So, you want to be a developer. Step 0b
Here we are at Day 2 of my series for wanna be developers and we're not to coding yet. That's why it's still Step 0. On Day 1, I told you to get an IDE (integrated development environment).
Next, get yourself some sort of version control software. Most people in our office use Sourcetree . Most of us use Macs and it works well. I also just started using GitHub Desktop for a game jam project, and it also is pretty easy to use.
What is version control and why I (almost) never hire self-taught developers
If you taught yourself Python, JavasScript or whatever the language du jour using LinkedIn Learning courses, which I'm a fan of, reading books or Youtube or whatever, then that's an admirable feat and I admire it but I probably won't hire you. In fact, in almost ten years of running an educational technology company and over twenty years as president of a statistical consulting company, I have hired exactly ONE self-taught developer. (Shout out to Ean Moore . )
What is version control and why is it important?
Version control software makes it easy to document who made changes to code, what the changes were, when they were made and to back out those changes, if necessary.
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If you are working on your own project, by yourself, you never have to worry about the possibility that someone else changed the same code you were working on and overwrote your code. Having a variable name or function changed by someone else and now your file that used to work, doesn't, is not an issue if there isn't a someone else.
Version control software can still be useful if you are working on a project by yourself, because it enables you to undo changes that, in retrospect, were a horrible idea. We've all been there. But, while it's a "nice to have" if you are working on an application alone, it is absolutely crucial if you are part of a team.
Is this whole series going to be about software to download? No.
I do have some thoughts on other software, but that comes later. Tomorrow, we'll talk about your first baby step, which usually should be initializing your variables, or, at least, thinking about what your variables are going to be. (NOTE: This turned out to be mostly a lie.)