By Mashum Mollah
You’ve probably heard that coding is one of the jobs of the future and that we do and will continue to need coders for years to come in order to build up and maintain our digital infrastructure as it gets bigger and more complex.
So, it’s settled, right? You should enroll in a coding class or learn how to code in some way, right? Well, not necessarily; that depends on how much you actually know about coding. We reached out to LEARN academy, San Diego’s first and most prominent coding school to tell us a bit about the misconceptions and questions that people come to them with.
What Program or App Do I Use to Code?
This is one of the basic questions that you should know the answer to. After all, it will be your primary tool. And the answer is rather simple, too. In order to write your code, you can use something as simple as text editors, whether it be Word, Notepad, or something else. There are more advanced options with some coder-oriented features like Notepad++ or Light Table (and they are both free).
However, once your code is written, you will need another program that will format your code in a way that the computer can read it. This is a compiler. Which compiler you will use depends on the language you have chosen.
In recent years, programs that combine these two functionalities have become popular (and a lot better), so you may end up only needing one piece of software that does it all.
Is Math Essential for Coding?
Many people are wary of math because it can get pretty abstract pretty fast. Consequently, coding is also considered complex and difficult due to its association with math. However, that is not always the case, especially with more modern coding languages.
Instead, what you really need as a coder is an analytical mind, and analytical way of thinking. Can you deconstruct a problem to its simplest components? Are you able to learn from your errors and research? You may be a coder already without knowing it. Here’s a little secret – most of the complex calculations and math are done by computers.
Our Web Developers the Same as Web Designers?
If you’re not overly familiar with the subject matter, it is likely that you will conflate the two. After all, they both work on building and maintaining websites. And while it is true that there is some major overlap, these two do have different skills and different tasks.
Designers focus more on the aesthetics and the appearance of the website, choosing color schemes, fonts, and similar. On the other hand, developers, or coders have a more behind-the-scenes job. Essentially, their job is to make the design made by the designer functional and useful.
How Is a Website Posted on the Internet?
A vast majority of modern computers, and especially internet users have no idea how the technology works. Most of us were born into a world where these technologies were already present and we don’t really think about how they work.
For instance, we take websites for granted; until they crash or are otherwise unavailable. That’s when we wonder how websites even work. It is rather simple, really. All you need is a unique domain name, which you need to register and purchase. Then, you need to build your actual website and buy hosting with one of the companies that provide this service.
Essentially, all of the data you see on a website exist on computers of hosting companies and are sent to each person who wants to access these websites. Once your website is uploaded to the hosting company’s server, you should be able to access it using the domain name you registered.
Being a programmer or coder can be an essential job, but being good at it requires you to be able to cope with the requirements of the job. So, asking questions beforehand is a good idea.
Read Also:
