recommended).
#*Installing more than one operating system. Do not install any helping packages on the systems, use the bare functionalities provided by the operating systems.
#Take a course(or alternatively read books) on computer hardware architecture.
#Develop an understanding of the different computer hardware platforms.
#Get an introductory familiarization with the [[Start Programming in Assembly|assembly language]] of the hardware platform/operating system of choice (you will later learn the assembly of other platforms/systems)
#Learn the ANSI C and C++ languages, along with the concepts of procedural programming.
#Understand and practice C/C++ standard libraries on the platform of choice especially Standard Template Library ([[WikiPedia:Standard_Template_Library|STL]]) and maybe Active Template Library ([[Wikipedia:Active_Template_Library|ATL]]).
#Search online resources, books and courses to get an understanding of the C-flavor of your specific platform.
#Practice creating advanced code with C and C++.
#Learn more advanced Assembly
#Take a course in operating systems design
#Find and read documentations of your specific platform of choice(this will be easier if you choose a Unix-based operating system). Understand the system you will be working with later very well.
#Practice your acquired knowledge. First create small system utilities. It is usually useful to:
#*Trying to recreate small tools that are already there on your system.
#*Trying to port utilities available in other operating systems to yours.
#This is the only place were the first programming language matters. Learn ANSI C first, not C++, not C#, not Java and not D. Then learn C++.
#Restricting the first language to C and C alone is because systems programming requires that the programmer be familiar with the following concepts:
#*Real and full compilation of source code.
#*Low level object output files.
#*Linking binaries.
#*Low level machine-language/assembly programming. The C language is said to be a disguised/easier to learn assembly by some. It also supports inserting assembly language code in code whenever you please and it is only procedural (like assembly).
[[Image:Will code for food 1008.jpg|thumb|Computer and Information Scientists, Research in the USA have a Mean Annual Salary of $100,640<ref>[http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b15-0000 Bureau of Labor Statistics - Computer and Mathematical Science Occupations]</ref>]]
=== Programming Scientists ===
Programming scientists are very advanced programmers, who instead of working on developing applications, work on developing computing technologies such as encryption, programming languages and data mining algorithms. This level is seldom achieved without academic study and dedication.
#Accumulate the scientific knowledge equivalent to a B.A./Diploma degree in computer science. This can be done either by:
#*Taking an actual [[Get an Affordable College Education|academic degree]] (which is what usually happens)
#*Getting the courses' outlines for such a degree from one of the modern universities and taking the courses either by self study or as separate courses. This could be achieved theoretically, but the recommended path is the first.
#Decide a field of specialty. The more specific, the better. This depends on your preferences, however, here is a list of some of the major topics in computer programming science:
#*Algorithm Design (searching, sorting, encryption, decryption ans error detection in communications are some examples)
#*Programming Languages/Compiler Design/Optimization
#*Artificial Intelligence fields (Pattern recognition, Speech recognition, Natural language processing, Neural Networks)
#*Robotics
#*Scientific programming
#*Supercomputing
#*Computer Aided Design/Modeling (CAD/CAM)
#*Virtual reality
#*Computer graphics - Computer graphics is usually wrongly confused with graphical design or graphical user interface design. Computer graphics is the field of studying how to represent and manipulate graphics in computer systems.
#Consider getting a higher academic degree such as M.A. or even PhD.
#Learn the technologies and programming languages related to your programming field of choice.
==Famous Sayings==