Going off script
02 Sep 2020
My first script-reading
When I started my college education, I was sure I wanted to be an audio engineer and work in a recording studio. However, by the second semester of my freshman year, I had realized I would prefer to put my proverbial eggs in a safer, more reliable basket and took my first step into the world of computer science by way of a programming class. It was in that class that I first heard the term “script kiddie”, which accurately described me at the time. I didn’t know anything about variables, functions, or objects aside from what I inferred from digging around in files from the video games I grew up playing and some TI-BASIC code I hacked together on my graphing calculator. We spent that semester diving into Java, and by the end I had created my own simple text-based game. At the end of my freshman year, I officially changed my major to computer science, and started writing a new script for my future.
The talent: programming languages
After learning the fundamentals of Java, the next language I learned about was C++. While I couldn’t say one was better than the other, I definitely found myself missing Java many times while struggling through the learning curve of C++, although I did enjoy the fact that I could accomplish the same tasks with fewer lines of code. After that, I tackled PHP, which I truly enjoyed. When I entered the IT field professionally, I relished in any task I ever got to work on that required writing code, which was usually in the form of scripts written in the proprietary language used by the POS systems I program and install. I’ve learned about C and python in the years since, and while programming is always a fun challenge no matter the language, I am happy to be returning to Java in the form of Javascript. It is new to me as of just a few weeks ago, but I already like the shortcuts it offers in a setting that is familiar to me.
Learning the role
Athletic software engineering is a new concept for me as well. Treating training for programming like training for sport is something I wish I had thought of a long time ago. Learning Javascript in small, digestible pieces like the challenges offered by freeCodeCamp.org is game-changing. I have already started checking out some of the modules for other languages I have previously used but have not understood well. Tackling a series of simple challenges that build on previous pieces of knowledge was so helpful in quickly understanding the nuances of what makes Javascript different from other languages. The ease of implementing and using local and global variables, the succinct way functions can be written, and the total flexibility of return statements are all huge benefits to me. In my first programming class, the instructor always challenged us to write our functions in as few lines as possible, which is something I still aim for with all new projects. Javascript is great for this, and I am looking forward to becoming fluent in this language.
The curtain call: conclusions
Visualizing the problem, thinking of a solution, implementing it, and then finding out there is a better, more efficient solution all within 10 minutes is exactly how I like to learn. I spend more time researching because of this setup, googling the functions I haven’t ever used or even heard of before and adding more tools to my utility belt. I’ve also started to look into some of the things I’ve done with other languages, like connecting to SQL databases, which I hope I will be tackling in upcoming ‘workouts’. Practicing the same challenge multiple times to increase efficiency is something I have never thought to do before as well, but I see the value in it. I think this model for learning coding is excellent and under-utilized.