Has anyone on here done any coding/computer programming?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. With computers and technology becoming ever more important parts of our lives, a skill that I’d argue is becoming more important and desirable is computer programming. All of the technology around us will have had coders developing it, so coding is a valuable skill to know in the modern world, I would argue. Taking this into account, I’d be intrigued to know; has anyone on here ever done any coding? And if you have, what languages have you worked with? Do you have any favourites, if you’ve worked with multiple? What sort of things have you done in code? Have you done anything particularly cool?

I’ll get the ball rolling with my answer.

Personally, I’ve dabbled in quite a few different languages over the years, but the number I would describe myself as particularly proficient in is lower.

I’m relatively immersed in programming by virtue of the professional path I’ve chosen. I obtained a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Gloucestershire earlier this summer and am currently studying for an MSc in Data Science and Analytics at Cardiff University. As such, I’ve got quite a few programming languages under my belt. Off the top of my head, the languages I’ve encountered in some capacity over the years include:

• Python: This was my first real programming language, and definitely my favourite and the one I would call myself the most proficient in. The syntax just makes sense to me, and I find it a hugely flexible language in terms of what you can do with it. I’ve done quite a breadth of things using Python over the years; from GUI-based programming with Tkinter to statistical programming with Pandas to machine learning with Keras and SciKit Learn, it is a real all rounder. If I were to only learn and use one programming language for the rest of my life, Python is easily the one I’d pick.
• Java: I’d say I’ve grown relatively proficient in Java over the years, and I’ve done some cool stuff with it. In my first year of university, I created a very, very simplified version of the board game Monopoly with a front end GUI using Java, and I’ve also created a three-tier architecture web application using the J2EE framework (for those not aware, this essentially means that it contained a front end GUI connected with a back end database). It’s certainly not a language I’d use for everything, I do find it a bit more complicated to set up and install than Python, and I find its occasional reliance on JAR files to do certain things a bit of a faff, but I can definitely see its benefits for certain types of application.
• Front-end web languages (HTML/CSS): These are an interesting one in that I’d say they’re easy to learn the basics of, but hard to do well. The basics of HTML and CSS are some of the easiest coding you’ll ever do, in my view, and I can whack together a basic webpage with some basic colours and styling easily enough, but I’ve never quite been able to master getting beyond the relatively basic. I’ve seen some people build stunning webpages, but I’ve never been able to get a front end website looking much better than a visualised if statement with some basic colours…
• Back-end web languages (JavaScript/PHP): I’d say I’m somewhat proficient in these. JavaScript is simple enough if you know Java, and I don’t find PHP overly difficult to understand either. I’ve done some stuff with these, and I’d argue that I’ve been able to get some slightly more complex functionality working with them.
• SQL: I’d call myself fairly proficient in SQL. I’m pretty good with the basic relational database concepts and queries, and I’ve also dabbled in some slightly more complex stuff like ETL and data warehousing. However, I get the impression that I haven’t even scratched the surface of SQL’s full power and complexity… it’s definitely the programming language I’d like to learn more about and develop most in the coming years.
• MongoDB: I have a very basic working knowledge of MongoDB, but I haven’t done loads with it and I definitely think I have far more to learn. I don’t like this as much as SQL in terms of the database languages/types, for sure.
• Scala: I encountered this in one module on my undergrad, but haven’t done a ton with it. To be honest, I didn’t really notice an awful lot of difference between Scala and Java other than that Scala was more declarative, with far less lines of code and explicit instruction. It wasn’t too hard to learn.
• Prolog: I also encountered Prolog in the aforementioned undergrad module. It was my only foray into logical programming thus far… and let’s just say that it has not encouraged me to delve any further into logical programming! I found it a right faff to learn and very hard to understand.
• R: I’m currently learning R on my MSc. It’s not overly hard to learn, and you can do some cool statistical stuff with it… but I’m struggling to see the need for it when Python exists.

Those are the programming languages I’ve dealt with in any kind of depth off the top of my head… I’ve dealt with others, but only very briefly.

But I’d be keen to know; are there any other programmers and coders on here? And if so, what languages have you worked with?

 

[rob666]

Started playing on the zx80 and 81 with magazine game listings.
Showing my age again Matt...Commodore basic (not sure of version) 1978 to 1980...1k edu Commodore in a cupboard!
Then BBC basic for schools around Leeds 1982 to 1984.
All a little bit before you were born.
Then I got bored with puters and started care work and study.

My big sis is the proper boffin, she helped develop raspberry pi, many years ago, and still does python stuff demos on youtube...
My sister the ubergeek.

 

[Matt.GC]

Isn't programming and coding slowly going the way of the dodo? I thought it was interconnectivity through the IoT that was becoming ever more important in our lives rather than the coding behind it all? Isn't Industry 4.0 farming laborious coding methods off to AI now?

I appreciate I'm looking at this through a business lense (as a business student, I would wouldn't I). I'm also appreciative of the fact that my knowledge of coding pretty much ends at explaining binary code through weaving looms and no further, and that coding is a chicken and egg scenario. If ML and AI is doing the coding, someone had to code the ML and AI in the first place.

 

[delta79]

I have not really done too much coding. Html/css. A bit of command line bat files.

The odd one is PLC programming. Usually changng parameters for machine on a production line to fix a fault. Back in my maintenance spark days
They have got easier to do nowadays as you can plug a laptop in and use software with a nice GUI.

 

[Matt N]

Isn't programming and coding slowly going the way of the dodo? I thought it was interconnectivity through the IoT that was becoming ever more important in our lives rather than the coding behind it all? Isn't Industry 4.0 farming laborious coding methods off to AI now?

I appreciate I'm looking at this through a business lense (as a business student, I would wouldn't I). I'm also appreciative of the fact that my knowledge of coding pretty much ends at explaining binary code through weaving looms and no further, and that coding is a chicken and egg scenario. If ML and AI is doing the coding, someone had to code the ML and AI in the first place.

Even where generative AI is used, you still need people with coding knowledge to interpret what the AI does. ChatGPT will make code that might look very convincing to a casual observer, but could potentially be riddled with errors, so you will still need a human to look at it, validate and debug it.

I haven’t used generative AI in my coding much (if at all), but as much as I’d imagine that it might take some of the laborious grunt work out of programming, I think there will still always be a need for people who have programming skills and some degree of computational thinking skills.

Certainly, from looking around the current graduate job market, it seems like programming skills are still very desirable. Many (dare I say most) jobs in industry still find it very desirable if you have some programming languages under your belt or are willing to learn. And I say this as someone looking at data science and analytics roles, which arguably isn’t quite as rooted in “pure” coding as some other fields like software development.

IoT is definitely important, but I think there will always be a place for coding knowledge.

I certainly hope IoT isn’t the only valid skill in the tech workplace, anyhow… I did one lecture of an IoT module in my second year of uni, and I dropped it in favour of a different module straight off the bat after really struggling with all the physical hardware involved. I spoke to a coursemate a few months later, and they said I made the right choice… they said that a lot of the physical hardware was very temperamental, and “some of it would only work if I swore at it and kicked it, even if my code was correct”!