The task of getting high schoolers a solid foundation in software and coding continues. For students in today’s world, the need to know some sort of programming language is as necessary as becoming fluent in Spanish. But are the two interchangeable, and should they be? One of the first states to try to tackle this … continue reading
If it were illegal to program a computer, I’d have a machine under the floorboards. I sold my first program when I was 16 years old, in 1980, and with any luck I’ll be making my living this way for another couple decades. I’ve been trying to improve my craft for longer than some readers … continue reading
Netflix is known as a place to binge watch television, but behind the scenes, there’s much going on before everyone’s favorite shows can be streamed. There are many tools and techniques the company uses to go from source code to a deployed service that sends shows and movies to more than 75 million global Netflix … continue reading
It seems like every other day we are celebrating something. One day it’s national this, the next day it’s national that. Today is International Day of Women (IDW2016), and it’s not one of those silly holidays that pop up on Twitter in the form of hashtags. But this is an important day. Today celebrates the … continue reading
Developers and companies seeking talent should be keeping up on the latest languages and frameworks in the industry. This is why Toptal—a company that connects enterprises and startups with freelance software engineers and designers—is releasing its findings on what coding languages and frameworks are in highest demand for 2016. According to the report, which will … continue reading
Today, Coding Dojo, a coding boot camp, announced that it is opening new locations in Dallas, Washington and Chicago. Coding Dojo will double its number of existing campuses, which are currently located in Los Angeles, San Jose and Seattle. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1 million more computing jobs … continue reading
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it is what you know for sure just ain’t so,” said Mark Twain. Actually, some dude named Josh Billings said it, but continuing to attribute it to Mark Twain is nicely ironic. When it comes to programming, our assumptions give us blind spots. I … continue reading
Despite efforts to promote and encourage good cybersecurity practices, Internet users continue to put themselves at risk. SplashData has released its annual Worst Passwords of 2015 list, and it revealed that “123456” and “password” still top the list as the most commonly used passwords, and they have been on the top since 2011. Other passwords … continue reading
Minecraft is billed as being for exploring and building, but Microsoft wants kids exploring places in the real world, like the Pyramids of Giza or ancient temples. This is why Microsoft announced Minecraft: Education Edition, which is a new version that is customized for schools. The new title will be available as a free trial … continue reading
An early preview of Google’s new Android Emulator is available for developers to try out. The emulator will be a part of Android Studio 2.0, and it aims to help developers test out their apps. The emulator allows users to test their apps with the latest Android versions on different screen sizes and configurations beyond … continue reading
The third annual Computer Science Education Week (CSEW) kicks off this week, with an emphasis on bringing more women and minorities into programming. Code.org started CSEW in 2013, including the Hour of Code campaign, an initiative to get more talented and creative people interested in computer science in just one hour. Non-profits, schools and experts … continue reading
Code is for communication. Good code is clear code. Clever code is crap. As Abelson and Sussman phrase it in “Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs,” “Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” But we rarely open a source code out of pure intellectual curiosity; rather, we … continue reading
