Software Development and Programming Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[Black Nate Grey]

So 2nd year of Comp Sci went well enough. I think I'll start applying for internships next year, I am not at all currently confident in my ability to secure an internship.
Regardless.

Now that I'm more or less off (I'll be taking GNED's and shyt this spring and summer but that's not much), what do you all suggest I do in between now and the fall semester to be a better computer scientist?

Projects? Review Data Structures and Algorithms? Learn a new language? (I 'know' C, C++ and Java). Or refine my ability in one of these languages? If I do a project, I'll try to see if I can apply the things I learnt in Software Eng this year to the project. I'll likely go over some of the old school projects I either didn't complete or had poor functionality.

I have nought but time. But no clear direction, paralyzed by choice.

 

[Secure Da Bag]

Now that I'm more or less off (I'll be taking GNED's and shyt this spring and summer but that's not much), what do you all suggest I do in between now and the fall semester to be a better computer scientist?

Look at sites like TopCoder to sharpen and enhance your skills as a developer. Also they have some computer science challenges as well.

For other CS challenges, go here: 17 Coding Challenges to Sharpen Your Critical Thinking

16, 12, 9, 3 are interesting.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

So 2nd year of Comp Sci went well enough. I think I'll start applying for internships next year, I am not at all currently confident in my ability to secure an internship.

Apply, apply, apply. I can't stress this enough. Get your foot in the door, you don't want to be left looking when graduation pulls up on you. Get the right internship and you can get offered a full time role after you graduate.

 

[DJSmooth]

Look at sites like TopCoder to sharpen and enhance your skills as a developer. Also they have some computer science challenges as well.

For other CS challenges, go here: 17 Coding Challenges to Sharpen Your Critical Thinking

16, 12, 9, 3 are interesting.

I wouldn't recommend Topcoder.

He should focus on Leetcode snd Hackerrank much better platforms for interviews.

 

[DJSmooth]

So 2nd year of Comp Sci went well enough. I think I'll start applying for internships next year, I am not at all currently confident in my ability to secure an internship.
Regardless.

Now that I'm more or less off (I'll be taking GNED's and shyt this spring and summer but that's not much), what do you all suggest I do in between now and the fall semester to be a better computer scientist?

Projects? Review Data Structures and Algorithms? Learn a new language? (I 'know' C, C++ and Java). Or refine my ability in one of these languages? If I do a project, I'll try to see if I can apply the things I learnt in Software Eng this year to the project. I'll likely go over some of the old school projects I either didn't complete or had poor functionality.

I have nought but time. But no clear direction, paralyzed by choice.

What kind of career do you want to get into?

Backend, Mobile, Front End? Nothing wrong with trying to be full stack either?

 

[KingDanz]

Someone explain what this means to me in simplest way possible. I'm coming from PHP, now learning Python.

if __name__ == '__main__':

What is the __name__ and what is __main__?

From a tutorial says: __name__ is a special variable that gets as value the string "__main__" when you’re executing the script.

The sentence doesn't make sense to me, it gets the __main__ string as a value and it become the variable __name__? For what reason?

help me out.

 

[KingDanz]

Someone explain what this means to me in simplest way possible. I'm coming from PHP, now learning Python.



What is the __name__ and what is __main__?

From a tutorial says: __name__ is a special variable that gets as value the string "__main__" when you’re executing the script.

The sentence doesn't make sense to me, it gets the __main__ string as a value and it become the variable __name__? For what reason?

help me out.

"Python assigns the name __main__ to the script when the script is executed.
If the script is imported from another script, the script keeps it given name (e.g. hello.py). In our case we are executing the script. Therefore, __name__ will be equal to __name__."

So does this mean __name__(special variable) checks for script name?

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

"Python assigns the name __main__ to the script when the script is executed.
If the script is imported from another script, the script keeps it given name (e.g. hello.py). In our case we are executing the script. Therefore, __name__ will be equal to __name__."

So does this mean __name__(special variable) checks for script name?

I think it goes like this. Say you have 2 scripts, main.py and lib.py. main.py calls lib.py for some functions, but you can technically execute lib.py on its own. You put that check in to prevent the lib.py code from running if it gets executed directly and not through main.py. Called on its own, __name__ will be __main__ but called by another script, __name__ will be some other value.

This is conjecture, somebody who uses python regularly should check my math on that.

 

[Secure Da Bag]

I wouldn't recommend Topcoder.

He should focus on Leetcode snd Hackerrank much better platforms for interviews.

He said "be a better computer scientist" so I was only answering that question.

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

I think it goes like this. Say you have 2 scripts, main.py and lib.py. main.py calls lib.py for some functions, but you can technically execute lib.py on its own. You put that check in to prevent the lib.py code from running if it gets executed directly and not through main.py. Called on its own, __name__ will be __main__ but called by another script, __name__ will be some other value.

This is conjecture, somebody who uses python regularly should check my math on that.

Before I call my function name in my script, I must know if the imported module is the main program. This is done by using the statement (“ if __name__ == “__main__”) then it will execute the function that is called. “If your module is the main program, then it will see that __name__ was indeed set to “__main__” and it calls the function”.

This is how I described it to someone before. This confused the fukk out of me at first.

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

Before I call my function name in my script, I must know if the imported module is the main program. This is done by using the statement (“ if __name__ == “__main__”) then it will execute the function that is called. “If your module is the main program, then it will see that __name__ was indeed set to “__main__” and it calls the function”.

This is how I described it to someone before. This confused the fukk out of me at first.

This is where I’m liking Java and it’s explicit language better. You have to say EXACTLY what you are doing with each class when you are making the class like “implementing whatever” or “extends whatever”.

In Python you will do whatever you want but you end up writing a comment behind it to say what you are doing. In Java you have to say it anyway or it won’t work at all. You have to say @override or whatever to specify your intentions.

 

[Black Nate Grey]

What kind of career do you want to get into?

Backend, Mobile, Front End? Nothing wrong with trying to be full stack either?

Backend or Full stack. I have no passion for UI and UX and things like that.

I have a friend of a friend who works in the industry who works in DevOps (he hates it though) but I'd need to ask him about it for more info for that to be a viable option.

 

[DJSmooth]

Backend or Full stack. I have no passion for UI and UX and things like that.

I have a friend of a friend who works in the industry who works in DevOps (he hates it though) but I'd need to ask him about it for more info for that to be a viable option.

For Algorithms and Data Structures hop on LeetCode and do all of these problems at this link till you can regurgitate the solutions blind folded --> New Year Gift - Curated List of Top 75 LeetCode Questions to Save Your Time

Don't learn another language. Master Java. I'd also focus on Backend. Learn Spring Boot.





Then once you get comfortable with Spring Boot I'd deploy it on Amazon Web Services.

 

[Black Nate Grey]

For Algorithms and Data Structures hop on LeetCode and do all of these problems at this link till you can regurgitate the solutions blind folded --> New Year Gift - Curated List of Top 75 LeetCode Questions to Save Your Time

Don't learn another language. Master Java. I'd also focus on Backend. Learn Spring Boot.





Then once you get comfortable with Spring Boot I'd deploy it on Amazon Web Services.

Thanks breh, I'll get right on it.

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

For Algorithms and Data Structures hop on LeetCode and do all of these problems at this link till you can regurgitate the solutions blind folded --> New Year Gift - Curated List of Top 75 LeetCode Questions to Save Your Time

Don't learn another language. Master Java. I'd also focus on Backend. Learn Spring Boot.





Then once you get comfortable with Spring Boot I'd deploy it on Amazon Web Services.

On it. Thank breh.