Coding and the Modern Gentleman

Two of the most important things of the modern world are computers and the internet. No matter who you are or what you do you likely interact with these two elements at some point in your day. It could be downloading a news app on your cell phone, emailing Johnson with the accounting report on your work PC, or surfing Gentlemint on your home laptop. Even more important than these important tools are the digital gears and cogs that make them run: Programing Languages.

What is a Programing Language?

A programing language is in its most basic terms is exactly that, it's a language that computers speak. However, there is more to it than that. Computers themselves are systems of hardware and software that work together to complete requested tasked. The hardware devices talk to each other through the fluctuation of electrical currents known as binary. As I type the keys on my keyboard the keys send a signal to the processor, which then sends signals to the monitor to display the text that I am typing, but how does the computer know that when I press the "K" key it should display the letter "K" in the text on the screen? Software.

Software is the key to making sure that all these systems work together. The software programed into your BIOS makes sure your processor doesn't over heat and catch fire, software of your word processor handles talking to your printer when you want a physical copy of your document. However, how does software do all this? Well, this is where the programing language comes in.

Programing languages are what take the complication of computing binary and processing algorithms, and put it into an easy to manipulate format (If you never tried to calculate with binary this video here shows how to compute an IP Address with binary). Programing languages control everything when it comes to software, from operation to aesthetics. How is this blogs background black? A programing language told it to be. How does your computer know to move your courser right when you move your mouse right? A programing language told it to.

Why should the Modern Gentleman know how to Code?

For starters it's at the core of our natural instinct to control our surroundings. Today almost everything in our environment involves computers, so knowing how to code gives you the ability to control those computers. Along with the core instincts to control our domain, to be a gentleman it is important to to always better our intellect.

Second, when you know how to code anything is possible. Just look at these examples of what is possible with coding. A father has reprogrammed the original Donkey Kong for his daughter, or this marriage proposal made to be the fiancees favorite video game.

Finally, knowing how to code is a high in demand skill, that few know. Not to mention that very few entry level programing jobs require you to be certified in the language, and you normally don't need to be certified to put one on a resume, as long as you can show your proficient with it. This means that learning different programing languages make you a more marketable job candidate

How to learn how to code?

 

There are many different ways to learn how to code. Your local library should have many books about coding. Most community colleges offer night courses to teach different programing languages also. However, the best way I believe to learn a new programing language is the new site called Code Academy. This site offers step by step hands on tutorials in several different languages. It offers an achievement system like XBOX360 or PS3 to promote you to complete your courses and learn more languages.

Once you have decided how you are going to learn your new skill, you need to decided which language you are going to learn. There many different languages, each one has a different difficulty to learn, and depending on the language you can do different things. I suggest starting with either Java, an simple language used to make things like Flash games, or HTML and CSS, two easy to learn languages used to make web pages.

Now that you have your tool, and your language picked, all you need to do is study and practice. Like all skills you must actually learn and use it to master it. Who knows maybe your next simple program will lead you to write a great new indie video game, or the next big search engine or social networking site. The possibilities are endless with this skill of the modern gentle man.