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115 Comments
- ahmedb07, on 07/25/2008, -6/+157wow...a tech-related article on digg? so unusual...
- filldeviant, on 07/25/2008, -2/+57If he ever becomes an amputee, he will have the coolest name ever.
This article is very interesting by the way. I've only used a fourth of those languages. - t3hbagel, on 07/25/2008, -2/+56Dugg for mentioning TI-BASIC, the language that got me started programming.
- moolcool, on 07/25/2008, -2/+53How ironic that a Digg engineers server doesn't scale well for high traffic.
- xeslana, on 07/25/2008, -0/+30Well let me tell you that the other side sucks too. Being able to code but not able to make something look appealing pisses me off. I can make a sweet app but damn it looks so 1998.
- mrbad101, on 07/25/2008, -0/+25Some people are cut out for certain things. If you are really a talented graphic designer, don't waste your time picking up scripting. Instead use that time to continue honing the craft you are good at. Surround yourself with people who are good at things your not. You'll find its time well spent.
- Apoy, on 07/25/2008, -0/+17Fake! Joe Stump is a head banging guitarist, not a programmer!
http://www.joestump.com/ - fuzzmeister, on 07/25/2008, -0/+17Digg is coded in PHP, not RoR.
- geobay, on 07/25/2008, -0/+16Ahh...I remember the days. I wrote a simple (and useless) program in class to continuously flash a bunch of colors on my screen and all the kids thought I was some kind of genius. That was the first day I had ever seen a computer.
Also, I saw the most disgusting thing ever in that class. I saw some kid eat another kids scab. Because of that incident, the day is forever burned in to my brain. - xeslana, on 07/25/2008, -0/+14Well the term "Webmaster" died in 1998 so web developers had to come up with something legit sounding.
- xeslana, on 07/25/2008, -1/+14Good luck with that. If you picked CS because you thought it sounded "fun" you are in for an surprise. You have to love coding and love sitting in front of a computer all day to make it through CS. Half of my freshman class dropped out because they realized they wouldn't be making games.
- arjie, on 07/25/2008, -0/+12Is he the guy responsible for these unusable comment boxes? I'm stumped as to why he'd mangle a perfectly useful text field. It's all that BASIC.
10 COMMENT_BOX = COMMENT_BOX + 5*LINES_IN_COMMENT
20 SLEEP 10
30 COMMENT_BOX = COMMENT_BOX - 5*LINES_IN_COMMENT
40 GOTO 10 - anagoge, on 07/25/2008, -4/+15As a graphic designer, it REALLY annoys and frustrates me that I cannot code. I've tried reading up about it, but the language of PHP, MySQL, Javascript and other such developing languages really does go over my head. I've yet to find a site that makes it engaging to learn as someone who is mostly visual, rather than code-orientated. I'm always looking for people to help me out with things when it comes to coding.
- shimmyNshake, on 07/25/2008, -7/+18Hmm, so he designs buildings and he's also a computer programmer. Very interesting.....
Why do computer programmers feel the need to steal my job title to feel more important? Architects design buildings, computer programmers don't. Steal someone elses title. Why can't they be a "code surgeon" and then you can put the title "Dr." in front of your name."Hi, Im Dr. So-and-SO, Im a code surgeon."
Sorry, please excuse my architect's rant. - Ozzeh, on 07/25/2008, -1/+11I feel the same way when I see "Sanitation Engineer".
- Hermiesan, on 07/25/2008, -0/+9mirror: http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:Y9FIAL1pZY0J: ...
- TenebrousX, on 07/25/2008, -0/+9Give the Head First series a try
http://www.headfirstlabs.com/
they helped me tremendously - liltbrockie, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8thats bought a tear to my eye ..
- hinmanj, on 07/25/2008, -0/+7And I seem to just be mediocre at both. I'd rather be *good* at something =[
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7People in the software industry love stealing job titles. Developer, Engineer, Architect, ... and now Surgeon!
- Rotzooi, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7John McCain started programming on an Abacus.
- BabaRamDass, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5Most people don't really understand what us coders do. They do, however, understand what an architect does. So we just qualify "web site" with "archtect", and they get what it is we do: design sites.
- slowbox, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6Computer nerds will do anything to avoid their actual title "Computer Dork"
All hail king dork! - dfsjdkflasjk, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5I did the same thing, except it was a Double Helix in QBasic... Since QBasic was command-based, each line would scroll quickly up the screen, thus making it look like an animation.
- deadlift, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5Princeton's definition of the word 'architect':
someone who creates plans to be used in making something (such as buildings)
It is not exclusive to the planning and designing of buildings, but can be used for web development as well. - thecheatah, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5My first experience ti-basic. Second z-80 assembly. And here are the results:
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/232/ ...
yes folks thats tetris, nibblez and cstrike (my favorite program I have ever written). - Suaves2102, on 07/25/2008, -2/+6mirror http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:mIfQCOFglSwJ: ...
- covertbadger, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4Ugh, no. Not a bad language, but too much time spent wrestling with incompatibilities to be able to concentrate on the language. Start with python. Once you're up and running with that, grab something mainstream (Java or C#, generally) and something interesting (Scheme, Haskell, F#, etc). Play with ruby on the side: once you have some grounding in both imperative and functional languages, ruby will come very easily and naturally.
It would also be good to learn C or some form of Assembly at some point too, just to get an appreciation of what's involved in memory management and just how expensive stuff like string manip really is. - inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+4Most people who are computer engineers do love coding, and most are bright enough to enter the course with a better goal than just "making games"
- 11familyguy11, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4While the etymology shows that it originally referred to somebody who designs and builds physical structures, it has now taken on a second denotation as somebody who designs or guides a plan or undertaking. This new denotation not specific as to what is being designed.
"architect." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 24 July 2008 - mrloco, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4stumped... i see what you did there
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4He answered half of the interview in the first answer. Then they just re-asked the same things, and he re-stated his first answer again and again.
Great interview! - Apoy, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4Very nice.
- shakestheclown, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4I completely forgot about programming in it until I read the description. Twelve years, how the time flies...
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+3OMG, an interview with a REAL COMPUTER PROGRAMMER!!!!!!!!!
- Lunarbunny, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3TI-BASIC is an awesome way to start, mainly because the manual generally contains an almost complete function and API reference, with examples. Plus I preferred wasting time in class doing that (hey, it looked kind of like I was doing work).
- GoBack2Europe, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3***** you, Joe. You turned Digg into *****. Just kidding! MrBabyMan was responsible for that.
- ExRe, on 07/25/2008, -1/+4As a PHP developer, I really don't see how it is hard, but I picked up programming pretty easily back in High School. I do have a bit of a difficult time designing stuff, but I am not really bad.
I really doubt that somebody can't pick up a programming language if they get a decent book/tutorial on it and read the entire thing from cover to cover (while doing exactly what it says). You may need some things a few times to get started, but once you get the basics the rest is easy.
For learning PHP I always recommend whoever wants to learn it read this completely (to get started, up until Classes, but don't miss the predefined variables and references part at the end):
http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php
Also, don't just read, test the stuff out it says yourself in a script and play with it. If I am not sure how something will act or if it will break outside of what it is supposed to take (as per what the PHP Manual says) I always setup a test script and throw whatever at it that I want to see if it works. - kenij, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3Listen to this guy, he speaks the truth.
- simpleblob, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3I think he meant when you said you know something (like SQL), you should understand it from inside and out, not just be able to use GUI to do it.
- xeslana, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3I am hoping he is not the kind of guy who writes everything in notepad/vim/emacs/"the mac one". Not to say its bad to use vim and such, it has good syntax highlighting. I just think IDE's really help development speed. Eclipse FTW.
- clarkd, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3In my honest opinion, C++ isn't all that bad of a language, and once you know it you can pretty much assimilate that knowledge to tackle many other different languages. I would suggest getting a college level book like "A First Book of C++" by Gary J. Bronson or "Absolute C++" by Walter Savitch, and you can probably get the book for cheap on amazon or E-Bay. Then you can get Dev C++ which is a free compiler from http://www.bloodshed.net/ to start programming.
Also I would stay away from online tutorials since online tutorials have a habit of being incomplete or even worse, horribly written. Get a book (try for a college level book) and start from there. Now, I will admit that I do use online tutorials but only as references. After I see the correct syntax I usually fiddle around with the code that I am trying to figure out until I understand it. That said,college books will have exercises that will help you learn.
Also, once you learn the basics you will have to learn other things like discrete structures, data structures, software engineering, design and analysis of algorithms, and etc. This is all necessary in order for you can create efficient and useful applications. Now, I know this sounds like quite a bit, but if you find this stuff interesting then you shouldn't have a problem. - FPlus, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3I recommend something like C# or Java as your first language. Other interesting choices would be Python or Ruby. Don't get caught up in the 'hype or hate' cycle. The most skilled developers that I know can do anything with anything and can usually beat you at your own game.
I personally don't recommend C++ as your first as the level of complexity and required competency is very high for a beginner. However , if you can hook up with an experienced C++ programmer and he is willing to help you out then jump on that wagon! Powerful C/C++ programmers are fearless and should be feared!
Tips:
Figure out which platform you want to develop for and what style of program you want to create and choose your language accordingly. [do some research]
Start simple. 'Hello world' is always a good choice. If you are keen then try to get 'hello world' world working in a number of different languages and notice the similarities and differences.
Write simple code. Complex code is not cool and you risk physical harm from other developers that have to work with your code base. Focus on writing simple functions that do only one or two things.
Good luck - MtheoryX, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3You don't pick Computer Engineering.
It picks you.
INB4 Yakov references. - Tankslap, on 07/25/2008, -1/+4http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=architect
3. the deviser, maker, or creator of anything: the architects of the Constitution of the United States.
I find it hilarious, and just a little pathetic, when architects and engineers get pissy about this subject. Must be the student loans that get you down. - Braxo, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Me too. I remember in 8th grade making a little archery program on my TI-85
- rectifier, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Vic-20 basic for me. The powah!
10 print "hello"
20 goto 10
:( - ieure, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2I’ve played with a fair number of IDEs, and I’ve come to conclusion that they are loathsome contraptions. They’re nigh unusable, positively encrusted with hundreds of buttons, boxes, frames, panels, tabs, bars, menus, and other things you don’t need most of the time, which get in the way of coding all of the time.
Speaking as the guy who sits next to Joe at Digg, dude uses around a zillion Terminal windows, running various combinations of VIM, SSH, and MySQL.
It’s not how I like to work (I’m a die-hard Emacs man, m’self), but I’d much rather see coders using tools which are great at doing one thing than one which is mediocre at doing a hundred. - aenima987, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3I was recently considering getting myself into some programming, which language(s) are good for beginners?
- skidooer, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2I can do all three. But I always found that coding and graphics naturally go together. Good code requires visual design, and good visual design requires logic.
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