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How To Become A Successful Programmer? - Programming - Nairaland

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How To Become A Successful Programmer? by diewpoint: 4:10pm On May 17, 2007
what do you do, to become very sucessful in the programming field
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by Bossman(m): 6:41pm On May 17, 2007
A lot of hard work, studying, programming. It takes a lot of dedication and time. Of course, it also helps if you are a good problem solver.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by my2cents(m): 3:42am On May 18, 2007
When in college, one of my professors told us that by the end of the semester, he wanted us to be "anal-retentive, paranoid-delusional" coders. By that he meant that if you are in your car and you step on the brake, you want the car to come to a complete halt. In other words, you are not hoping that the brakes work. They must work.

So to answer your question, you have to think logically and of all possible conditions to a problem (even in your everyday conversation, not just coding - for example, "if i wake up at 5am, then i have 1 hr to get ready for work and can take the train. Else, I have to drive. If I drive, then i spend money on fuel whereas if I am on the train, I could read, sleep or chat up someone, etc etc)

programming is all about logic. Once you are able to reason logically, it is only a matter of what language you choose to pick up at that particular time. In other words, you can have a degree in fine arts and still be able to crank out quality code.

I hope this helps.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by Afam(m): 9:24am On May 18, 2007
Passion and willingness to learn.

Unfortunately, the average Nigerian believes he/she knows it all and rather than accept what he/she does not know will rather blame someone or anything for not knowing that thing.

In programming, you must be sure of what your code will do even in different scenarios, not just guessing or hoping (as My2cents put it) that your code will do this or that.

Again, it takes time to learn but how many of us are willing to spend time to learn, a lot of us wants to make money today today as if there is no tomorrow.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by danex(m): 5:02pm On May 18, 2007
As Afam says u need passion. Passion must come first. try to love programming.

Next, have a fighting spirit. Be dogged and never give up.

Be patient also because I assure you you'll definitely get wired-up most times in very crazy codes.

Please i beg u do not think of money now.

And finally cap, it up with practice, practice and more practice possibly with a particular project.

I'm a certified Java Programmer(SCJP1.4) and this method worked for me greatly. I gave myself a simple project in which I worked on it for a number of months. Next I moved to a more challenging project that took me more time. in doing this its not completing the project that mattered but learning from it. I started with modeling a simple "text-editor".

You could try that too! It worked for me.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by abdulg: 10:44am On May 22, 2007
[flash=200,200]
Hi pragrammer!
[/flash] shocked

It is true that practice makes permanent. If and only if u want to lear programming u need to set time and practice very well, and u are good[size=8pt]
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by macgozy(m): 1:44pm On May 22, 2007
Hi guys, thnx for those lovely tips, I am not in every standard computer guru but I know how to check mail and all that but the issue is that I love programming and also have a book which discussed little/nothing on programming written by R G ANDERSON. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR ME TO BE A PROGRAMMER IN THE FUTURE??

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Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by kator(m): 1:51pm On May 22, 2007
hey, there's this site that could really help you learn how to improve on your programming potentials, its , hackthissite.org  I believe its meant to build future enthusiastic programmers. cheers!
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by thegame(m): 8:04pm On May 22, 2007
You need to be dedicated to the world of programming and not just coming inand going out.That's a simple secret.Also, you need this thing called brain and if you got partners, they gotta have brain too so as not to dull you.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by kachiface(m): 8:14pm On May 22, 2007
i agree. devotion, time and passion are necessary ingredient if you must make it. You have to surround yourself with people who are very good programmers, if you hang around failures, you will become one too - naturally.

You have to plan your strategy to get to the top. read hard nd wide. success is not an accident - you plan and prepare for it.

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Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by VIC4U: 10:34am On May 23, 2007
kachi_face:

i agree. devotion, time and passion are necessary ingredient if you must make it. You have to surround yourself with people who are very good programmers, if you hang around failures, you will become one too - naturally.

You have to plan your strategy to get to the top. read hard nd wide. success is not an accident - you plan and prepare for it.

I AGREE WITH U
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by eko4show(m): 11:35pm On May 24, 2007
simply put, you need three key ingredients

1. passion
2. commitment
3. exposure to a programming environment
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by kwebrat: 7:00pm On Mar 14, 2008
Hi guyz,

Also i believe CONSISTENCY is another considering factor that has to be mentioned (making it NUMBER 4) even though it is kind of related to COMMITMENT because when there is commitment and you have passion for what you do,then every other thing flow along .

Infact to much grammar for dictionary self, Also i would like to comment AFAM for this thoughtful insights. GOD bless Ya

One love
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by Nobody: 1:56pm On Mar 27, 2008
i think if you have a passion for something, all of these so called "needed to excel"s come with it

Have a passion for stealing?
you will always know where people will likely keep their money and i tell you, thats where they kept it

Have a passion for Hacking?
You will always know what the "security men" were thinking and you will always find a way around every security

You don't need a fake list of driving forces, They wont keep you going, why? because you will get tired one day
Find where your passion lies and you'll see you have those "needed to excel" qualities already

Like myself, I feel glad each time i google through tutorials and see thousands of tutorial on stuffs i don't know.
I am always like "Whao, see great stuffs!"
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by deejay50: 6:24pm On Apr 04, 2008
Nice question, I'd like to modify the question to ask what it would take to be a successful programmer in Nigeria. I fell in love with coding from the first time mostly because its one thing that offers instant results whether success or failure. What's more, you learn from your mistakes and get better each time. I don't know just how rewarding it is in Nigeria because it seems away from the mainstream professions we idealize so much angry. In fact, the older generation are not soo enthusiastic about it. Then, with programming, there is so much work (code) for little visible result so who cares if you spent a month fine-tuning, testing the code and making it as robust as possible? Pls share ur thoughts.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by neowelsh(m): 7:04pm On Apr 04, 2008
what are the softwares needed?
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by aphoe(m): 12:37pm On Apr 07, 2008
“Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night.”

[list]
[li]Henry Wadsworth Longfellow[/li]
[/list]
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by javadevil: 1:19pm On Apr 11, 2008
read code

write code. then contact me if you have a problem,
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by technobayo(m): 9:01am On Aug 15, 2008
Hey!
Been working with vb.net(visual basic language) on my own 4 'bout a year now since migrating from vb6. Specialty's visual basic though still learning via self-development studies.
Decided to take my programming dreams a step further by registering for JAVA classes in NIIT with a view to following a structured curriculum leading up to my certifications.
D passion's there so d bulk of it all lies on me. Open to suggestions though on the prospects of JAVA plus aw best to buid on d average i know in Vb.net(visual basic language).
I'd appreciate forming a network of like minds with peops in Abuja where i'm based. Or any site i cld lay my hands on for vb pjs to up my skills n xposure.
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by lekside44(m): 10:10am On Mar 09, 2009
can any body tell me how to get basic , fortran and c++ compilers. my email is lekside44@yahoo.co.uk [color=#990000][/color]thanks
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by lekside44(m): 4:22pm On Mar 30, 2009
firstly, before you can be a really grat programmer, you must fisrt understand the fundermentals of programing. after this, you must define the goals and objectives you are trying to achive. without this , whats the use, [color=#770077][/color]
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by lekside44(m): 4:34pm On Mar 30, 2009
firstly, you must understand the basic of programming. secondly, you must know the task you want to achive and how to achieve that. thats the logic,
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by Ghenghis(m): 10:51pm On Apr 03, 2009
@lekside44

if you're programming for the solaris platform(which is one of the best platforms for software development) simply
get the sun one suite or solaris developer express edition.


If you're on windows the best C++ compilers are from inprise Borland
or GCC for open source

also try bloodshed-dev (very good C++ compiler and IDE)

If you don't mind managed environment (lots of baggage) then C++.NET

Watford's set of compilers are also good for fortran and C++

try www.thefreecountry.com

enjoy!!!
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by lekside44(m): 8:13pm On Apr 06, 2009
i only wanted a compiler to play with programs i studied and used in school during my undergraduate years. thats why i need basic fortan and its compatriot compilers. thanks.[color=#000099][/color]
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by sisqology(m): 12:51pm On Apr 03, 2011
hehehe
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by kodewrita(m): 10:40am On Apr 05, 2011
read programming books regularly.

read other people's code

write comments when you code.

aim to make your code so readable that a neophyte can guess what it does by reading the names of your variables and functions.

master programming with notepad and with IDEs.

sign up with some programming blogs e.g codinghorror.com, 37signals.com etc and participate.

use subversion or other version tracking software to manage your programming.

keep a journal while programming so you can track when exactly you made errors.

use the rule of Three, when any set of lines in your code is repeated up to 3 times or more, try extracting that functionality and representing it as code.


Do some little planning before you code.

Write small test programs before attacking the main thing.

when building something, split it into small projects and tackle them one at a time (always).

Be like the proverbial carpenter who spends 6 hours sharpening his axe and 1 hour cutting it. Think hard when you start any project and try to play out all the scenarios in your head but realise that some will not survive the first keyboard click as reality has a way of distilling out the fake ideas in our minds.

Assume "the computer is okay and the error is mine unless proven otherwise".

There are solutions to every problem, be patient enough to find it.


There are no hard problems, some just require more time than others.


Finally, trust yourself and impress yourself. No one else will trust you more than you do.





FUTURE EDIT: Feels good to have your comments cited on other sites http://www.google.com/baraza/en/thread?tid=419d44914ac28757&pli=1
FUTURE EDIT 2: Baraza is gone. Ugh.

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Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by csharpjava(m): 11:54am On Apr 06, 2011
To Become A Successful Programmer you need to learn UML which will let you know how to create use cases and class diagrams, nowadays a high school boy can write wonderful codes. Knowing UML and coding is what makes you a good programmer today.

Free tutorial on UML
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRXe1omEGWQ
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by kumiho: 10:24am On Sep 24, 2011
In my own opinion, correct me if i'm wrong,. smiley
To become a successful programmer, you must have a unique mind.
A mind that can think some things that other cannot think.
In short, you must be creative.
Not to think about money all the time, you must think first of how you can make life more easier using your programming skills. . .
you will be successful for that. . .
Re: How To Become A Successful Programmer? by moderatorr: 6:57am On Sep 28, 2011
SPEED: to be a successful programmer SPEED is your greatest asset. SPEED in learning, SPEED in deploying,SPEED in debugging, SPEED on your fingers, SPEED in your murdercoding mind.

'Life is too short, you know' - nice

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