In preparation for the Coder Camps programming school, I have been asked to complete some prerequisite work in the form of reading, going through online tutorials, as well as setting up this blog and a profile on LinkedIn. Although I'm still working on marking these off the checklist, I thought I'd post something about what it takes to get ready for a camp like this.
One of the books recommended by the school is Head First C# which focuses on the C# programming language and the .NET framework (not related to .net top level domain, by the way). I can tell from going through some of this book, there's a steep learning curve. I'm sure it's true with any programming language, even spoken languages, but I'm banking on being immersed in it for 9 weeks to get into the groove of things.
Another book I picked up, which wasn't recommended but looked interesting, was Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software. Less of a technical book, the author explores the connections between humans and machines, and the history of communications technology such as Morse code & Braille. So far, a good read that explores the world of computers in an entertaining and easy to grasp format.
Another prerequisite is to become familiar with some of the technologies that will be used at the camp. Primarily, we'll be using Visual Studio Express for Web, a web development program designed to help you create modern web applications. After installing the free software, and poking around a little bit, I could tell this is a powerful program. I look forward to seeing what this baby can do!
Since all websites are based on HTML, and more increasingly CSS, JavaScript & jQuery, a general understanding of these is needed to have a good head start going into the training. Coder Camps recommends Codecademy.com online courses to get a handle on these coding skills. I've completed the Web Fundamentals & jQuery courses, and am in the process of completing the JavaScript. The site walks you through lessons and exercises and allows you to enter and test your code in a handy virtual console. Some other online tutorial sites such as Codeschool.com and Teamtreehouse.com include videos and premium features.
While most of these tech bootcamps say they can take a complete beginner and turn them into an entry level programmer, I'm sure the prerequisite work allows students to focus on the meat and potatoes of programming when they get to camp. I feel like I've got a pretty basic understanding of this stuff, but I'm still a little nervous about jumping into 9 weeks of it. Oh well, a little pressure never hurt anyone...
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