Computer Programming (Study)

S

scofield

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
306
Reaction score
0
Okay so this is my choice of career. I am in Matric looking to study next year. I was thinking of doing correspondence as i can already do quite basic programing. However, Damelin does not offer any study in the "C++" language, which i feel is quite vital. Unisa does, but you can only get a certificate, whereas with Damelin you can get a Diploma... i hope that makes sense...
so what you guys think are my best options? is a diploma the highest qualification you can receive in computer programming? or should i look higher? thanks in advance.
 
yes but no where does it specify what languages they teach... unless u go down to certificates
 
okay schweet... where can i C requirements etc? and do they only do C++? no Csharp etc?
 
You are generally NOT going to learn A language at uni. You will learn a skill, which will allow you to use LANGUAGES (plural).
The distinction is clear - and important to understand.
University teaches you the science behind programming (and learning a language in the process is a bonus). Diplomas etc teach you a language, and hardly any of the science.
 
so i should do a BSc in Computer Science, then go and get diplomas in various languages?
 
No, do a BSc in Computer Science, which will teach you the science behind it as well as several languages. That will make it easier to learn languages later. I dont see the point in doing a diploma in a certain language - those are usually offered for people who want to program but dont want to spend the time doing the background work. Rather, get a job and learn the language on the job. In just a few months, you'll know everything you need to know.

Stop being so worried about one particular language too. Its only a tool to solve a problem. Its more important that you use the right tool for the job anyway. Besides that, you might prefer Java and hate C++. University will probably expose you to both. Also, a lot of jobs require more than a single language. In fact, almost all of them do. Learn C++ only, and thats all you will ever be able to do. I havent had a job that hasnt required me to know SQL in some form or fashion, for example.
 
Ancalagon said:
No, do a BSc in Computer Science, which will teach you the science behind it as well as several languages. That will make it easier to learn languages later. I dont see the point in doing a diploma in a certain language - those are usually offered for people who want to program but dont want to spend the time doing the background work. Rather, get a job and learn the language on the job. In just a few months, you'll know everything you need to know.

Stop being so worried about one particular language too. Its only a tool to solve a problem. Its more important that you use the right tool for the job anyway. Besides that, you might prefer Java and hate C++. University will probably expose you to both. Also, a lot of jobs require more than a single language. In fact, almost all of them do. Learn C++ only, and thats all you will ever be able to do. I havent had a job that hasnt required me to know SQL in some form or fashion, for example.
Click to expand...

okay thanks for the help dude. "http://brochure.unisa.ac.za/brochure/showprev.aspx?d=l_4_0_2&f=p_02089ICP" that the right thing?
 
Last edited:
Yeah, thats the kind of thing. If you want to stand out to your employers, I highly recommend doing work exposure, or side projects. It shows to them that you are A) enthusiastic, B) some way along in terms of learning the practical skills you need.

What I mean by the last part, is that university probably wont teach you much of what you actually need to program for a career. Not really a failing on university's part, more that the focus is different. Programming as a career requires good troubleshooting and debugging skills, most of which you wont learn at university because you just dont program enough. At university, even in third year I wasnt programming all the time. Most of my time was spent in lectures, in practicals for other subjects that didnt require programming, or simply wasted. At work, I program (and here I mean debug code as well as actually write it) all day. Thats a lot more time spent coding, and that means I've had to learn a lot of tricks to solve problems that I just didnt encounter in university.

I hear you asking, "Well if thats the case, whats the point in university?" Because I wouldnt be half as good at it if I didnt have that background. There is just so much to know, so much that you need to know to be good. Anyone can write code, but writing maintanable object oriented code that conforms to a particular pattern is hard. Its even harder when you are expected to learn a particular language on the job, as is often the case in real life. Had I not studied a lot of languages, and spent a lot of time thinking about good practice instead of just writing code, I dont think I could do it. Or at least, not as well.
 
Ancalagon said:
I hear you asking, "Well if thats the case, whats the point in university?" Because I wouldnt be half as good at it if I didnt have that background. There is just so much to know, so much that you need to know to be good.
Click to expand...

That is true. And no one who has not done a uni course understands it, until they have. A lot of people will point and say "well, Bill Gates dropped out" and so on, but they forget that he spent more than 10 years coding 10 hours a day before he even went to uni.
Uni is important if you want to really succeed. There is a reason they have been around for centuries.
 
Moederloos said:
That is true. And no one who has not done a uni course understands it, until they have. A lot of people will point and say "well, Bill Gates dropped out" and so on, but they forget that he spent more than 10 years coding 10 hours a day before he even went to uni.
Uni is important if you want to really succeed. There is a reason they have been around for centuries.
Click to expand...

I also think, Bill Gates is one of those rare individuals who would have made it, degree or not. If you are lucky enough to be able to make it like he did, then go ahead and quit university. The rest of us should stay in university and get a good education.
 
Ancalagon said:
I also think, Bill Gates is one of those rare individuals who would have made it, degree or not. If you are lucky enough to be able to make it like he did, then go ahead and quit university. The rest of us should stay in university and get a good education.
Click to expand...

Gary Player said "The harder I work, the luckier I get".
Not that I have any deep and aspiring love of M$, quite the opposite, but old Bill did deservedly well.
 
thanks guys, thanks alot. i actually wanna start a bit of programming now, just basic knowledge etc etc... any help on where to start ?
 
scofield said:
thanks guys, thanks alot. i actually wanna start a bit of programming now, just basic knowledge etc etc... any help on where to start ?
Click to expand...

First, choose a field of interest. For me, i have two favourites. Platform games or side to side scrollers, or LOGO ( programming language ). I always use one of those when coding a new language the first time. The advantage is it INTERESTS YOU, and so you enjoy it more, and you learn quicker.
Once you have chosen something, just code :D

I have written games / LOGO in about 10 languages each, from Assembler to .NET. Sure they never quite get finished, they may run slowly, but I accomplish the goal - learning the basics of the language, the IDE, debugging in the IDE etc etc
 
Im doing BSc Computer Science - Software Engineering at Unisa. Mostly Im doing C++
 
UCT offers a diverse BSc: IT degree (with business, psychology, game design, maths, physics & statistical flavours)

see http://www.cs.uct.ac.za for more information on what degrees/courses are on offer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X