My Journey into the World of Computer Programming (Part 2)
If you have not come from my first article, check out my backstory and what has brought me to this decision here.
The pandemic lockdown created a lot of spare time at home for everyone. Being optimistic about the situation, I saw it as an opportunity to spend time developing a new skill. I decided on web development and learning how to code.
Since my move to California last year, my primary focus has been in learning and developing myself in the field of entrepreneurship. Understanding computer programming is crucial to become a more valuable entrepreneur in the future.
The self-taught route of computer programming allows you to customize the path you take. You can learn about topics that fascinate you the most, and while it keeps you intrigued, it comes with its difficulties.
If you have no background in computer programming (like me a few months ago) it can be intimidating. The more exposure you give yourself to coding, the more you’ll understand the lingo, helping to develop your skills more efficiently.
This is an insight to my process, the strategies, tools and resources I have used to begin this endeavor.
- Learning to code
- The process
- Time to build
- What's next?
- Bonus Resources
Learning to code
The first decision is choosing the software development path you want to go down. There is an ever-increasing number of software development channels but web, mobile, game and data science are the most common. Currently, websites are the best channel to reach the largest audience and for business ideas to be seen. The web development path is my preference.
To break it down – websites are simply a bunch of files that are stored on a computer called a ‘server’. These files work together to provide the look and functionality of the website. Once this computer is connected to the internet, the files are loaded onto a browser, like Google Chrome or Safari, which is how the world can see it.
For me, it seemed more rational to begin with front-end development. This makes it easier to analyze and understand the back-end application.
The process
My learning process was to understand the fundamentals of each front-end language one-by-one. Then dive into more advanced aspects of each once I have a better knowledge foundation. When I have a good grasp on front-end, I will move to back-end.
The front-end is built using 3 iconic languages – HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Languages around the world are methods to how humans communicate with each other. These computing languages are how humans communicate with computers. HTML, CSS and JavaScript interact with each other and play different roles when building a website or MVP.
Let’s consider a house. The HTML file is the blueprint of the building, it tells you everything about how the house should be laid out. Imagine a floor plan, it displays the house's foundations, the number of rooms etc. This is what HTML provides for a website.
Think of the CSS file as the painters and designers of the house. They add all the styling to the house giving it color, size, positioning and more.
The JavaScript file is how the house functions and interacts with the residents. When you press this button, the TV turns on. When you turn the tap, water comes out. Javascript does a similar thing for a website.
There is a huge range of online courses or bootcamps to choose from, some cost and some free. The best platforms that offer interactive courses are Codecademy, Coursera and Springboard. Each vary in the way they present and teach coding.
Find out what teaching structure works best for you. A trick I used originally was to take advantage of the free trial for each platform to see how each course would play out.
I later settled on the Full Stack Web Development course provided by Springboard as a good foundation to start. You also need an application to write all your code on - I use Visual Studio Code. It seems to be one of the most popular and easy to use.
Time to build
As of June 2020, I have learnt the fundamentals of HTML, CSS & JavaScript - and some frameworks. Frameworks are like pieces of a puzzle, created by much smarter developers. Using these pieces, you can build a website much more efficiently - so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel.
Now comes the fun part. Building websites. An exercise I have been using to further develop my skills is to find a website that I like the look of and try to copy it with my own code.
As a side product to this practice, I encountered many problems. This is perfect. It forced me to learn essential aspects of the web development process that I did not even know existed beforehand.
Codepen is a fun website where developers showcase and test the code snippets that they've created. The vast extent of creations could vary from an animation of a dog running, to a small game of Tetris to even simple text movements for headings on a website. Codepen displays the code on one side and the product of it on the other. Allowing you to visualize how other developers write code for a deeper understanding. Once you've found something you like, it's as simple as copying the code into your websites files.
What's next?
Coding’s all about problem-solving.
With practice, comes greater potential to build more dynamic and interactive websites. Moving up from simple landing pages and blogs, to more complex websites and applications.
This is made easier by the mass of open-source code available online for everyone. Using open source to build websites makes the process much less tedious.
When I feel like I have got a good hang on front-end development, back-end is the next to learn. From what I understand, Python is a widely used and very popular back-end language. Python is the recommended language for blockchain technology and beneficial for addressing an Internet of Things use case. Learning Python would position myself best to take advantage of blockchain technology in the future.
To conclude
For me, learning to code was essential in seeking to be a valuable entrepreneur in the future. Our lives are encompassed in technology, which has made the world a very efficient place. But to find something that is new, novel and uncovered in tech, it helps to understand computer programming.
This is an area of my life that I have been looking to improve myself in. As I expand my world, I want to offer more and coding gives me the best platform to do that. By trying to grow and learn, I will be more prepared to make the most of the opportunities that come my way.
It is important to understand that learning coding is a marathon, not a sprint. I am always seeking to expand my network and receive more experienced guidance, direction, tips and all the rest.
Please connect with me via my LinkedIn if you would like to chat.
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