RE: Jumpstart a programming ability

[Marguerite Krupp <mkrupp -at- cisco -dot- com>]

John, and others,

Java's a bit heavy to start with, being more like C++ than C. I'd suggest
something that would both build your programming expertise and be applicable
to tech comm projects like website development. You might look at JavaScript
in that regard. Visual Basic would be good. Also XML, which is not a
programming language per se, but which is a valuable skill nonetheless.

You can teach yourself any of these using the many resources (books with
CDs, online courses, etc.) available. A class might accelerate the learning
process... if you pick the right one. Some classes are designed and taught
explicitly for programmers, and those would be frustrating.

One thing to keep in mind: nobody's born knowing this stuff, and computers
are stupid machines. You have to take it one step at a time and be patient
with yourself. (Yeah, I know....) Learning this stuff is really a hands-on
thing, and everyone makes mistakes in the process. So just go out and do it.
You're not going to break anything.

Just a few thoughts at the end of the day from an ex-programmer.

Marguerite

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