Category: Random Wednesday
Explore a random development topic each Wednesday.
2017 Book List
In the constant pursuit of learning and improving myself, I’ve discovered that going through books is a great way to expand my knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. I’m going to keep this post open and update it with each new book I read. I’ve categorized the book list into the following divisions: Faith & Spirituality Business Development & Science Skill History Fiction 2016 Book List Book List Category: Faith & Spirituality God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be The Pursuit […]
Coding Interview Question: Reversing the Words in a String
In today’s coding exercise the task is to reverse the words in a string, where words are separated by one or more spaces. Summary Build a program that reverses the words in a string, where words are separated by one or more spaces. Exercise File Code File Exercise Description Given the following strings: “dog lazy the over jumped fox brown quick The” Write a program that reverses the order of the words. Sample Input “dog lazy the over jumped fox brown quick The” Sample Output “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” Real […]
Dead Simple Explanation of Asynchronous Development
No matter your background, the concept of asynchronous behavior in applications can be a challenging topic. Seasoned programmers and new coding students alike can be intimidated by what it takes to work with asynchronous programs. In this guide I will walk through a dead simple explanation of asynchronous development. And by the end of the material hopefully the concept will be easier to understand. Explanation of Asynchronous Development Let’s start off with a definition of what asynchronous development means. What Does Asynchronous Mean? If you Google asynchronous development you’ll get a long list of convoluted explanations. So I’m […]
How to Pick a Programming Language
We have discussed the importance of picking a development specialty, such as front end, server side or mobile. However, simply choosing a specialty is not enough. You also need to decide on what programming language you want to focus on. No book or guide can tell you what language you should learn. That’s a decision that can be made only by yourself. So in this guide my goal is to help you decide how to pick a programming language based on your long term objectives. How to Pick a Programming Language If you went through the exercise for […]
How to Choose a Developer Specialty
So you want to be a developer? That’s awesome, the software development world is one of the most challenging and rewarding career paths that someone can take. Since I lead the instruction for a coding bootcamp I meet daily with aspiring students from around the world. One pattern I see with new students is that when I ask the question: “What kind of developer do you want to be?” I’ll usually be met with a blank stare. One time I even had a student reply back with the response: “A good one!” However through the […]
Algorithm Tutorial: Introduction to the B-Tree Data Structure
With your knowledge of the basic functionality of binary search trees, you’re ready to move onto a more practical data structure, the B-Tree. First and foremost, it’s important to understand that B-Tree does not stand for Binary Tree or Binary Search Tree. The B in B-Tree technically doesn’t represent a word. However some common characteristics can be summarized with words that begin with B, which is most likely the origin of the name. For example, B-Trees are: Balanced – this is a self balancing data structure, which means that performance can be guaranteed when B-Trees […]
A Developer’s Guide for Hacking Procrastination to Achieve Success
There you are. Sitting in front of your computer. Staring at a blank screen. You know you have to work on a code project, but it feels like you’re frozen. The task before you is so intimidating that you don’t even know where you begin. It feels as if you’d rather be doing anything else in the world besides that task that’s staring you in the face. This scenario is the ugly and all too common face of procrastination that programmers are forced to fight constantly. If this situation sounds familiar you’re in good company. […]
Learning How to Code: Getting Past Skill Plateaus
A common pattern I see with students learning how to code is: Quickly learning a massive amount of information. Followed by running into a seemingly insurmountable wall. In this phase the student typically feels like they’ve reached the zenith of what they’re going to be able to accomplish in regard to development. This second phase is called a plateau. In this guide we’re going to walk through strategies for getting past skill plateaus. I’ve spoken before about learning curves. And it’s important to understand that everyone follows a similar pattern when it comes to learning […]
Understanding the Queue Data Structure – a Guide for Developers
In the world of algorithms you won’t make it far without a clear understanding of how the queue data structure works. In this guide to the queue data structure we’ll walk through: What a queue is What they’re used for Lastly we’ll finish up by taking a practical look at how queues can be used in real world development. Abstract Data Structures Even though a number of languages, including Ruby and Scala, have a Queue class, typically queues are considered abstract data structures. This means that they are used to help explain algorithms and processes, but […]
Are Developers Born or Made? Debunking the Myth of Prodigies
In talking with development students I’ve discovered one topic that constantly arises in conversation. And that topic is the misconceived notion that great developers are born with a special programming gene. So let’s walk through the question: are developers born or made, from a practical perspective. Are Prodigies Real? Before tackling this question, let’s take a step back and discuss the topic of prodigies. Because whenever someone thinks that a certain group of individuals are born with super human like talent, they’re essentially saying that these special people are prodigies. The Mozart Case Study But are prodigies […]