Episode — 4
The fourth episode of PK from KEC brought a very different sort of questions from a couple of people. So far, I have a collection of handsome amount of questions and I am planning to create a FAQs page for the generic questions. That would possibly be the next publication.
Sharing the highlights of today’s session:
Where should I start my programming career — the front-end languages like HTML CSS or backend languages like PHP and Java?
Getting back to the days when I started the internship, it was more about building an application. I learned HTML, CSS, and JS to create a beautiful user interface, and to create all the database-connected functionalities, I got to use PHP. A product always requires multiple assets for building it in a meaningful way. It’s not about programming, it’s about building something. When I got to see what role every component in the SDLC cycle plays, I figured out that be it any language, you just need the approach to solve a problem. Basically, language is a tool to develop a digital solution for a problem, it’s up to you which tool you want to use.
Is it more important to learn the old languages which are in the Curriculum like C, C++ or should I start with new popular languages like python?
I believe it doesn’t matter which language you are choosing, all it matter is you are aware of the code workflow or not. Back in the college days, I started with C programming language, the most significant part which I felt was the data flow. The more I was aware of how data is flowing as per the logic in my code, the more I got to write the code easily. After that when I switched to Python, I experienced a similar case. Moreover, during the internship phase, I learned the same thing while working with PHP. There is not a specific recommendation for a language, but a strong recommendation to learn the approach of coding different logics.
What role does having coded in competitive programming platforms like CodeChef play in pursuing a career as a software developer?
I believe competitive programming helps you to build logic around a problem. As far as I have experienced with CodeChef, all those questions were like a puzzle that helped my brain to think more. Having solved a variety of puzzles, created a diverse pool of thoughts. When I got to build applications using the SDLC cycle, the coding phase was a bit easier for me due to having exposed to competitive programming. But specifically, I would suggest, start building Softwares right from the beginning instead of going way long into CodeChef and other platforms. What I mean to say is that rather than working on different question sets to improve coding skills, working on problem-solving skills is more helpful. It worked for me pretty well
Conclusion:
Having an interactive audience helps a lot to bring more backstories connected with each of the questions. Excited to hear out more from you guys next Thursday at 4:30 pm.
