My Takeaways from "What Is Code?"

Introduction

Paul Ford's famous article, "What Is Code?" attempts to educate the general public on the IT industry, and the fundamentals of coding. This essay shows why the industry is significant, and some of the things that we can learn in order to make our lives better. I learned a great deal from this essay concerning the IT industry. The five aspects that I have learned about the IT industry are: What exactly is coding, how programmers choose their language, how languages have changed, how computers fundamentally work, and how coding relates to team-work.

What exactly is coding?

Coding is the process where someone enters syntax into a place that a computer can render it. Because a computer needs complex instructions to complete any task, and it can only do one thing at a time. Programs are developed at scale in order to maximize efficiency. Computers as Ford states are like a "clock with benefits." Coding can be extraordinarily complex or simple depending on the particular language. Computers need to have everything laid out for them in order to accomplish any task set forth. There are many ways to make a computer do something, but everything that is software must start with coding. These instructions that are placed into the computer are broken into many groups that include classes, algorithms, and functions. The computer then can render these simple instructions and create visually appealing software, and complete tasks for the end user.

Coding also has a tremendous appeal to it these days due to many people thinking it is an easy way to build wealth. The article shows that due to LinkedIn influencers, and large coding conferences many people are turning to the career in order to maximize their careers. Coding is also said to be something that everyone should at least learn a little bit to understand the fundamentals of the world that we now live in.

Coding is something that almost anyone can pick up after taking a few courses or watching the right amount of YouTube videos. Many programmers are starting to go this route in order to save money and get a head start on their careers. Many programmers are self-taught, and coding is a subject that can be learned on its own without worrying about an expensive education. This also many people who otherwise would not have opportunities, to learn something that helps them financially, and inspires them to change the world.

How do programmers choose their language?

Programmers choose their language of choice by extremely complicated circumstances. A programmer may choose a language to start their career off with, and ultimately change course throughout their career. Because technology evolves so quickly in our world, programmers have been known to entirely and learn new programming languages at the drop of a dime due to market needs. An example of this evolution would be Java being the most used language in the past, to now JavaScript being the more lucrative language to learn because of Web Development being the new way of the future. Due to extreme demand for this industry in this era, programmers have the freedom to select the most marketable language in order to maximize their income.

Programmers pick languages for many reasons; however every programming language can do everything, but the language of choice should be picked based on your preferences. Companies tend to pick programming languages that are common because if developers end up quitting the project, it will be easy to find more of them to complete the project on time. Companies also do this to avoid project time loss and make sure that their software is not only again but can be sustainable in case there is a sudden loss of workforce.

Most programmers have had the opportunity to learn multiple languages and work in the language that is most comfortable to them. They usually start out learning HTML and CSS because they are essential for creating static web pages. They usually move onto JavaScript and the more complex languages from there. The best way for a programmer to choose their language is to not only develop in multiple languages but to see which one ends up clicking for them.

How have coding languages changed?

Coding languages have evolved just like everything within the technology industry. In modern programming, most newer languages trace their origins back to C. C is an essential language because it was the first that could manage memory, hard drives, and files. Most programmers that code as a career can code C or one of its evolutionary variants. While C had done a great job to start the programming evolution, different languages had to be developed in order to complete different tasks more efficiently.

Object-oriented programming caused the evolution that we are now seeing in the industry. Code is something that is very abstract and difficult to organize. Due to the problematic organization, objects were created to group lines of code. This also allows programmers to relate objects with one another to organize the code. Languages are continually being created, and slowly dissolving with time. We have even seen people completely abandon languages like Cobol due to market demands.

The market is continuously evolving to newer languages like Apple's Swift. More and more people depend on mobile apps to get work done these days, and with this change, there is a great need and market demand to create quality mobile apps to help people get more work done on the go. This trend is currently occurring because more work these days is completed by consumers on their cell phone. Because the smartphone is exceptionally convenient, more and more of the workforce is turning to it to get things done in the modern era.

How do computers fundamentally work?

Computers work straightforwardly. As consumers, we tend to think of computers as extremely complex systems that require constant human involvement in order to complete tasks. This statement is partly true, in this era computers are starting to become more and more complex; however, the element of human involvement is slowly starting to decrease over time. A computer is only able to complete small, tasks one at a time. The reason we think of computers as complex is that they can complete these small tasks extremely quick.

Computers were made in order to help humans complete tasks at quicker speeds. As Ford mentioned, humans could do everything that a computer can do, just at a much slower speed. Computers seem more intelligent than humans because they can complete tasks at record speeds.

Recently, human involvement is not needed as much to make these computers complete tasks. While it is true that a computer needs human involvement to begin anything, it does not need as much involvement as in the past to continue completing tasks. This shows that the market is continually evolving, and there might be a day shortly that computer will be able to complete tasks on their own without any human involvement whatsoever.

The best way that Ford explained how computers works are the section on typing an A. Here Ford shows that the computer goes through many phases to execute something as simple as pressing "a." A coder has to understand the backend of simple tasks in order to create software that the computer will execute correctly. The software is not easy to create, and it is everywhere in our world.

How coding relates to team-work?

Coding has always been something that is collaborative. These are the reasons why most companies do not employ only one software engineer, instead of a team that can properly handle the shortcomings of a company. This is done so that there is more accountability involved in organizations and keeps morale up because programmers do not feel alone in what they are developing. Most open-source coding sites are also collectives where people share their code in order to find people who can find and fix their mistakes. Collaboration with coding increases morale and makes people feel more connected to what they are creating.

When people feel more connected to what they are creating, it causes a considerable shift in motivation throughout the team. Programmers are much more inspired when they feel as if they are a part of a team instead of feeling like they are alone on the project. Increasing accountability to the programming team also brings out the best in everyone.

Conferences are also great places for programmers to go to create with others in their particular industry. This is also great initiatives at these conferences for programmers. It allows them to be with like-minded people, develop their career further, and get mentorship in a place that welcomes development and creativity. There is always an opportunity to learn something new at these conferences. Ideas are continuously exchanged throughout the conference, and brainstorming happens everywhere. Programmers tend to get inspired by the lightning talks and presentations. These presentations cause more programmers to learn something new and make some want to develop programs that could change the world.

 How "What is Code?" enhanced my understanding of Project Management and Software Development?

I knew prior that Project Management and Software Development were both very complex topics. However, reading Ford's article showed me that coding is not as complicated as we all perceive it to be. While each programming language is not the easiest to learn, when you sit down and understand the purposes behind coding it is a lot simpler to understand. I also learned a lot from the "Liquid Infrastructure" section. Determining that large companies are dedicated to testing their software, tends to give me the confidence to trust what they produce more and more. I also learned that having the ability to import code from other language is a substantial property for a programming language to have.

Ford's article also helped enhance my understanding of project management because of the "Managing Programmers" section. I learned that there are multiple ways of managing projects; however, the most efficient way to do so is with Agile development. This form of development is easy to manage programmers as well as projects. Breaking down tasks to specific users, dividing the work to specific programmers, and helping each other is the best method to manage developers and projects.

In regards to software development, my understanding of how mobile apps being made was remarkably enhanced by Ford's article. Learning that there are multiple integrated development environments for each company is crucial to understanding the mobile application architecture. Apple's environment allows you to create complex applications that can increase the usefulness of their devices exponentially. Social Media applications and productivity applications allow users to not only build a personal brand but also to maintain their productivity on the go.

Last but not least, I learned from Ford's article that it is crucial to learn how to code in order to be marketable in the upcoming job market. After understanding the basics of how coding works, and precisely what it is, I have realized that I want to learn how to code and be a part of the software development community.

In conclusion, Ford's article has enhanced my understanding entirely on the subject of code. Something that used to be more of a mysterious subject suddenly feels exceptionally familiar. I am also a lot more motivated for my future career within the technology field, as my understanding has increased my nervousness has decreased tremendously.