Programmer's Education Index

[tappatekie]

Alright well thanks for the help. I got express. I should be able to do all of my beginner needs with it correct? And would it be worthwhile to purchase a license for VS at a later date? Or is there something more efficient?

Yep :D, in fact express can help you with more advanced coding problems in the future... also, not sure on purchase license for vs at later date thing, it's a matter of, are you comfortable with the software and how far you want to take your programming experience.

[dandymcgee]

Alright well thanks for the help. I got express. I should be able to do all of my beginner needs with it correct? And would it be worthwhile to purchase a license for VS at a later date? Or is there something more efficient?

Yep :D, in fact express can help you with more advanced coding problems in the future... also, not sure on purchase license for vs at later date thing, it's a matter of, are you comfortable with the software and how far you want to take your programming experience.

The express version includes everything you need to developer professional applications very effectively. The paid versions add better integration with other Microsoft tools for databases / large team support / and advanced code profiling. Although you might find these tools very useful, they are not completely necessary for most projects.

[thejahooli]

If you're at the stage where you need anything other than the express version, it's likely you'll already be at a company where they'll provide it for you.

[Aspirer]

This

http://cnx.org/content/m14425/latest/

Is probably the most complete guide to basic programming I myself have ever discovered. I've only skimmed it, but it seems legit. I did learn something even from skimming it, how to structurally design a program. I/'ve seen those types of graphs before but even in class I was not ever taught how to write one.

[dandymcgee]

This

http://cnx.org/content/m14425/latest/

Is probably the most complete guide to basic programming I myself have ever discovered. I've only skimmed it, but it seems legit. I did learn something even from skimming it, how to structurally design a program. I/'ve seen those types of graphs before but even in class I was not ever taught how to write one.

Wow, that is a really in-depth history and introduction to many aspects of Windows application development. Bookmarked and downloaded the PDF for archival. Thanks for the link!

[Aspirer]

Np, man.

[LeGinger]

I was just wondering, after I learn c++, how long should I practice with it, making sure I know most stuff off hand before I start to look at learning a graphics API? Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks. Also I would just like to say i'm still in the process of learning c++ now. I just want a rough time estimation.

[dandymcgee]

I was just wondering, after I learn c++, how long should I practice with it, making sure I know most stuff off hand before I start to look at learning a graphics API? Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks. Also I would just like to say i'm still in the process of learning c++ now. I just want a rough time estimation.

You could spend a week or a year. It REALLY depends on your pace of learning and your short-term goals. There is no magic number.

Short answer: When you feel you are ready.

[MarauderIIC]

Do something fun, and don't be afraid to reinvent it while you're learning.
If you want to jump into a graphics API, give it a shot.

[dandymcgee]

Not sure how I ended up replying to LeGinger nearly two months late. Must have missed this topic in Feb.

[Vincent]

I'm so loving this forum now, it's filled with knowledge ! Thx for the good stuff Falco. This is the best motivation, being inspired by other programmers.

[Accy]

I have a question that I don't think is quite worthy of its own thread. It has to do with programming and education so the programmer's education index is a good place to ask it, right?

I'm graduating high school in a few months and I don't really know what I want to do in college. Well, I know but I just don't know how to go about it; I want to be a software engineer of some sort. I was thinking I could double major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science but according to Google, that would suck like at least 37 dicks. A lot of people say to just go for a BS in Electrical Engineering, others have said to try and get a masters in Computer Science, some have even said double majoring was the right choice. I was wondering what some of you guys did/would recommend if you've gotten a job as a software engineer.

If you could offer some advice, that would be great!

[qpHalcy0n]

All three of those majors (Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science) are all pretty different from each other. Yes, a CS/EE double major sucks precisely 7 bags of dicks. Computer Engineering is a fine mix if your school offers it (they should). You'll get a lot of exposure to higher mathematics, more exposure with digital circuits and systems, signal processing, and embedded systems. Computer science is much more theoretical where the focus is more on concepts of programming languages, algorithms, and such as that. Software engineering is really very process oriented. Planning, management, documentation, design, and such. Electrical Engineering is probably going to be the most challenging of the bunch just depending on where your strengths are. If you're extremely inclined towards conceptual and applied mathematics, you may do very well. By the time you take E&M Physics (Physics II, Electromagnetism, whatever they call it) you should have a pretty darn good idea where that path is going to go. Electrical Engineering deals much much less with programming. You may use Matlab, other numerical processors and modelers like LabView and such. They're really more focused on the physical, the metal, if you will.

They're all very very different. You should be safe not declaring until after your second semester in College. Knock some b/s out. Some intro engineering classes out. Knock some required math and physics out then see where you stack up.

[Falco Girgis]

Do they not offer "computer engineering?"

Computer engineering is the midpoint between the purely software CS degree and the purely hardware EE degree.

You learn a fair amount of hardware and computer architecture, and a fair amount of software (you never go above C++ in the software abstraction hierarchy). Most of your work is dealing with drivers, operating systems, and low-level code.

That's what I did for my undergrad and what I'm doing for my masters... If you have a genuine interest in both hardware and software, CPE is really where you should be.

I would not recommend wasting the time or resources doing a double major. What exactly are you gaining? You will be working as one or the other in the work environment. It's not like you will get paid any more. Why would you not just finish your undergrad then take the other one in graduate school, so that you are actually getting more mileage out of your time and money?

[Accy]

Thanks for the help, guys.

They offer CE. I wasn't really sure what the difference between it and EE was so I just went with EE. Thanks for clearing it up.