Web Design & Marketing Blog

So, You Want To Learn How To Program?

Category: Blog

Written by Estevan Montoya

In our blog, we often talk about website design. The reason is because more businesses are moving their applications to an online platform. It used to be that you'd spend $50-$100 for a simple cd that installed software on your computer. That program was most likely written in a one of a few programming languages, such as C, C++, Visual Basic, or Java. Well, things are changing. As mentioned, applications are being made in an online environment, or are placed in the form of a smart device that synchronizes with a website or online database. We see it in Google, they have taken just about every idea Microsoft has and placed a new and more social version of it online that can be accessed through a simple Gmail account.

All that being said, there are several ways to get in the game of web application development, all of which revolve around learning web application development. The world of the web can be divided into two basic categories, Open Source and Commercial. There are programming languages that are Open Source and there are other programming languages that are commercial. Each have their own benefits, so rather than fight over which is the best, I'd rather give you your options, a few places to learn them, and let you decide which is best for you if you want to learn how to program.

What Is The Difference Between Open Source & Commercial Programming Languages?

Simply put, Open Source means that the code of a particular application is open to all, can be downloaded, and changed to meet the needs of the programmer. This style of openness has developed a community of programmers that use open source programming languages such as PHP to develop for free and commercial web based applications and software. Whereas, Commercial is, well something that we pay for. There is nothing wrong in paying for development. In fact, I have seen people take open source programming languages and make commercial projects. At the same time, I have seen people take commercial programming software to make open source projects. Either way, people use programming languages to make the software that we use, whether it be in an online application we pay to use or something we install directly on our computer.

What Kind Of Progamming Should I Get Involved With?

You can only answer that question by deciding what kind of software you want to create and how you want it to be used. Yet, many of our desktop software is being made in an online format. I personally believe that devices like an iPad and Tablet will eventually replace laptops, or at least become a major player in personal computer use. With the advent of portable smart devices, we find that they are limited in their total hard drive space. This can pose a problem, except for the fact that businesses are creating apps that are small in size and store information in an online database, which creates a web based application that is used on a portable device.

Not only are smart devices creating the needs for online software, but businesses as a whole are creating software that is used online rather than being installed on a desktop computer. There is a benefit for such website development. For instance, I can create a document in Google docs at work. If I get an idea while at home, I can easily log in to my account and make the changes from any internet connection. This means that my projects and application use is no longer limited to a single computer.

Such development requires a working knowledge of stylish design, mixed with web application development, and sprinkled with database knowledge and security. There are many programming languages out there can accomplish website development projects, but the two that are prevalent are PHP and ASP. Both of these programming languages are powerful, and are basically limited to the programmer's ability. PHP is open source, ASP is commercial. PHP can use a database system called SQL. ASP uses Access.

These two languages are used to develop the framework of a web based application. In using these languages, one will also need to learn HTML. To make things look nice and animated and stylish, one can mix CSS and Javascript. Now I know you're probably thinking, "I need to learn ALL that to program?" The answer is Yes and No. You can get started and learn the basics of one, such as php. As you learn php, you will learn to implement html. You programs may will have proper functions, though they don't look that great. This is where you start to implement CSS. This will eventually lead to Javascript. Just remember, that these languages are made to work together, so take advantage. 

Also, there are many websites and blogs that teach website design while specializing in a particular form of web development. There are specialized websites that teach html and css. There are other websites where you can learn php and sql. There are website that teach javascript and css. So, the knowledge is out there. All this these site will help you learn what makes a good website. You can also purchase books on the subjects, or even better...you can pay for a membership to a lessons based website that will take you from beginning to end in website development, which is normally taught by the best website developers.