Essential Tools to Learn Before Starting with Software Development
Alright, so you got an idea about what you want to do ahead after reading Top 6 Career Paths for Young Software Developers (if you haven't go check it out ;) ). In this post, we will help you get the tools needed before we get started with your career path. So step right in and unwrap your new tools.
Linux/Powershell Terminal
If you are a developer or you want to become a developer then you can not avoid Shell Scripting. Basically using your computer with the help of textual commands instead of using graphical elements. This is possible either by using Linux commands or Powershell commands.
Confused about where to start?
Start with all the basic commands and navigating around your operating system without using the graphical interface. Create, copy, remove and move your files within the terminal. Once you are done with basic commands start installing applications without going to a website and downloading the graphical installer. Use the pre-installed command-line-interface applications according to your use to see system resources or to run a code editor. Manage permissions of accounts associated with your operating system.
Code Sharing Platforms
Another tool any developer can't live without is a code-sharing platform. What is the use of you sweating all your efforts to write the code alone and not being able to showcase it to the world? This is where the code-sharing platforms kick in. They not only let you share your code but they also let you collaborate with your team to build your projects together.
While there are many such platforms available deep in the digital ocean of the internet like GitLab, BitBucket, SourceForge and AWS CodeCommit, GitHub owns around 70% the of market share.
Do not get confused between Git and GitHub though. Git is a version control management system while GitHub is a cloud-based hosting system where you could upload and share your code. Combination of both Git and GitHub can extract maximum productivity and efficiency to let you maintain proper version history as well as showcase your progress online.
Follow me on GitHub to check out all my open-sourced projects: VinayakTekade
Code Editors
You could write your code even on notepad and call it a day. But we have highly specialized code editors in the market where you could write your code productively. They have many features are like code formatting, syntax highlighting, auto-completion and many extensions to expand the possibilities.
Some of the popular code editors are VS Code, Atom and Sublime. There are many articles out there comparing code editors and ranking them but honestly, it depends on what you like and what you are comfortable with in the end. So don't hesitate to try them out and find the right one which suits your personality and needs the best as a developer spends most of their time in their choice of code editor.
Social Media Platforms/ Forums
We all have an account on at least a social media platform and we all know how to post a cute picture of ours and see whether all our friends liked it.
But we all miss out on the real power of social media.
We could use social media and forums to expand our reach. Reach out to people out there who have experience in what you want to learn. And trust me when I say this. People are ready to help and give away genuine advice. These people are usually active on forums like Reddit and Stack Overflow as well.
Not only this, we have developer communities all around us. Searching them is as easy as just a search on any social media platform or just searching on Google. Join them there and meet similar minded people, work together on projects and attend their workshops. This is where you actually grow your network and not only learn effectively but also expand your opportunities.
We at Coder's Capsule have similar goals, Join us on Instagram at @coders.capsule
Programming Language
How could we forget programming for developers? It is the most important part to understand how a programming language.
Worried about which language to pick up? We could divide this into two categories based on the way you want to learn.
If you want to have fun and get started with building games and application, learn Python or JavaScript. Programming might seem mundane while learning, but if we get to build apps simultaneously and see the result of our hard work, it becomes fun. If you are a person who finds it difficult to find your motivation to just get started with programming this would be the best way to learn it.
If you are a person of principles and would like to clear the deep concepts of programming before actually working on projects. I would tell you to learn C, C++ or Java. These are strongly typed programming languages where we have to define each and every property to proceed forward in a project. That does mean that you have to spend more time learning the language first and then working on projects but this also means that you will be very clear with the concepts of programming and learning Python and JavaScript would be a cakewalk later.
That’s all for now folks. This is Vinayak Tekade from Coder’s Capsule signing off. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Looking forward to learn, teach and grow together. Check us out on Instagram for more similar content.
