Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — If you watch the news closely, you may have noticed a lot of discussion about coding. New devices have hit the market, like a $25 mini-computer called the Raspberry Pi that is designed to teach programming (synonymous with coding). Celebrities and political figures have spoken out with the message that "everybody should learn how to program."
In this ever-changing world, technology is growing quickly, and more and more aspects of our lives and of our economy are dependent on technology.
But beyond our reliance on technology, learning to code is an important skill. In the words of Steve Jobs, a key innovator in the technology field, "I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think."
Here are three reasons to learn how to program, followed by three tools for learning how to code:
1. Learn new ways of thinking
Learning some basic (very basic) programing fundamentals can open your mind to different ways of thinking. Computers are very dumb in the sense that they only do exactly what they are told to do. If you tell a computer to do one thing, meaning another, it has no way of knowing what you meant. It only knows exactly what you told it. Because of this, a programmer learns to be specific and exact when programming and when communicating with people.
#poll
Exactness and precision are very valuable skills when communicating with people. Whether it's about technical matters, planning or expressing difficulties and frustrations, your communication will be improved.
Another cognitive skill an introduction to programming can help develop is the ability to abstract. If you were to look at some programming code, you will see that it is able to perform many complex functions by doing one small thing at a time. Programmers will quickly develop the ability to break down complex routines into many small, linear steps.
The ability to abstract translates well into many real-life situations. We are faced with problems and unplanned situations daily. As we face these problems, the ability to abstract can help us create simple and linear plans that allow us to take on each aspect of the problem one at a time.
2. Automate mundane tasks
- Create macros in Excel to update spreadsheets with the click of a button.
- Open a set of programs you frequently use together, all at once.
- Create a small program that monitors data from the Internet and notifies you when it changes. One use: get a text when the forecast includes freezing temperatures at night to remind you to bring your tomato plants in.
There are likely many tasks that you perform frequently that can be made quicker with a little programming. With a few basic programming skills, you can learn how to automate these tasks and save yourself a lot of time.
While there are many ways automation can be done, and many programs that offer friendly, graphic ways to automate, a basic programming knowledge will be useful. It can help you think in a way that is easily translatable to existing automation apps.
3. Become more marketable
Developing some basic programming skills will not make you a programmer. But even just basic familiarity with programming in general will make you more marketable.
Most jobs these days will require you to work with technology. Perhaps it is with a phone system, cash register, inventory tracking system or even just at a computer. Some programming familiarity will benefit you.
Familiarity with programming can help you troubleshoot problems with IT support when the need arises. As you learn how to program, you will start to understand how many different parts of a program need to be working just right for even simple tasks. If something goes wrong, you will have a better guess of where to look for the source of the problem.
Because of modern businesses dependence on technology, they will see your familiarity with programming as a valuable skill. It means they can count on you to be easily trainable. It means more for them seeing "familiar with JavaScript" on a resume than "good with computers."
Tools for learning
Learning how to code can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, it's easier than it seems.
Here are three steps to learning how to program:
1. Online courses
There are lots of online classes, courses and how-to guides for programming. Some have very different approaches than others. Some teach programming with graphic methods, allowing you to put "blocks" of code together to create a program. Others teach you basic syntax, getting you to write code right from the beginning.
A common concern people have is not knowing which programming language to learn. There are many, many programming languages. The exact language you chose to learn is not very important. Knowing one language will allow you to start thinking like a programmer. It is relatively easy to transfer your programming skills to other languages once you have the basics down.
2. Play around
The name of the game here is trial and error. Take your best guess at how to do something and give it a shot. It probably won't work, but you will be cementing in concepts you have learned elsewhere (like from online courses). This will give you the satisfaction of seeing what you have learned put to use, as well as the desire to learn more, so you can add functionality to what programming you can do.
Very hot topics on the Internet these days are the Raspberry Pi and Arduino. These are small devices with user-programmable microprocessors. Both are very cheap and allow you to use your programming skills to create fun projects.
Besides being a practical application to put your knowledge to use, these devices have great support communities. You can find many people willing to help with your projects.
3. Ask questions
Even after giving it your best effort, there will be times when you're just plain stuck, both in taking online classes and in creating your own coding projects. Ask for help.
There is a plethora of online forums where beginners and experts can go to seek and give help. Looking through these forums, you can find out what common questions people have and post your own questions.
Do you think learning to code is important? Let us know in the comments.
Taylor Wilson is an IT professional at a small Utah company. He has a passion for helping people with technology. Email: taylorwilson@testonetwo.com Online: www.testonetwo.com or twitter.com/twil6
