Top 5 Debates Among Programmers

This is a post that I thought would be funny to do, and who knows you may have overheard some of these debates in one of your computer science labs.

Tabs VS Spaces
- This is a common debate among programmers and the debate can get really heated. Who knew that a simple things like tabs and spaces could do such a thing.
First Programming Language
- This is a long-standing debate and usually has a lot of biases. The main reason someone says one language is better to learn first is because it is the programming language that they began with. You can read more about this topic from my article: What is the first programming language you should choose?
Bracket Placement
- This is another one that doesn’t actually seem like it’s a big deal, but programmers have very strong convictions on where they place opening brackets. Some say you place it on the line of the statement and others say it goes on the next line. I personally prefer it on the same line. What does everyone else think?
Best Operating System
- This sometimes is a debate that happens between non-programmers as well, but it is definitely something that programmers have strong opinions about. Granted most of this is just bias. Each operating system has its own pros and cons for the job needed to be done. You can see more about this in my article: What is the best operating system?
IDEs
- All programmers have their personal choice in IDE. It could be sublime, notepad++, eclipse, visual studios, ect. and each programmer thinks that their IDE is better in some way. If you look through my blog posts you will see that even I have a bit of a preference for a certain IDE. There is really nothing wrong with other IDEs and is really up to the preference of the programmer. They are essentially just tools that we use to accomplish our goals.

These are the top 5 debates programmers have with each other, and if you are just getting started in the field you will hear them soon enough. What is your favorite IDE and why?

What is Atom?

If you came to this post wondering what an atom in physics is then I have bad news, I am talking about the text editor Atom. This is a very nice text editor for writing code. It supports many programming languages and has some features, like auto-complete, that makes it great for any programming. It also has several add-ons that can make your life a lot easier, like a nice to-do list add-on. Another thing that I really like about it is that there is a version for all the operating system and they all work very well for each OS. This means that I can be consistent when switching between operating systems. This is just my preference but it is really nice to be able and work in the same environment on all three operating systems. Granted there may be times when you need an actual IDE for the task at hand, but when you don’t require one then I suggest using Atom. There are other alternatives, like notepad++, but it doesn’t work as well with Mac OS as it does with Windows.

Checkout Atom for yourself.

How do you manage your money?

This is a very difficult question to answer and there is no one solution. I can only tell you what is helping me. The main thing that I do is keep track of everything that I spend money on by the use of an app on my phone. So anytime I spend money on something I immediately input that into the app. At the end of the month I export that data to a computer and make a spreadsheet that has my total amount spent for the month and then I input what I made that month. I figure out the difference between the two and see if I made money that month or lost money. The little app has a pie chart that displays how much I have spent on each category. I don’t actually have a budget and that works for me because just the sight of the pie chart gives me an idea of if I need to stop spending money. Some people will work better with actually making a budget and telling themselves that they only have that much money to spend on this certain category. This to me is to restrictive and so I like to just make the decision to buy something or not based on how much I have already spent for the month. This may seem like a simple thing to do, but it is hard to be dedicated to doing it and it has a huge impact on how much you actually spend.

You may also be interested in the post: “How do you build your credit as a college student?”. You don’t even need to be a college student, since it will work for everyone.

Yu-Gi-Oh ForbiddenMemories Walkthrough

This blog post is sort of out of theme for the rest of the site and that is because this is from an old website. It is the best gaming tutorial I have made so far so I would like to put it on this blog so it will still be out there for people to use.

Walkthrough Part 1

The Beginning

This walk-through is Yu-Gi-Oh Forbidden Memories image about the game Yu-Gi-Oh Forbidden Memories. It is a simple game to beat but requires a lot of time. Once you create your account get past the cut scene listen to Simon one time and then run away from Simon. After that return to the palace and he will want to duel you. After the duel with Simon you need to go to the card shop and check your cards in the deck. If you don’t have a Raigeki and a monster with 1400 attack, restart the game to try to get a Raigeki and a monster with 1400 attack.When you get a deck that has those cards you are ready to get started. When you are talking to Simon listen to him once and then run away. After that return to the palace and he will want to duel you.

Continue reading “Yu-Gi-Oh ForbiddenMemories Walkthrough” →

Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

This is a must read book for anybody going into the realm of technology, especially software engineers. The words that were written in this book in 1949 seem to be even more real today than they were back then. This book is a good reminder that what you create as a software engineer can have many consequences. It is ironic that in the book it is shown that every TV in every room keeps a close eye on you and makes privacy non-existent, and now in the real world we have many devices that monitor what we do all the time. This is not just happening in your own home either it is wherever you go as well, especially with the smart phone that everyone keeps on them. Although the book focuses on this “negative utopia” and you can draw many correlations from the books ideas and concepts to the real world, it does not mean that creating this technology is bad. It does give us a look at how things could possibly be and makes us actually think about what is going on around us. It is scary though how many of the ideas in the book seem to actually be true in real life, and there are more ideas in the book then just a lack of privacy which we are facing today. It is a wonderful read and will keep your attention throughout the whole book. I would highly recommend reading this book when you get a chance.

You can get 1984 by George Orwell on amazon now.

Easy to access cheat sheets for programmers

One thing that is very different from going to school for computer science and actually having a job as a software engineer is that in school you are expected to keep everything inside your own head and not rely on an outside source. In the world of software engineering you have the option to actually look up anything that you do not know off the top of your head. Granted that you cannot constantly be looking up things and even if you do it very rarely it ends up taking a lot of time trying to find the specific thing you are looking for. That is where cht.sh comes in handy. This website lets you look up cheat sheets on a lot of different languages and even has a way of searching the web for content if it does not already have the answer you are looking for. It isn’t even necessary to go to the website in order to look things up. You can simply use the command line to access everything. It has some predefined cheat sheets and even has a tutorial over the basics of many languages. There is a command for searching the documentation or if it can not find it then it will simply look up an answer for you. It is a very nice tool to have as a developer and can come in handy when needing a quick refresher on something.

What is the best operating system?

There have been numerous debates on which operating system is the best to use as a software engineer. You will find someone in every corner trying to convince you that the operating system they use is the best. The truth is though it comes down to preference and what kind of software you are using at the end of the day. Even in your job it will come to what the business prefers and what software they are invested in. At my work we are highly invested in Microsoft so it is only natural that we use Windows 10. Granted it’s not my favorite operating system, but that is just my preference. In reality as a software engineer I would suggest that you get familiar with all the operating systems, well mainly Microsoft, OS, and one Linux distribution that you like. This is so you will have experience working in all 3 and be able to adapt when your job calls for it. So I wouldn’t focus on which operating system is better and just learn to use the 3 of them, this will ultimately help you in the long run. Don’t let people convince you that one operating system is better to code in than another either because that just isn’t true. They are all fine to code in and again that really just comes down to preference.

How do you build your credit as a college student?

Credit is a mysterious thing, but what is not mysterious is that it is very important for your long-term financial health. One thing you can do as a college student is set up an account with credit karma and see what your score is and what kind of credit cards they recommend. Try to find a card recommendation that does not have any annual fees and a low-interest rate. Also try to sign up for the card before you take out any loans. This is because when you take out student loans for a period of time it will be factored into the decision of them giving you a credit card. Once you finally have a card find out the maximum credit on the card and calculate what 30% of that would be, this will tell you how much you can actually spend with the credit card. This probably won’t be a lot of money at first since the maximum credit will probably be around $500 and 30% would be $150. Basically just use the card for getting gas for your vehicle and make sure you do not go over the $150. If you go over that amount then your credit will get dinged. Be sure to connect the card to your bank account it can be paid automatically when the time comes each month. This will allow you to never miss a payment, which will help your credit score. Keeping this card through your college career will greatly help you because then you will have at least two open lines of credit for a few years. There are other things that can also be done, but this is one of the easiest things to do in order to help build your credit.

How do you get your first job in software engineering?

There is no sure fire way to get a job fast, but there are some steps that you can take. The first step is searching for openings at companies and then applying to them. Remember that you will probably get rejected 10 times before you actually get an interview with one. Also remember that if they do not explicitly say that you cannot reapply for a position then any time they re-post the job offer apply for it again. There is usually no harm in doing this, it is actually how I got my first position. Also attend job fairs whenever they come around and be sure to scout out the companies before you go. Once you get an interview then you follow all the simple rules about showing up on time and dressed appropriately. Honestly all companies do different things for the interview process and ask different questions. At least get to know the business the best that you can before the interview. After that just do your best and try to learn from the experience if it does not work out. Also, don’t be afraid to ask around about job openings from friends or even have your friends ask about job openings. That may be the fastest way to get a job, but still apply for others just to get experience. Remember that the entry level job will probably expect you to know very little about how they actually do things at the company and that they probably expect it to take a few months before you are relatively up to speed. So try not to worry if you don’t get everything on your first day on the job and feel completely lost.

How do you pay off student loans?

This topic may not be directly related to the field of software engineering, but it definitely has an impact on most. There is no easy way to pay off student loans and it will take some time to pay them all off no matter what approach you take. There are a few things to keep in mind that may help you pay off those loans faster. The first thing to keep in mind that the loans you have probably compute interest daily and this means that the interest can start to add up fast. It also means that the longer you go without making a payment the more of that payment will go toward interest. It is usually better to split up your monthly payment into four small weekly payments. Just splitting the payment up you can take one to two years off the life of the loan. Granted this can depend on what your certain circumstances, but in most cases this will help lower your loans faster and you will have to pay less interest. The next thing to remember that usually the payment that the institution that services your loan calculates is the bare minimum and that it is better to try and pay more then the actual payment. This can be hard sometimes but every little cent adds up when paying of the loans. Another thing to do is read all of the documents regarding your loan. Sometimes the small details in those documents can save you some money and save you from getting into a tough situation. Just think once that loan is gone you will have an extra chunk of money each month to spend or invest.