So… you want to code the next big app or make the next gaming phenomenon — but your hardware isn’t exactly cutting edge?

That’s less of a problem than you may think!

Because upgrading your components is often a simple, painless process.

As long as you know what needs to be swapped out.

That leads to the obvious question:

[pullquote align=”normal”]What hardware specs do programmers really need? [/pullquote]

More speed and bigger hard drives for storing code assets are pretty obvious answers.

But there’s more to this story than you might expect.

Let’s see what it’s all about:

Take a Hint From Coding Program Requirements

Students entering a coding program can typically find minimum laptop spec requirements in their course material.

While your specific needs may change depending on what OS and coding language you’re using, these spec guidelines offer an excellent baseline idea of the sort of hardware resources you need to work effectively as a computer programmer.

Most programming courses recommend these basic specs:

• Intel i5 CPU, with an i7 recommended.
• 8GB RAM, with 16GB recommended.
• 1920 x 1080 resolution display.

Those are a great starting point for seeing what to upgrade, and we’ll examine each of those specs in detail below. But first, don’t forget about something that might not be immediately obvious:

Periphery!

Some components can be an absolute necessity for a coding-work laptop, like a USB hub, a card reader, or HDMI ports for connecting extra devices or transferring data in different ways.

Let’s now dive into all the components you could upgrade:

1. Upgrade Your Monitor Setup

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Let’s start with the hardware component that can make or break your coding experience:

[pullquote align=”center”]Why do college programming courses want you to have at least 1920 x 1080 display? [/pullquote]

They’re not telling you to get a high-res screen because you need to stream 1080p video.

It’s because a higher resolution gives you more viewing area for multiple applications at the same time.

For your desktop PC, buying a better monitor is a snap — but for your laptop, upgrading your display isn’t really an option. Unless you’ve broken the display, replacing the screen and video cables on a laptop is too much trouble.

As a laptop user, you DO have another option:

Use those extra HDMI and USB-C ports to connect an external monitor (or even two).

A multiple-monitor setup is a great idea. It makes it so you can easily switch back and forth between your code and the running program — without having to Alt/Tab all over the place.

The Best Coding Monitor in Our Eyes: Dell 27″ 4k Monitor

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We recommend the Dell S2722QC as a high-end coding monitor.

• • • Its 27″ screen size at 4k resolution gives you endless “real estate” to open your coding environment, documentation, and browser windows all at the same time — while still keeping complete overview.[blank_space height=’0.5em’]
    • Dell is know for building high quality hardware. And this monitor is no exception. You’ll be able to enjoy it for many many years without having to worry that stuff stops working.[blank_space height=’0.5em’]
    • You have the ability to create a dual-monitor setup with it. In case you’re a professional programmer who wants even higher coding productivity. Check out the Dell S2722QC on amazon.

2. Upgrade Your Hard Drive/SSD

Before we get into the components like the processor and physical memory, it can’t be overstated how much switching from a hard disk drive to a solid-state drive (SSD) will boost your PC’s speed.

While that’s great for the average user who wants quick boot ups and fast data retrieval, it’s absolutely crucial for programmers, especially if coding is how you plan on making your income.

With an SSD, you’ll spend a lot less time waiting during the many Windows updates and restarts.

Solid state drives are simple to install, especially with laptops these days, as there’s typically only a single screw to remove to pull out the old drive.

While SSDs are the way to go for whatever drive your OS has installed, don’t forget you can add a cheap secondary hard disk drive (HDD) for extra storage of files that don’t particularly need to be accessed immediately.

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Whether you go with the faster SSD or slower but larger HDD, keep in mind you may end up needing a drive large enough to run a dual boot system if you plan on coding in multiple environments.

Virtualization of other operating systems is another option, but that requires a fast CPU and a large amount of RAM to work well.

Finally, don’t forget there’s a cheaper and easier “upgrade” option here that doesn’t involve swapping out components.

Simple cloud storage solutions can alleviate your PC speed problem so long as you have reliable internet speeds in your area and a hardware combo capable of quickly transferring files around.

Which SSD Drive Should You Get?

[one_half_first]Our pick for the best SSD hard drive for coding is the Western Digital 4TB SSD. It’s fast, reliable, and offers enough space for most projects — even if they’re space-intensive like game development.

Check out the WD 4TB SSD on amazon.[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

3. Upgrade Your RAM

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Here we arrive at the most obvious (and most helpful) upgrade.

Coding requires a lot of memory because your programs will eat up every last available megabyte while compiling.

If you find you get a lot of stutters, lag, and crashing while debugging or compiling, a quick and easy option is just to slap in some extra RAM.

At this point, 16GB is basically the bottom line for any sort of advanced user applications, but if your motherboard can handle it, I’d recommend upgrading to one or more 32GB modules.

The Best PC RAM Recommended for Coding

[one_half_first]The OLOy Hairline Gaming RAM is the fastest memory you can get — perfect if your gig is programming memory-intensive software. If you have the funds, get the 2x32GB bundle. You’ll never have to worry about anything lagging or running out of memory ever again. Check out the OLOy PC RAM on amazon.

[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

4. Upgrade Your CPU

Still getting slow speeds, even with more RAM?

The culprit is going to be your processor, as older CPUs have trouble compiling programs or using other tools you may need as a programmer—like video and image editing apps.

Unfortunately, upgrading the CPU isn’t particularly an option for the laptop crowd, short of buying an entirely new machine with a better processor altogether.

However, since the average budget laptop typically only lasts about 3 years, that may not be a bad idea.

Whether upgrading your desktop PC’s processor or just flat out buying a new laptop, going with one of the later-generation Intel iX core CPUs is a surefire way to get great speed now and future-proof against updates.

The Fastest CPU for Coding Recommended by Simple Programmer

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For ultimate coding performance, get the Intel i9 12900K 8+8 Core CPU. It’s the absolute high end in computer processors. But, first make sure your mainboard is compatible with it! If you’re a bit more budget-minded, the i7 is still a great choice for a CPU.

Check out the Intel i9 12900K 8+8 Core on amazon.

[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

5. Upgrade Your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

This is really only necessary for programmers working with graphics-intensive apps, like Windows games or video editing tools.

Unfortunately, this also isn’t typically an option for the laptop crowd, but there’s a workaround now.

External GPUs are becoming more prevalent and are incredibly easy to hook up.

Although they reduce your portability, connecting to an external graphics card can quickly and easily give you advanced performance when coding graphics-intensive programs.

While the new RTX series cards are available now from NVIDIA, in most cases, a GTX 1070 or 1080 will be all you need for any programming application.

Recommended GPU for Game Development

[one_half_first]

The overall best GPU for developing games we’ve found is the Geforce RTX 3060.

You get high performance at a medium price. 

Check out the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce 3060 on amazon.

[/one_half_first][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

Don’t Throw Out Your Old Components!

After going through all those upgrades, you’re probably left wondering what to do with the old hardware.

I mean, who really needs a sad 4GB stick of RAM?

As it turns out, you do!

Keeping older tech on hand is an excellent way to test your programs on a variety of hardware setups.

Not every user is going to have a high-end machine with cutting edge specs, so you need to know your programs will work on everyday hardware.

Upgrade Your Hardware, Upgrade Your Coding

Now that we’ve got that last tidbit of info out of the way, let’s take a quick recap of the best hardware to upgrade for programmers:

1. Upgrade your display, or switch to a multimonitor setup.
2. Switch to an SSD, or add a secondary HDD.
3. Add additional RAM up to your motherboard’s maximum.
4. Upgrade to a better CPU, or get a new laptop.
5. Install a newer GPU.

With these upgrade-friendly components in mind, you should be well on your way to whipping up the next Tinder or Angry Birds.

Good luck with your coding career or personal programming project!

The post 5 CRUCIAL PC Hardware Components Programmers NEED to Upgrade appeared first on Simple Programmer.

However, Rust still isn’t among the top five most used programming languages. This indicates that Rust programming remains a largely unexplored territory full of unused potential. Given its popularity, more and more users are flocking to Rust, meaning it will soon reach that top five status and establish itself as a staple for programmers everywhere.

To keep you from falling behind the times, here’s a quick guide to what the Rust programming language is, as well as seven reasons why you should use Rust programming for your next project.

What Is the Rust Programming Language?

Like the fungus (yes, there is a fungus called rust!) after which it is named, Rust is a programming language that is spreading quickly in the programming world.

In essence, Rust is a programming language that is built to overcome the drawbacks of the C++ language. While C++ is a powerful object-oriented language with unlimited capabilities, it is quite difficult for programmers to manage memory manually in C++. Rust allows you to write fast code with an insanely low memory footprint, giving you an immensely powerful programming tool.

Rust was launched by Mozilla in 2012, but the idea originated in the mind of a passionate language engineer, Graydon Hoare. Hoare began working on the language in 2006 and, soon enough, Rust’s potential caught the attention of folks at Mozilla. They joined with Hoare to set up a dedicated development team to experiment with the language and build it in the best possible way.

In Hoare’s words, “The language is targeted at frustrated C++ developers.” Let’s understand what makes Rust better than languages like C or C++.

Is Rust a good language?

Rust is a popular programming language, but is it good? For starters, it offers excellent performance, similar to C and C++, and solves the memory safety problem. 

In addition, you can use Rust to handle large amounts of data without any performance loss.

And, if you’re not yet convinced. Then, you can look at the industry use of Rust, where companies such as Dropbox, Firefox and Cloudflare use Rust in production.

At its core, Rust is a statically-typed programming language. This means it offers safety and performance out of the box. It provides memory management and safe concurrency better than C++. Also, Rust is easy to learn if you have C++ knowledge, considering Rust syntax is similar to C++.

According to Nature.com, scientists also lean towards using Rust due to its superior memory-management features and usability. These points only mean that Rust is an excellent programming language.

All these points hint that Rust is an excellent language.

5 Reasons Why Rust is so Popular

Rust has been the most “loved” programming language in the StackOverflow Developer Survey for the last three years. More than 86% of developers are using Rust or expressed interest in using it, making it the most loved programming language.

The interest is now making Rust more popular as the number of developers using Rust increased to 7.03% in 2021 from 5.1% in 2020. It is currently 9.32% in 2022.

The steady increase in Rust’s popularity also means it has climbed up the ladder from bottom 7 in 2020 to top 14 in 2022.

So, what makes it so popular? Let’s list six reasons.

1. Rust is popular because of Rust Foundation backing, which includes members like Microsoft, Meta, Dropbox, Arm, Google, Amazon and others. It came into effect during the economic meltdown when COVID started. 

2. Rust is popular because it is a modern alternative to C++. Rust bypasses C++ bugs due to the use the non-use of nulls. Additionally, Rust almost matches C++ compiling speeds, with developers across the globe focusing on improving its compiling speed further with LLVM (low-level virtual machine) improvements.

3. Rust is popular because of its official package manager Cargo. It solves a major C++ drawback of recompiling code every time you make a change. Cargo bypasses recompilation by checking dependencies.

4. Rust is popular because of its superior memory management. With Rust, you’re in command of how memory allocation and de-allocation work. A smart pointer is allocated when you create a variable to simplify memory management. If the smart pointer goes out of scope, de-allocation takes place. This approach gives you complete control and lets you use multiple smart pointers sharing the same data.

5. Rust is popular because it masters concurrency by providing a bug-free approach to writing code that is also easy to refactor. 

6. Rust is popular because it offers WebAssembly support. This means developers can create audio, video, 3D environments, games, and more on the web.

Rust is growing with each passing day. Even Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, aims to use Rust in Linux Kernal in 2023 to program Kernel’s performance-based aspects.

Why Rust Is the Best Language For Your Next Project

Rust is packed with many features that web developers absolutely love to use. The following are the top reasons I choose to use Rust:

1. Rust Solves Memory Management Problems

System programming usually demands a low-level memory control, and with C’s manual memory management, this task can prove to be a real nightmare.

Rust has an incredible ability to offer convenience on low-level details. It has direct access to hardware and memory because it doesn’t require a garbage collector to run continuously in the background.

This means coding in Rust feels like using a microcontroller application for low-level codes. You have full freedom to replace pieces of code without taking memory safety risks.

2. Rust’s Low Overhead Makes It Ideal for Embedded Programming

Constrained resources are the norm, with embedded systems normally found on machines and home appliances. This is the reason that the embedded systems need a modern programming language like Rust, which has a very low overhead.

Rust is a resource-efficient and in-demand feature in an embedded system. It allows programmers to identify bugs early, preventing any future mishaps with the device.

The cherry on the cake is Rust’s power of zero-cost abstractions. Whatever abstraction of code you use, Rust is generous enough to accept it all. You could use loops, closure, or whatever flavor of code that you are in the mood for that day, and they all will compile down to the same assembly without affecting the performance of your code.

3. Rust Facilitates Powerful Web Application Development

An important consideration when choosing the right technology stack for web app development is the choice of programming language. There are good reasons to include Rust programming in your web application tech stack.

If you are accustomed to developing web applications in high-level languages like Java or Python, then you will love working with Rust. With Rust, you can be fairly more confident that the code will be error-free.

Rust is easy to learn for anyone already well-versed in C. Moreover, you can start tinkering with Rust immediately without spending years learning the ropes.

Major highlights of web development with Rust are:

• You can compile Rust to WebAssembly so it’s easier to get near-native performance on the web.
• Rust allows any language to compile into WebAssembly, thus allowing for portable, executable running code online.

In short, for web development, Rust is the language that has taken all the right vitamins!

4. Rust’s Static Typing Ensures Easy Maintainability

Rust is a statically typed language. While programming in Rust, all types are known at compile-time. Rust is also a strongly typed language, meaning that it is harder to write incorrect programs with Rust.

Managing complexity is the core of successful programming. As the code grows, so does the complexity. Statically typed languages allow a high-level of simplicity by allowing you to keep tabs on what’s going on in the code.

Rust also does not require you to repeat the type of variable multiple times, encouraging long-term maintainability.

In a nutshell, Rust allows nesting and closures, which in turn improve the maintainability of the code.

5. Rust Has Fast and High Performance

Rust’s performance is on par with C++ and beats languages like Python hands down.

The absence of garbage collection contributes to Rust’s high speeds. Unlike many other languages, Rust does not have runtime checking and the compiler nips the wrong code right in the bud. This prevents erroneous code from proliferating and wreaking havoc on the system.

Lastly, as mentioned previously, Rust performs blazingly fast with the embedded systems, too.

6. Cross-Platform Development and Support

With Rust, you can easily build cross-platform solutions that work on a wide range of operating systems like Linux, macOS, Windows, and other platforms.

Notably, Rust allows you to code both the front-end as well as the back-end of the application. The availability of Rust web frameworks like Rocket, Nickel, and Actix make development easier with Rust.

It’s extremely easy to start developing with Rust—just open Rustup, a quick toolchain installer and version management tool, and follow the instructions. You have the option to format the code as you like. Rustfmt allows automation of the code formatting based on the default formatting styles. Clippy, a tool that helps in maintaining an idiomatic code style, takes care of the rest.

7. Rust Has an Expansive Ecosystem

With Rust’s rising popularity, the Rust ecosystem is expanding quickly. A major factor in the vast ecosystem is that it’s more than just a language or a compiler. Software production quality requires many more aspects, and the Rust ecosystem considers all of them to be very significant.

First of all, Cargo is a command-line tool used by Rust programmers that helps in managing dependencies, running tests, and generating documentation.

Secondly, Rust has a community site, crates.io, that takes care of your Rust library needs. You can find the documentation of any library published on crates.io on docs.rs.

Property-based testing, benchmarking, and fuzzing are easily accessible to budding Rust developers as well.

Networking and learning from the pros is easy, too. There are multiple Rust conferences like RustConf, RustBelt, and RustFest that are a gold mine of knowledge for Rust developers.

What makes Rust special?

Rust’s speciality arrives from its ability to give programmers the tools to write bug-free code without compromising performance. Its memory safety feature overcomes the drawbacks of popular programming languages such as C and C++. 

You also get zero-cost abstractions that add performance to your code as it generates the same assembly despite the approach you take to code the solution. The excellent concurrency support also means you write code that is easy to refactor.

Rust vs Go

Go by Google borrows heavily from C to overcome C++ drawbacks. It adds structural typing, garbage collection and memory safety with a focus on multi-core development for better concurrency and parallelism. 

Rust, on the other hand, is a multi-paradigm general-purpose programming language which solves C++ memory safety issues while providing similar performance.

Go is an excellent pick to program microservices, CLIs and streaming processing. Its small footprint means you can use it with cloud-native applications. Rust is much more versatile as it can be used to develop programs for the embedded system while also viable for web development thanks to WebAssembly support.

Both are great programming languages with many similarities, even when created for different purposes. As both are compiled rather than interpreted, they offer performance out of the box. 

So, if you’re looking for a general-purpose language which offers simplicity and ease of use, choose Go. It provides a good concurrency model with a focus on performance. Rust is a great pick if you’re developing a performance-focused solution. It lets you do low-level coding without worrying about memory management.

Rust vs C++

C++ is one of the oldest programming languages, released four decades ago in 1985 by Bjarne Stroustrup, a Danish computer scientist. It is a general-purpose programming language which aims to extend C programming language functionality. Rust borrows heavily from C++, and that’s why you’ll find a lot of similarities between them.

The very first difference between Rust and C++ is how they handle memory. With better memory management, you can use Rust to write bug-free code that performs well at the machine level. Both of them are compiled language and requires no runtime or garbage collector.

Performance-wise, C++ wins marginally. Rust is fast but requires more polishing to become as fast as C++. However, the Rust community is working hard to optimize Rust at the LLVM level to gain more performance.

As for learnability, if you’re new to programming, it’ll take a significant amount of time to learn C++. This is also true for Rust which requires more effort and time. However, if you already know C++, you can quickly start with Rust.

The Top 6 Rust Use Cases – When to Use it

With all that said and done, it’s easy to see how great Rust is to use on all future projects.

But exactly where and when do you use Rust programming? 

We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to coding. That’s why it’s important to know the cases where Rust would be a better solution.

Here are a few examples where it is beneficial to use Rust for programming:

• Rust can prove to be a great choice when you are developing an application where performance is crucial.
• Go for Rust when your solution needs to process humongous amounts of data in a short time.
• Use Rust when you want better control over resource allocation in threads.
• Rust provides memory safety but comes with complexity, so choose it when memory safety is of prime importance.
• Use Rust to rewrite sensitive parts of applications where the speed of the program is of the essence.

The above-mentioned factors make Rust an ideal candidate for developing applications like game engines, operating systems, file systems, browser components, and VR simulation engines.

1. Rust Is a Great Language for Writing Code for IoT

Rust is the top language for programmers writing code for IoT applications.

The maker movement is in full vogue with the advent of devices like Raspberry Pi and Arduino. If you are one of the programmers who see IoT as the next billion-dollar opportunity, then you can’t neglect learning Rust programming.

Rust is a close-to-the-metal language, meaning you can use it where the memory reserves are limited.

Because of this, Rust proves to be an excellent language to write code for microcontroller hardware like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, or Tessel.

2. Rust Programming Can Be Used for HPC (High-Performance Computing)

The problem with using Rust for HPC is that most of your code will be written in C. The beauty of it is that using its FFI (foreign function interface), you can execute Rust code without any overhead. In other words, Rust allows you to rewrite your application module after module.

The developer experience is also much better with Rust because it doesn’t affect the performance of the application. Rust will also enable your application to scale better on a high number of cores, which is critical in HPC.

3. Writing Web Apps With WebAssembly (WASM)

Rust supports WebAssembly, a fast, modern and safe way to create web applications. Using Rust with WebAssembly gives you predictable performance, small code size and access to an excellent library set.

WASM + Rust works great with JavaScript. This means you don’t have to replace your existing code-base and can augment to benefit from Rust’s performance. Additionally, Rust works with existing toolchains such as npm.

4. Science Projects 

Rust’s speed and safety have also caught Scientists’ attention. They are moving from Python to Rust, even when it takes time to master and use. According to the Nature.com article, scientist Köster created Varlociraptor that identifies genomic variants by comparing sequences against genetic bases. Rust makes it possible to do millions of these calculations with optimal speed.

The Rust memory model also prevents scientists from worrying about memory leaks or security bugs. Scientists iron out errors during compile time with higher learning and implementation time. And all of these also work with parallelized code.

5. Game Development

Game development is another excellent Rust use case. There’re plenty of Rust game engines that can help you get started. These include Amethyst – a data-oriented game engine; bevy – another data-driven game engine; Fyrox – a production-ready engine and Nonnou – an open-source game framework.

6. Blockchain Development

You can also do blockchain development with Rust. The idea behind blockchain is to offer an immutable decentralized digital ledger with no way to tamper with data once it is written. Rust’s excellent memory safety means developers can create memory-safe blockchain apps. Other Rust features, such as speed and reliability, make it a good pick for blockchain. Here, you can try OpenEthereum and Lighthouse frameworks based on Rust.

Who uses Rust?

Rust is not only popular among developers(as seen in the StackOverFlow developers survey) but also among companies. The top companies using Rust in production are:

Why Rust is bad? Some disadvantages of the language

Rust is new and exciting and offers many benefits, including memory safety, zero-abstraction, web-assembly support and performance. But, it is not free from disadvantages which include:

• Compile-time errors and slow compilation time: Rust achieves memory safety because of the rules it enforces during compile time. This means you’ll see tons of errors which can frustrate many programmers.
• Lack of desired libraries: Rust is new and hence lacks the desired libraries you can easily get with other programming languages.
• Not prototype friendly: As it takes a lot of time to compile and needs 100% conditions coverage, Rust is not good for prototyping solutions.
• Not beginners friendly: Rust is not beginner-friendly as it contains advanced concepts that can take time to master.
• Small market: Rust market is still growing, and there are fewer opportunities than in other established programming languages.
• It’s never finalized: Rust is an ongoing project to offer backward compatibility and stability. This means Rust features take time to get stable support.
• Smaller target platforms: Due to the use of LLVM in the Rust compiler, the target platforms’ numbers are smaller than C/C++.

Should you learn Rust?

Rust is growing rapidly (as suggested by StackOverFlow developer’s survey for the past three years). So, it is not a bad idea to learn Rust as it will increase your employability.

From a technical perspective, Rust provides a robust tooling solution for creating safe, fast, and portable applications. It offers concurrency, memory safety and high performance, focusing on developers who want to develop reliable products. And that’s why developers love it. You can also access a growing Rust community and Rust packages.

So, if you’re a developer who wants to develop a robust and memory-safe application, Rust is your choice. It offers long-term stability as you write dependable code from the start — you don’t get null pointers or runtime problems after a few months of deployment.

The compiler throws errors at you as if it is your code assistant. It offers detailed errors and helps messages so you can debug them. The other features that make Rust enticing include

• handling branches with pattern matching.
• Crater tool that checks if new Rust versions will break your Rust project before you update through a detailed report.
• WebAssembly support allows you to create applications that live on the web.

Should you learn Rust or Python?

It’s recommended that you learn both. Rust is a fairly new programming language and has a limited market opportunity. As for learning difficulties, it is always better to get started with Python. Python is beginner-friendly. It’ll help you master abstractions, object-oriented paradigms, functional programming, and other programming concepts. Once you master it, you can then shift to Rust.

When learning Rust, you’ll explore more advanced concepts. Here, you’ll learn how to write bug-free code with the help of detailed compiler errors. Rust’s support of WebAssembly means you can also code diverse applications on the web.

However, choosing between Python and Rust depends on your goals. For example:

• Choose Python for scientific research
• Choose Python for data science
• Choose Python for web development with Django and other web development frameworks
• Choose Rust for software and operating system development
• Choose Rust for blockchain technology development
• Choose Rust for WebAssembly-focused development
• Choose Rust for neural networks development

How to learn Rust programming

The best way to start learning Rust is to visit Learn Rust site. Here, you can find detailed core Rust documentation with access to different types of books. The Rust Programming Language (nicknamed “the book”) covers Rust in excellent detail. In the book, you can learn Rust by creating a few projects. Apart from that, you can also take the Rustlings course, which contains small exercises.

Additionally, you can also read other guides on the Learn Rust site, including:

• Cargo book to learn about Rust’s package manager.
• Edition guide to learn about Rust editions.
• Rustc book to get you familiar with Rust compiler’s knobs.
• Compiler error index to get an in-depth explanation of Rust compiler errors.
• Command line book to learn how to use an effective command line in Rust
• WebAssembly book to learn how to use Rust to create browser-native libraries.
• Embedded book to learn how to use Rust for embedded systems.

You’ll also find multiple resources on the web teaching Rust. If you’d like an alternative to written content, you can find detailed Youtube videos.

Discover Rust’s Potential

The major benefit of using Rust programming is its efficient memory management abilities.

However, on top of that, it offers great speed and safety for various kinds of applications, especially web applications. Because it has a powerful command line interface tool, it’s a great tool for developing cross-platform applications, too. Highly suitable for low-resource environments, Rust also saves development time by enabling programmers to cross-compile new code with existing code.

In addition to being an ideal tool for developing game engines and operating systems, Rust programming has immense potential for IoT development.

A vibrant community welcomes you when you choose Rust, so trust the Rust programming language and take a plunge into this exciting world of possibilities!

The post 7 Reasons Why You Should Use Rust Programming For Your Next Project appeared first on Simple Programmer.

If you’re a software developer? You’ve picked an awesome profession.

There’s so much growth to be had as a programmer. You can make great money either just coding or being a software engineer. Your options are limitless. 

But… that wealth of options can also be overwhelming. 

Where do you even start?

Problem #1: You don’t know which goals to set in the first place as a developer

There’s different directions you can go in with your goals. 

And there’s different types of goals. 

1. Language goals 
2. Career goals 
3. Personality goals 
4. Money goals…

Which goals make most sense for you to set? 

Which can you realistically achieve? 

Which should you attack right now – and which should you leave for later?

Which goal will get you the most money and success when you achieve it?

Problem #2: ‘Programmer Goal Overload’ has you confused and unfocused

Are you suffering from too many goals at once – a.k.a. Goal Overload?

My goal here is to give you some structure. So you can pick the right goals. 

So you’ll actually achieve them.

It’s fun to think about all the possible goals and fantasize how great it would be to achieve them.

But if you can never give enough focus to any one of those goals –  because Goal Overload has you stuck – how does it help you to keep thinking about every potential goal out there?

Goals are great, though. I’ve successfully used goal-setting to achieve a bunch of stuff:

• Code apps
• Write books
• Create courses
• Build websites
• Become fit, healthy & wealthy

Your success as a programmer – whether it be becoming a software engineer in the first place, moving up the career ladder, writing the best code, making lots of money – I want to help make all of that simple for you. 

You start by mastering setting goals the right way. 

Let’s dive in.

The 4 Pillars of Powerful Programmer Goals: The Fulfilling Future Exercise, Infinite Improvement, The Non-Stop Value Formula, Powerful Habits

How do you advance your career most effectively? You do that by first setting goals that make sense for where you’re at and where you want to go.

Here are the 4 types of goals you need to have for maximum impact, money, and happiness as a programmer:

1. The Fulfilling Future Exercise

The key to success in life is to be fulfilled with the work you’re doing each and every day. 

Do you get excited about writing gaming code for 8-10 hours on a Monday and then repeating it for the next four days? Or are you passionate about the thought of working on machine learning systems at Amazon?

What type of work (that you’ve had a taste of, or KNOW it would be perfect for you) excites you the most?

Visualize your ideal life as a programmer. 

You’re spending most of your working day doing your favorite activities. Of course even those aren’t 100% enjoyable. They might be quite tough actually. But they allow you to express your gift, have maximum impact, and give you long-term fulfillment.

After you’ve created the idea of your optimal developer lifestyle, strive to get closer to it every day. Set intermediate goals on the way there. Pick tasks that’ll move you towards your vision. Reject those that pull you away from it. 

Use the 80-20 rule.

“Am I doing the 20% of tasks that are getting me closer to my goal?”

Focus on those and you’ll get 80% of the results – by only doing what matters. You’ll also make sure you’re 100% on the right track. So you’re not climbing a ladder, only to find out it was leaning against the wrong wall all along.

Instead, your actions will be perfectly aligned with fulfillment and success.

Finally, live each day as much as you can as if your goal had already come true. 

That’s how you’ll speak into existence your vision of your most fulfilling life as a software developer.

2. Infinite Improvement

When doing your goal-setting, don’t just focus on the outcome: As in, ‘I want to create an amazing tool that helps thousands of people and makes me millions of dollars.’

Also set goals for leveling up your skills. Because that’s when one leads to the other. 

If you’re so competent and complete as a programmer that you can:

• tackle tough coding problems without flinching
• strategize masterfully
• present yourself, communicate & negotiate like a pro

that’s when you’ll be able to actually achieve those awesome high-level goals. 

Because you’ve turned yourself into the kind of person who does. 

Work towards improving your skills, and with each passing day you’ll be inching closer to your goals.

By the way: I have a whole course on becoming that elite-level programmer. It’s called “5 learning mistakes programmers make”. You can grab it here for free:

3. The Non-Stop Value Formula

The vision, the skills… those are important to focus on when setting your goals as a programmer.

What else is? Having a positive impact on others.

Setting goals that impact others is not altruistic. It’s selfish – because it’ll accelerate your own success as a developer. You’ll get better skills, more exposure and higher status, faster. The money will soon follow.

So how do you set goals that impact others?

You do it by staying connected to the real world while you’re building yourself up. 

• Build stuff in public.
• Have people actually use it.
• Help others with any new programming skill you’re learning. 
• Apply your new soft skills to give valuable presentations. 
• Put your coding skills to the test by working with others on their projects. 

Impactful goals are those that have you connect and contribute – as opposed to goals about making you better in isolation. 

The latter are much easier to quit on as well.

4. Powerful Habits

Break your programming goals down into weekly & daily goals – because habits are more powerful than goals.

Once you’ve created those productive habits, achieving your long-term goals is as simple as executing those habits day after day. 

Luckily, while it’s hard work to first establish a new habit, it gets easier over time to keep them going. That’s the power of habits – use it to turn achieving your goals into a simple, repeatable process. 

You’ll finally feel that your goals are within your reach.

5 SMART Programmer Goals Examples – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-Bound

For any new goal it’s best if you follow the SMART goal setting formula. 

And to write them down. By writing down your goals, you have a 42% better chance of achieving them.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. 

A SMART goal is a really specific way of writing down your goal, a key component of improving your chances of achieving any goal.

Which one is a SMART goal?

1. I want to work out more.
2. I will go to the gym three times per week for the next six months.

It’s the second one. 

This goal gives a clear breakdown of what you’ll do, how you’ll do it, and over what time period.

Just saying you want to work out more doesn’t give you any idea about how you intend to do it. And most importantly it doesn’t hold you accountable.

You could work out for five minutes, one day of the week, and if that’s more than what you are currently doing, it’s technically achieving your goal.

However, it’s probably not going to get you the desired outcome of why you want to work out more.

Now that we know what a SMART goal is, let’s look at 5 SMART goals you can set to become a better programmer this year:

SMART Goal #1: Spend Three Nights per Week Creating Your Own Website if You Want To Make a Career Change

If you’re currently employed but looking to branch out on your own and build your own programming business, it’s great to have your own programming blog showcasing your skills.

You’ll need to dedicate some time after work to specifically work on the site and commit to a time-frame where you will have it done.

S—The goal is to build a website

M—Three nights per week

A—A challenge, but easily doable

R—Relevant if you want to start your own business

T—Three months

SMART Goal #2: Take an Online Course for a Specific Programming Language Twice per Year

If you’re a competent Java programmer, you could look to broaden out your skillset by learning a new programming language. A great way to do this is to commit to doing some online courses to improve your knowledge. 

Online courses are something that we think about doing but never really commit to.

Set a goal to do two per year. And a top tip is to find one that you need to pay for, as you’re much more likely to commit to it.

You can decide on any programming language in which you think you need to improve your skillset.

S—The goal is to learn a new programming language

M—Two courses that I pay for

A—Challenging but attainable

R—Relevant if you to build your programming skills

T—One year

SMART Goal #3: Spend Five Hours a Week Learning How To Develop a New App Over the Next Six Months

Building a new app takes time, and if it’s not your full-time job, it can be hard to find the time needed to work on it. 

However, taking the time to learn how to build a new app broadens your programming skillset and will make you more valuable to employers and clients.

Set yourself a goal that over the next six months you will spend five hours every week working on your new app.

This is a SMART goal where you can adjust parts to make them more relevant to you. 

For example, if you know you can easily work for five hours a week, increase it to 10. Or if you think it will only take you three months to develop, shorten the time frame.

S—The goal is to develop an app

M—Five hours per week

A—Hard but doable

R—Relevant if you want to build a new app

T—Six months

Smart Goal #4: Dedicate Two One-Hour Blocks of Time To Increase Productivity Every Day for Three Months

Programming requires intense concentration. If there are lots of distractions going on, properly focusing on the work you need to do can be really hard, and productivity can drop.

In Cal Newport’s bestseller, Deep Work, he suggests one of the best ways to concentrate on your work is to block out times to do specific intense work. This is a time where you just work on a specific task you have set yourself. For example, if you need to write code for a specific part of a website you’re developing, you do that, and only that, for the one-hour time block.

Turn off your phone, close down your emails, and avoid the internet if you can. Schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon for periods of intense focus. The reason for choosing an hour is it’s long enough to really focus and get plenty done, but short enough to not be intimidating from the start.

Again, this part of the SMART goal can be reframed to suit you better. If you know you concentrate better for shorter periods of time, reduce the time period. Twenty-five minutes can be a good place to start; that’s the time frame used in the Pomodoro productivity technique.

You’ll be surprised at how much you get done.

S—The goal is to do intense work

M—Two one-hour blocks every day

A—Challenging but doable

R—Relevant if wanting to increase your productivity

T—Three months

SMART Goal #5: Spend One Hour at the End of the Month To Plan Your Time for the Following Month

As the saying goes: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” Plan out your month and you’ll get dramatically more done each month.

Most successful people in the world will plan out their months ahead of time so they know exactly what they need to do to achieve their goals.

Give yourself an hour at the end of each month to plan what you intend to do for the upcoming month. 

This can involve looking at what key tasks you need to complete, blocking out time to get them done, and making a to-do list of the less urgent tasks.

Also, use this time to refer back to your goals to make sure you are making progress toward them every month.

S—The goal is to plan for the month ahead

M—Once a month

A—Easily attainable

R—Relevant if wanting to be more organized

T—One month

Let’s now get into 21 developer goals for you to go after – so you can become the highly paid, fulfilled programmer you want to be:

21 AWESOME & EFFECTIVE Career Goals for Coders and Software Engineers

Short Term Programmer Goals

1. You’ll make your own learning curriculum

This is where you make sure you’ll progress towards your goals. If you fail to do this, it’s too easy to get lost and abandon one, multiple or even all of your goals. 

You can’t just set goals by themselves. You need to outline exactly how you’ll get there.

So, set aside a number of hours per week that you’ll dedicate to learning. Pick a number of hours you know you’ll be able to hit. Don’t go overboard! 

Now, decide which resources you’ll use during those hours, and how you’re going to study them – for example by thinking about a problem, sketching it out, writing and debugging the code, documenting your results in a written report, etc.

2. You’ll create a weekly & daily schedule

For every activity that’s important to your programming career, outline it in a similar way.

Figure out what needs to happen each week to keep you chipping away at your goals.

Then, break it down even further: Into little chunks of work you can put into a daily list of tasks. Now you just need to focus on completing your daily schedule. 

And you’ll automatically get closer to your goals as a developer.

3. You’ll start your portfolio website

Never underestimate the power of your portfolio. 

Build stuff you can be proud of. Doesn’t matter what. A blog website, photo slider, Web Scrapper. To-Do app, Resume portfolio, etc.

Once a client sees your portfolio and the amount of stuff you’ve built, is when he knows what you’re capable of. Your work speaks for itself.

In the free course How to start a blog, you’ll get guidance on how to start building your portfolio site so you can start attracting more clients by showing off the quality of your work to the world.

4. You’ll take on a freelance coding project to develop yourself and make extra income

Now you’re getting paid to learn! 

And after you’re done, you can add the completed project to your portfolio. 

You can even get a testimonial from your client, building trust with your audience, so you’ll more easily get the next, better-paid freelance project.

5. You’ll give a talk on a technical topic you’re passionate about 

You can do this at any meetup, conference or event. You’ll gain communication skills, get your name out among potential collaborators or employers, and gain that momentum to keep taking your programming career to the next level.

6. You’ll write a valuable article or report that people love to share

For some, this can launch them into a completely new career outlet: Writing for a living. 

If your article was a hit, why not expand on it and make it into a whole book? Today, with how easy it is to self-publish a book, the world could be your oyster.

7. You’ll study one new coding book

You don’t need to read all the books. But studying just one book deeply can take your programming skills to a whole new level.

Again, you’ll set aside an amount of hours to dive into the knowledge and solve the problems presented in the book. If you do this, you’ll get a hundred times more value out of it than if you were to simply read through dozens of books.

In the article on top programming books, you’ll find a good selection of books. Pick one that sounds like an exciting challenge for you to tackle. 

Commit to that and see how your coding skills benefit.

8. You’ll upgrade your debugging skills

Set a goal to get better at debugging this year. 

Vow to approach every bug with a formula:

1. Hypothesize: Where do you think the problem could lie? 
2. Experiment to prove or disprove your hypothesis
3. Repeat until you’ve found the bug

Optimizing your debugging process could be a worthy goal for you as a programmer – it’ll make you more effective at churning out functional code, in a repeatable manner, more quickly.

9. You’ll get better at project-based interviewing

If you’re looking to find work as a software developer, get ready to crush those project-based interviews.

Make a goal to thoroughly research the interview process and topics, to tackle a number of new programming interview questions each day, and to frequently hold mock interviews with your friends.

You want to get to a point where you can easily solve most of those Leetcode-style questions thrown at you. 

That’s when it becomes only a matter of time until you’ll be getting a highly paid programming job.

10. You’ll start doing soft skills challenges

Programmers with good soft skills are invited for more projects, rise up higher in their company, get more recognition, and overall become more successful, wealthy and happy.

So install the worthy goal of improving those skills. 

Turn it into a challenge: 

• How many new people can I reach out to this week? 
• When can I practice and deliver an impactful speech in front of people? 
• How will I start negotiating like a pro to get what I want during my next meeting?

11. You’ll gather at least one new piece of feedback each week

Most programmers fail to achieve their goals because they don’t even know what they’re doing wrong.

When it comes to our work, we all have blind spots. It’s just human.

Those who can rise above their ego, ask their peers or higher-ups for honest feedback, and accept and implement it, are the ones who’ll become successful.

12. You’ll improve your problem-solving skills

“The biggest mistake I see new programmers make is focusing on learning syntax instead of learning how to solve problems.” – V. Anton Spraul

Set a goal to solve one new problem each week. It’ll help if you pick different platforms to solve problems on. 

Create and improve on your problem-solving framework: The system you use to assess, structure, and ultimately overcome every problem. 

Soon enough you’ll be able to use this system with every challenge you face, be it related to programming or not.

Long Term Programmer Goals

13. You’ll create a personal brand

Want to rise up the ranks as a programmer – make better connections, get better jobs, multiply your income? 

Start building your personal programmer brand ASAP.

• Let people know which area you’re specializing in as a developer
• Write your biographical elevator pitch: Who are you and how are you helping me?
• Create your portfolio website
• Build your LinkedIn profile
• Start sharing content around your area of expertise
• Join a community – or start your own!

Once people know you as an expert on their topic, they’ll start coming to you with offers.

Building a personal brand is a proven way to rise above the masses as a programmer and snatch the best opportunities. 

14. You’ll learn a new language (one at a time!)

A classic goal for any developer is to learn a new programming language. And the best way to do it is strategically. 

Pick ONE language at a time. Conservatively estimate how long it’ll take you to learn it. Create a weekly schedule. Purchase any resources if necessary. 

Follow through with your daily learning habit, and soon you’ll have achieved your goal.

Professional Goals for Software Engineers & Developers

15. You’ll complete a new certification

Courses, bootcamps and certifications can be a quick way to level up your programming skills and increase your professional status at the same time.

You could set a goal to complete one or two new of these per year.

Over time, this will put you in the upper echelon of developers in terms of coding knowledge, skills and accolades.

If you’re at a job, put that professional development budget to good use and have them pay for any cert or course you take.

16. You’ll prepare for & apply to your dream job

Two things separating you from your dream job as a programmer: You need to set a smart goal to actually go for that job, and then do the work to make that goal come to fruition.

If you have a strategic plan for getting there, and you’re executing on that plan – it’s only a matter of time until you’ll get that job.

17. You’ll take responsibility for one new project at work

If you want to increase your influence at work and climb the ladder – set a ‘leadership goal’ specifying how you’ll start a new project, and collaborate with others to make it succeed, creating a positive impact in your company.  

18. You’ll start mentoring someone once or twice per week

It’s unclear who learns more when you work on this goal of mentorship – the mentee, or you as the mentor.

To teach successfully, you need to know the topic by heart. 

Apart from giving back and helping someone in their programming career, you’ll deepen your own understanding. 

In short, this goal helps you become both a better coder and a better human.

Financial Goals for Programmers

Want to earn more as a programmer? Get the free course ‘7 Reasons You’re Underpaid As A Software Developer’. You’ll get my best strategies for moving up the ranks and making more money.

19. You’ll start investing your money into assets

Once you make good money as a programmer, a worthwhile goal is to start putting any extra money to work for you.

A great way to do that is to invest into assets.

I’ve made great money investing in real estate, but you could choose other assets to invest in as well, like businesses or websites.

Make a goal to set X amount aside each month to put into new assets. Once these assets start paying you back without much upkeep, you’ll be glad you did!

20. You’ll apply for a raise each year, citing your accomplishments

If you’re someone who sets and achieves new goals every year? Then you keep increasing your value for the company you’re working for: 

• Those difficult jobs you finished. 
• How you improved team collaboration by managing projects and mentoring new hires. 
• Your better productivity because you leveled up your skills. 

So you have every reason to ask for a raise at each opportunity. 

21. You’ll start commanding an elite hourly rate

Whether you’re at a job or you’re working as a freelance developer: Make upping your hourly rate one of your major goals. 

This is most simple when you’re freelancing: Simply set your rate higher after each bout of successful projects. 

Don’t accept less. Because your results are speaking for you, you will get hired even as you become more expensive.

Start planning your week around your goals

Want to know how I plan my week to get as much done as possible? Here it is.

I use a tool called Kanbanflow to plan out my week based on Pomodoros.

Using this technique I am able to be extremely productive, avoid distractions and know exactly what I’ll be able to get done each week.

Now go Crush your Goals – Become a Finisher!

If you want to accomplish your goals, you need to learn to finish what you start.

It really is as simple as that. Become the kind of person who always finishes what you start.

Getting 50% done is worthless and 90% done is worthless and a big waste of time. You only get benefits from doing something when you reach 100%. Getting to 100% is all that matters. 

• Not all the work you put into it leading up to that point. 
• Not your initial enthusiasm. 
• Not even the time you spent. As soon as you spend it that time is gone.

The only way any of those things have any chance of showing a return on your investment is by reaching 100%–taking the big rubber stamp that says “done” on it and stamping it right across your work in dark red ink.

Ultimately it comes down to this: 

You have to decide that you are tired of having a closet full of half-completed projects. You have to decide that finishing is important to you and that despite how you feel, despite how bleak the outcome may seem to be, once you start something you will finish it–barring some extreme circumstance.

It’s not an easy journey, but once you decide to embark upon it, you’ll start to see rewards you never imagined possible.

My life completely changed once I became a finisher. Yours will too.

To start leveling up smarter and faster, get the free guide: 5 Learning Mistakes Software Developers Make

The post 26 Developer Goals That ACTUALLY WORK – with SMART Examples appeared first on Simple Programmer.

According to Evans Data Corporation, there were 23 million software developers in 2018, and by the end of 2019, the number is expected to reach 26.4 million.

Furthermore, by 2023, there are expected to be around 27.7 million developers in the world.

Since Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world today with no projections of falling popularity, it is safe to say that many more people will be learning it in the coming years.

This post contains a comprehensive list of resources related to Python. From books and websites to coding challenges and podcasts, this is your go-to list for anything Python. Whether you are an experienced Python developer or you are considering learning this popular language, you will find a wealth of resources suitable for your skills.

Programming languages—and programming in general—evolve quickly, and so it’s crucial that you stay up to date. When it comes to Python, this post will make sure of that! Let’s get started.

Types of Resources

There are multiple resources that you can access to learn Python or develop your skills further, both online and offline. A few examples of these are:

• Books in print, electronic, or audio format
• Videos and podcasts
• Blogs and websites
• Tutorials and courses
• Games and coding bootcamps

Not all of these resources are for everyone; some people prefer learning from a particular resource, while others might find the same resource useless. It all depends on the person and what works best for them.

Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles also play a part here along with several other factors that can have an impact on your productivity, retention, and understanding.

Do you understand things more easily when you hear about them? Conversely, do you retain more information when you read about something? Perhaps you learn more about a topic through activities.

Knowing how you learn best is important in any context, and the same is true for choosing Python learning resources.

Best Resources for Python Developers

Out of the thousands of resources available online, some resources are more helpful than others in teaching programming with Python. Not only are the resources listed here more thorough, engaging, and understandable, but they also encourage higher retention.

Coding is a dry and tricky subject, so any resource that can grab the readers’ attention is worth it, like the ones below.

Books

Books are an invaluable source of information that have been the backbone of learning and education for hundreds of years. However, the detailed style of explaining concepts, principals, methodology, and problems is not for everyone.

Regardless, books are irreplaceable, which is why every Python developer needs to give them a shot.

According to Max Winters, market research analyst at Academist Help, “Audiobooks, e-books, online resources, and other digital alternatives might be more practical mediums to transfer knowledge depending on the current times. However, they are nowhere near to replacing a physical book in the near future.”

I’ve put together a list of the best books out there to enrich your knowledge in Python. These books are meant for both beginner and advanced programmers.

Regardless of where you currently stand with your programming skills or your preferred learning medium, you will definitely gain a wealth of information about Python from the books listed below.

• Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming, by Eric Matthes
• Python Cookbook, Third Edition, by David Beazley and Brian K. Jones
• Head First Python: A Brain-Friendly Guide, Second Edition, by Paul Barry
• Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science, Third Edition, by John Zelle
• Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code, Third Edition, by Zed A. Shaw
• A Byte of Python, by C.H. Swaroop
• Fluent Python: Clear, Concise, and Effective Programming, by Luciano Ramalho
• Programming Python: Powerful Object-Oriented Programming, by Mark Lutz

Don’t shy away at the sight of a thick book. Give these books a chance, and see how much they can help you become a Python pro.

YouTube Channels

Videos are a great way to explain boring concepts in the most fun way possible. Thus, videos have higher retention and engagement rates.

Below, I have compiled a list of YouTube channels that will help you grow as a developer. Many of these channels are not specific to Python but have posted videos that will help a lot in learning the language.

TheNewBoston

This journey of tutorials and podcasts that began in 2008 by Bucky Roberts has now become an invaluable resource for both developers and students who are interested in programming.

According to Bucky Roberts, “While Universities and Corporations were charging like crazy for people to receive an education, people could come and watch my videos and get the same information for no cost at all. I decided that this is the way it would be. Education should be free for everyone who desires one. It should not be a business. And quickly, that became my goal.”

Corey Schafer

Software engineer Corey Schafer left his job in 2018 to create walkthroughs and tutorials for his YouTube channel, to help software engineers, programmers, and developers.

He says, “I try not to create tutorials for topics for the sole purpose of them being popular or what will get the most views … I instead try to create the lessons that I wish I had when learning that topic.”

Sentdex

Sentdex was founded by Harrison Kinsley in 2010, after which he founded PythonProgramming.net in 2012. Python Programming tutorials focus on many topics, including web development, game development, data visualization, robotics, finance, and machine learning.

For those of you wondering what Harrison Kinsley’s projection is on the future of Python:

“Fundamentally, I can easily see Python being here in the next 20+ years, but a lot will depend on the community.”

CS Dojo

YK Sugi founded the educational YouTube channel CS Dojo in 2016. It is filled with tutorials and stories about computer science and programming.

Sugi quit his full-time software developer job at Google that paid him more than $100,000 per year. He then pursued his passion for creating videos on his YouTube channel to fill the market gap between what people wanted and what they got.

According to YK Sugi, “I’m making a lot less money now, but it’s just amazing to be able to directly see the impact that I’m making on people’s lives.”

Harshit Vashisth

Harshit Vashisth creates Python tutorials in Hindi, which form a complete course free of charge for beginners who want to learn this programming language.

Traversy Media

Brad Traversy is the Founder, Full Stack Web Developer, and Instructor at Traversy Media. His YouTube channel, tutorials, and courses follow his passion for teaching programming and web development in a simple and understandable manner.

His videos focus on subjects such as HTML5, front-end frameworks like Angular, or server-side technologies like Python, Node.js, and PHP.

Brad Traversy’s advice to freelancers is, “If there is a plugin that does what you need, USE IT! Do not get hung up on pride where you need to create everything from scratch. You will go broke doing that. Look for easy-to-use, high-level frameworks like Laravel and Django. This will make your job much more comfortable.

Also, do not take on more than you can handle. If you can only handle one project at a time, then do that. You will get better and faster in the future.”

Kudvenkat

Founder of Kudvenkat, Venkat K, has over 14 years of experience in SQL Server and Microsoft .NET technologies. He created his channel to satiate his love of sharing knowledge. He believes that “to teach is to learn.”

Codecourse

Codecourse is a YouTube channel that was founded in 2019 by Alex Garrett. This channel focuses on providing programmers and Python developers with additional support so they can bring up their knowledge and understand tricky concepts that had eluded them before.

Online Course Websites

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) or online courses are a modern-day alternative to traditional classrooms and education. Therefore, if you want to learn Python but hate sitting in a stuffy classroom, then this is the alternative for you.

Online courses allow students the luxury of learning in their own time and space. Don’t waste your time or money on a boring class; learn Python at your convenience.

All of the platforms mentioned below offer advanced and beginner courses on Python. Some even offer microcourses that can later be counted as credits for your degree. However, those are a bit expensive, especially if you are opting for courses from Harvard, MIT, or similar institutions.

Udemy

Udemy offers a bunch of courses on Python that cater to programmers at all levels of skill and expertise. It is a leader in learning and teaching, connecting students and educators from around the world. It features:

• 40 million students
• 130,000 courses
• 50,000 instructors
• 245 million course enrollments
• 30 million minutes of video
• More than 60 languages
• More than 4,000 enterprise customers

Moreover, 80% of Fortune 100 companies recognize Udemy as a trusted education provider for employee upskilling.

Coursera

Coursera is one of the best platforms for obtaining online education. It has:

• 40 million learners
• Almost 200 university partners
• More than 3,600 courses
• Offering over 390 specializations
• Over 15 types of certificates
• More than 14 types of degrees

Coursera offers five fee and learning period options for learners to choose from regardless of their location, professional experience, or any other factors.

Coursera also gives Python programmers and other students a variety of options depending on their level of skill, instructional need, and general preference. They can choose from courses, specializations, professional certificates, Mastertrack certificates, and online degrees.

edX

edX is the hub for all online learning and MOOCs. You are bound to find a few courses you would be interested in to learn or polish your knowledge of Python.

Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX is a global nonprofit platform that is transforming traditional learning and education by removing barriers of location, cost, and access. edX is a platform for learners of every stage whether they are entering the market, changing fields, exploring new interests, or seeking a promotion.

As stated on the edX website:

“Fulfilling the demand for people to learn on their own terms, edX is reimagining the possibilities of education, providing the highest-quality, stackable learning experiences, including the groundbreaking MicroMasters® programs.”

Furthermore, edX has partnered up with some of the world’s top universities, including Harvard, MIT, Brown University, ETH Zurich, University of Oxford, University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, and Tsinghua University to provide courses and programs. These cover a wide variety of subjects including math, data and computer science, and humanities.

edX is known to have:

• Almost 2,500 courses
•  More than 120 Institutional Partners
•  Over 20 million learners worldwide
•  More than 70 million enrollments

Pluralsight

Pluralsight helps you by assisting in the development of contemporary skills and teaching the latest technology through assessments, courses, and learning paths created by industry experts.

Keeping this in mind, Python developers and those interested in learning the coding language should rest assured that this is a valuable learning platform. It helps businesses and individuals achieve benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles, and build reliable products.

Important statistics about Pluralsight:

•  More than 1,500 expert authors
•  Trusted by 70% of the Fortune 500 companies
•  Over 17,700 business accounts
•  Nearly 1,500 employees
•  More than 6,000 online courses

Pluralsight has helped transform thousands of organizations at scale, including Nasdaq, Adobe, GameStop, ADP, VMWare, and Johnson Controls. Although it is headquartered in Utah, Pluralsight offers courses and aid in development, creative training, and IT to organizations and individuals around the world.

Udacity

Udacity was founded by Stanford instructors Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun. They started this platform as an experiment, offering their “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online for free. Udacity aims to democratize education and jump-start career development.

Udacity allows prospective learners from across the globe to master in-demand skills. It has more than 160,000 students from over 190 countries, and it offers more than 30 nanodegree programs ranging from beginner to advanced in some of the most innovative and interesting fields.

Browse through their range of courses to find the perfect Python course for you.

Google

Google courses and certificates can make a developer’s career. Therefore, if you can take a Python course created by Google experts, then you will not only gain a wealth of knowledge, but your employability will also increase.

Google offers online training, tutorials, learning material, courses, and nanodegrees to Android and web developers through Udacity and Firebase codelab. Their purpose is to train developers in creating flexible, responsive, and visually appealing apps and web platforms that are useful and marketable and have a matchless user experience.

Google offers trainings in web and app development, Android app development, machine learning, and TensorFlow. All learners are provided with a Google Developers Certification upon the completion of an exam.

Google also offers international programs to encourage web and Android development in India, Indonesia, and Africa.

Treehouse

Treehouse has partnered with Google Developers, IBM Watson, Amazon Alexa, and Microsoft to create diversification in the global tech industry. It aspires to do so by making education and apprenticeship more accessible and helping learners build their portfolio.

Having partnered with some of the IT industry’s top dogs, Treehouse can help you learn the most important and relevant information there is on Python development.They offer learners the chance to enroll in the Treehouse Techdegree program and their other courses to make beginner-level learners career-ready.

Treehouse has:

• Over 300 courses
• Around 278 workshops
• Covers 23 topics
• More than 50,000 current students

The courses are designed to help learners master soft skills and technical skills and to become experts in wielding modern development tools and techniques.

Treehouse offers a project-based online learning program called Techdegree. This program focuses on teaching fundamental concepts through quizzes, tutorials, and code challenges.

 W3Schools

Originally created in 1998 by Norwegian software development and consulting company Refsnes Data, W3Schools is a website for web developers. It offers several references and free tutorials on coding and development with Python.

W3Schools focuses on providing simplified, straight-forward, and easy-to-understand advice that promotes learning through rich illustrations and explanations. These tutorials start at the primary level and take the learners up to a professional level.

Games

Learning coding and programming with Python can also be fun and games. You won’t even feel like you are studying, but you’ll still get a good grip on all the important concepts.

Robocode

Robocode is a coding and programming game where players program a robot to spar against other robots in a battle arena. The player codes the AI of the robot so it can react and fight against its opponents.

CodinGame

CodinGame is a training platform for programmers to improve their coding skills through puzzles, exercises, and challenges. They will put their programming skills to good use in this online application that supports the use of 25 languages.

CodeCombat

CodeCombat is an educational video game for self-paced learners who want to learn coding languages and programming concepts. Divided into 11 units (six computer science units, two web development units, and three game development units), this game has both single and multiplayer components.

Advancing through the levels of this game requires the players to write code, which gets them to test their knowledge.

CodeWars

Codewars is a platform that hosts an educational community to learn computer programming. Developers achieve mastery in coding by training in kara (programming challenges) on the dojo.

Ruby Warrior

Ruby Warrior is a strategy-based command-line game that takes the players on a quest of destiny, adventure, and love.

Each player is assigned a knight or warrior character who they can control by giving commands. Their AI does challenges like climbing the tower, battling enemies, rescuing captives, and a lot more.The completion of tasks and level-ups enable players to win points.

The initial codebase is generated by the game, and the rest of the coding for the AI needs to be done by the player.

Vim Adventures

Vim Adventures is a puzzle game that is a cross between a text editor and Zelda. This game doesn’t require a mouse; it only utilizes keyboard keys to give commands like going up, down, right, and left. The player is required to find their way out of a maze, follow hints, collect keys, find treasure chests, and more to pass the level.

Flexbox Froggy

Flexbox Froggy requires players to write code to help the frogs in the game make it home to their lilypads.

The whole interface of the game can be controlled with just a few lines of code, including the spacing, alignment, and wrapping of web elements.

 Elevator Saga

Elevator Saga is a coding game that features a building with various floors and elevators. The job of the player is to code an algorithm that controls the elevators’ actions and movements.

Coding Challenge and Practice Websites

If you have a competitive streak or you want to test your knowledge in Python and other programming languages, you can take part in these online challenges. Some of them can even land you a good chunk of prize money!

• CoderByte
• CodeWars
• SPOJ
• CodeChef
• Topcoder
• CheckiO
• Project Euler
• Programmr

Podcasts

Students who are auditory learners can polish their concept knowledge and find out more about the challenges, problems, and solutions that Python developers come across while creating a program. These podcasts are for both professionals and those just entering the field of Python development.

Talk Python To Me is a weekly podcast about Python and everything related to it such as MongoDB, AngularJS, and DevOps. Hosted by Michael Kennedy, the 30-minute episodes feature a range of topics and guests, including some renowned industry experts.

Podcast.__init__ is a podcast that revolves around Python and all the people doing great things with it, either developing the language or making a difference using it. It’s hosted by programmer and tech geek Tobias Macey, who has also hosted the Data Engineering Podcast.

Django Chat is a weekly podcast by Carlton Gibson and William Vincent that covers topics linked to the Django web framework.

Python Bytes is hosted by Brian Okken and Michael Kennedy. This weekly podcast consists of short discussions on the latest headlines and news related to Python, the data science space, and developers.

Test & Code is also hosted by Brian Okken. This weekly podcast covers a large variety of Python-related topics.

DataFramed is a weekly podcast by DataCamp hosted by educator and data scientist Hugo Bowne-Anderson, who speaks to industry experts on the future, limitations, and practical use of data science. The first six episodes feature data practitioners Hilary Mason and Dave Robinson.

Data science is a fastest-growing industry that can make a difference in several fields. DataFramed focuses on the problems that data science can solve, such as automated medical diagnosis, climate change, recommendation systems, and self-driving cars.

Import This: A Python Podcast for Humans is hosted by Kennneth Reitz and a random co-host. Import This: A Python Podcast for Humans is—as the name suggests—a podcast about Python for humans. The podcast focuses on the relevance, usage, and impact of Python programming on the life of people today.

The Digital Python Forecast is a podcast that covers topics related to Python, but in the most laid back way possible. The podcast was originally started by Dirk (financial backer and wordsmith), Tony (enforcer), and Bill (sound guy and editor), but Nick (research assistant) has since been added to the crew.

Learning Never Stops

We’re finally at the end! These are the best resources I could find for Python developers whether they are amateurs or professionals. This ample and diversified list covers everything that any developer, programmer, or coder could need to polish their knowledge and skills in Python.

Hopefully, one or more of these will help you learn Python faster and with better understanding because Python could be the future of programming.

The post The 48 Best Resources for a Python Programmer appeared first on Simple Programmer.

According to IDC, spending on compute and storage infrastructure products for cloud infrastructure, including dedicated and shared environments, increased 13.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, to $21.1 billion. For the entire year 2021, cloud infrastructure spending totaled $73.9 billion—an increase of 8.8% over 2020.

IDC also predicts the global “whole cloud” spending to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025.” The likely reason is that enterprises are increasingly using cloud services for new initiatives or to replace their entire existing systems. As a result, spending on traditional IT solutions is being reallocated to the cloud, resulting in a cloud shift due to a growing preference for “cloud-first” solutions.

Nevertheless, organizations are struggling to control their spendings, and public cloud spending sometimes goes out of budget. This makes it more critical than ever to handle cloud cost optimization. 

As the number of cloud services increases, having a team of professional DevOps and following DevOps practices can do wonders, resulting in less cost for software development, deployment, and maintenance.

In this blog post, I’ve compiled a list of some key DevOps practices that can help you to prevent unnecessary expenses and cloud costs.

Key DevOps Practices That Can Reduce Cloud Costs

A 2020 report by Flexera states that cloud cost reduction has become a priority for 73% of businesses. Moreover, the report also mentions that organizations usually exceed their budget by an average of 23%.

Cloud bills are skyrocketing due to multiple reasons, such as over-provisioned resources, unnecessary capacity & poor visibility into the environment.

DevOps and cloud computing play key roles in building standardized and consistent build-test deploy environments. These practices help businesses reduce overall cloud costs by eliminating waste, identifying mismanaged resources, and reserving capacity for higher discounts. This way, they help strike a balance between cloud performance and speed.

With the above in mind, let’s take a closer look at some key practices to help you reduce cloud costs.

Tip #1: Leveraging Third-party Services

Once you analyze the project requirements, you can go with third-party services, if they are affordable for your business. Doing so helps reduce operational overhead and save hefty money. Here’s how your third-party service provider can help you to achieve this.

Several cloud providers, such as Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud, offer services that can be leveraged during the development process. For example, Amazon RDS provides a managed database service that offers excellent features, such as:

• Monitoring
• Multi-regional Setup
• Backup
• Scaling
• Reliance

It takes a significantly higher budget and even more time to build such a service from scratch. If the project is already in progress, then the DevOps team will audit infrastructure resources and services being used. After that, if there is still a way of reducing costs, there can be some suggestions regarding adjustments or use of new services.

Pro Tip: When it comes to the cost-benefit analysis, you can start using third-party services to save costs and reduce operational overhead.

Tip #2: Resource Code Optimization

The main objective is to use optimal pricing types of cloud resources, which allows users to get maximum efficiency for a lower cost. Now, the question arises: How can the DevOps team help you achieve this?

From fast delivery time to excellent customer experience and early defect detection, businesses can leverage multiple benefits from hiring a DevOps team. Cloud providers offer various compute and storage resources with different payment options and tiers.

For example, AWS-based services provide compute resources called EC2, allowing users to choose different types of instances. It includes dedicated, on-demand, spot, or reserved ones. Selecting the correct type of instance for a specific case significantly optimizes costs.

• On-demand instances: When using it, you pay per hour. This is perfect for apps with short-term, irregular workloads which cannot be interrupted. It is also suitable for usage while testing and developing apps on EC2.
• Dedicated instances: They run on hardware that is dedicated to a specific customer and they are the most expensive ones. You can choose this option if you deal with sensitive workloads and when security and compliance are crucial.
• Spot instances: They are low-cost options. It is best to use spot instances if the high availability of services is not required. One can use such cases with up to a 90% discount.
• Reserved instances: This option provides a significant discount, up to 72%, compared to on-demand instance pricing. One can invest in reserved cases if there is a need for a capacity reservation.

Furthermore, you can check some cloud cost optimization practices, which are as follows:

• Using discounts and deleting underused instances
• Setting alerts if there is a crossing of predetermined spend thresholds
• Searching if hosting in a different region or availability zone could reduce costs
• Moving infrequently accessed storage to cheaper tiers

Tip #3: Change Software Architecture

You can save big bucks by simply adjusting the architecture and software code, for example, by using PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), runtime, container management, and a serverless pay-per-execution environment rather than a virtual machine.

On the other hand, you can also use containers as they contain microservices that are activated upon request and unloaded from virtual memory when no longer required.

Tip #4: Get a Subscription

Though most cloud services are usage-based, some cloud service providers offer another usage option: a subscription for a specific period. It helps many businesses save money if they are used in the correct manner.

Tip #5: Infrastructure & CI/CD Process Automation

CI/CD automation eliminates the need to manually manage servers, OS, database connections, storage, and other infrastructure elements during development, testing, and deployment phases.

DevOps team can help you to achieve this by undertaking the infrastructure audit and planning to understand the needs, potential risks, and opportunities. The team prepares core infrastructure resources, such as configuration, compute resources, etc.

Once the infrastructure resources are ready, service integration generally starts with a preparation of a pipeline configuration. In most cases, the DevOps team analyzes the requirements and suggests the most suitable approaches to the service delivery—the Docker containers or Amazon Lambda are the most common.

Regarding cost benefits, Infrastructure as a Code enables its users to use template-based solutions and stop spending precious development time manually provisioning IT infrastructure. Moreover, engineers are more focused on the development of additional services and features instead of the way they are delivered and deployed, saving a lot of time and money.

Use These Tips to Reduce Your Costs

In this post, I shared with you some tips from DevOps that can help your organization to spend less and make the most out of its resources. By implementing these cloud reduction tips, you can expand the horizons of cloud computing with reducing cloud cost. 

Keep in mind, however, that potential savings will take a hit if you misuse resources. Therefore, companies need to realize the importance of having a team of DevOps engineers while migrating their infrastructure to the cloud.

To determine the strategy that is right for your needs, consider the size and individual requirements of your business. Outsourcing a team of DevOps engineers is often the best option, ensuring efficient management of your cloud budget.

The post How to Reduce Cloud Costs: Tips from DevOps Engineers appeared first on Simple Programmer.

One of the advantages of PHP is that it’s easy to learn and use. Furthermore, PHP is more compatible with HTML than any other backend technology.

As for PHP frameworks, they are pre-written pieces of PHP code that help you build your websites more easily. PHP frameworks use libraries and commonly used functions to make website development faster, allowing you to use less code and more functionalities.

If you’re new to PHP frameworks, you might wonder where to get started and which frameworks are the best. In this post, I’m sharing with you a list of the top five PHP frameworks for web development to help you choose the best framework for you.

Top 5 PHP Frameworks for Web Development

So, which is the best PHP framework? The answer depends on your needs, but generally speaking, the most uncomplicated framework, which provides the most features, and is the most popular, can be considered the best. Let’s take a look at the top 5 PHP frameworks, so you can pick the one most suitable for your needs.

Laravel

Laravel is the most famous and widely used PHP framework. It was first released on June 9, 2011. There are a ton of contributions (commits on GitHub) and more than 1.1 million websites around the world using this framework.

GitHub stars: 70.2K

Famous users: BBC, Pfizer, Liberty Mutual Insurance.

No of websites: 1.1M

Recommended Learning Resources: Udemy, YouTube, Laravel Learning book

The pros of Laravel include the following:

• Easy to learn and use for beginners
• Simple and easy-to-understand syntax
• Highly secure
• Many built-in features like authentication and a security system

As for its cons, they can be summed up like this:

• Complex project structure
• No new versions
• Slower than other frameworks such as Django
• Less powerful composer

Code Igniter

Code Igniter was launched on February 28, 2006. It’s a free and open-source web development framework. Due to its built-in modules, it’s also one of the best PHP frameworks because of its speed and easy configuration.

GitHub stars: 18.2K

Famous users: Accenture, Ola, Zendesk Inc

No of websites: 541K

The pros of CodeIgniter include the following:

• Easy to use due to its less complex structure
• 3-4% faster than most of the other PHP frameworks
• No forced design pattern

As for its cons, they can be summed up like this:

• Less secure than other frameworks because it’s an old framework
• Fewer libraries for creating new functionalities
• It’s an old framework, and no further releases have been announced

CakePHP

CakePHP was released in April 2005. It’s also a free and open-source web development framework providing very high-security features such as SQLi (SQL Injection) protection, and XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) protection.

GitHub stars: 8.5K

Famous users: Glen Raven Inc, Conservation International, InSync Solutions

No of websites: 188K

The pros of CakePHP include the following:

• Easy to develop apps
• Many useful built-in features, for instance, a security system, and powerful routing for SEO
• Very secure

As for its cons, they can be summed up like this:

• Small community support
• Not comprehensive and beginner-friendly documentation

Symfony

Symfony is a PHP-based web development framework that is commonly known for its reusable components and libraries which make it easy to code. The workflow in Symfony is very fast because it’s not necessary to write the code for the same thing again and again.

GitHub stars: 27K

Famous users: Spotify, Dailymotion, Trivago

No of websites: 37K

The pros of Symfony include the following:

• Fast
• Very flexible
• Reusable code

As for its cons, they can be summed up like this:

• Testing requires more time
• OOP (Object Oriented Programming) makes it hard to learn for beginners

Yii2

Yii2 is a PHP-based framework that follows the DRY (Do not repeat yourself) principle. Yii2 was released as a successor to the framework Yii. Furthermore, it comes with a class code generator called Gii.

GitHub stars: 13.9K

Famous users: Discovery, General, Fujitsu

No of websites: 170K

The pros of Yii2 include the following:

• Amazingly fast
• Supports front-end development as well
• Very lightweight (uses fewer resources like RAM and CPU)

As for its cons, they can be summed up like this:

• Hard to learn
• Many features such as querying and broadcasting are not supported

Build Smarter with a Top PHP Framework

The scripting language PHP is free, open-source, powerful, and well-liked. It contains many frameworks. So, what’s better than simple? But of course, even simpler!

Here’s where PHP frameworks enter the picture. As pre-written pieces of PHP code, they help you build your websites more easily, avoiding the extra work. PHP frameworks make website development faster, allowing you to use less code and add more functionalities. This way, your productivity and effectiveness increase.

In this post, I’ve offered you a list of the top 5 PHP frameworks, with their pros and cons, so you can choose the right one for your project. The rule of thumb is, to build smarter, not harder!

The post Top 5 PHP Frameworks for Web Development appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Even when an app does get noticed, it’s difficult to retain users. On average, an app loses 77% of daily active users (DAUs) after just three days, while more than 95% of them are gone within three months.

What does it take to get a mobile app noticed and get users to keep using it? Is there a formula that results in a large number of app downloads in the blink of an eye? If you’re ready to learn the secret sauce, you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide to cross-platform mobile app development, I will discuss what cross-platform app development is, how it differs from native development, what benefits it offers, and what the best cross-platform app development frameworks available for businesses are today. In a nutshell, this is going to be your complete guide to cross-platform app development.

What Is Cross-Platform App Development?

Mobile apps that are compatible with more than one operating system are known as cross-platform apps. These apps are developed using cross-platform frameworks.

Cross-platform apps are gaining tremendous popularity due to their ability to support multiple mobile OS. This way companies can save thousands of dollars by releasing their product relatively faster using a single codebase. Google’s Flutter and Facebook’s React Native are two widely used cross-platform mobile app development frameworks.

Some popular apps built using cross-platform app development frameworks include:

• The New York Times
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Google Ads
• Skype
• Pinterest
• Bloomberg
• Tesla

How Does Cross-Platform App Development Differ From Native App Development?

Cross-platform vs native has been a never-ending debate throughout the years. Both are champs and capable of delivering a robust mobile app.

However, there are some significant differences between native and cross-platform app development approaches. These differences in approach can help you build an active strategy for your minimum viable product and path forward.

So let’s take a closer look at the differences between these two approaches.

Ultimately, no matter how good native might be, cross-platform technologies have always been the first choice of app developers and entrepreneurs. Let’s see why.

What Are the Benefits of Cross-Platform App Development?

Now that you have an idea about cross-platform vs native, it’s time to explore further and get to know the benefits of cross-platform mobile app development.

Easy and Fast Development Process

The IT and tech industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. So if you choose to go with cross-platform technologies, you will be able to launch your product much faster. Thus, neither the developers nor the businesses have to wait around for their initial release.

Loved by People

The UI/UX is one of decisive factors in any app’s future success. A well-designed UI would touch the heart of your audience, while a bad one would puzzle them. Here, cross-platform technologies work wonders.

Apps designed in this way are able to take full advantage of UX components. This not only simplifies the user interface but also enhances the overall design. Furthermore, this is one of the reasons why chief design officers (CDOs) prefer cross-platform applications—such as React Native—for UI design.

Exposure to Wide Customer Base

There was a time when native app development was most prevalent. That means, if an app was developed for iOS, it was meant for iPhone users only, not for Android or Windows.

This practice failed to capture the attention of the masses, and then the cross-platform app development approach came into the picture. Now almost all apps made using cross-platform frameworks are able to run on a variety of operating systems including iOS and Android.

Moreover, some smartwatches and smart home appliances/devices are supported as well. This way, businesses can maximize their outreach with just a single codebase.

Quick and Easy Updates

As I mentioned, IT and tech is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. As a result, apps tend to get updates quite fast. However, updating apps frequently—and, above all, adding new features in the updates—would have been an absolute nightmare for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) if cross-platform frameworks were not available.

Cross-platform built apps’ code can be reused up to 90%, which drastically reduces the cost without hurting the total revenue.

Cost Effective

With so many benefits at such little cost, it is pretty obvious that cross-platform built apps are easy on the pocket. Even a bootstrapped business or someone with a tight budget can have their app developed with a minimum investment.

What Are the Best Cross-Platform App Development Frameworks Available for Businesses?

There are many cross-platform app frameworks available to use for free. If you asked me to pick the best of the best, I would choose React Native without a second thought. Nevertheless, here are some of the best cross-platform app development frameworks along with case studies for you to consider.

You Are Now Ready to Develop a Cross-Platform App!

Apps are the trend. They are your users’ demand. They are truly revenue-generating machines masquerading as tiny programs. Lots of businesses have established themselves with the help of mobile apps, and many are continuing to do so.

From easy and fast development to a wide customer base, and from quick updates to cutting cost, cross-platform development definitely has many benefits. Take advantage of them, and take your app to the next level—the simple way!

The post A Quick Guide to Cross-Platform App Development appeared first on Simple Programmer.

With the increasing demand for chatbots, the same goes for you if you are a chatbot developer. As a result, you have little to lose and a lot to gain by leveraging chatbots in your skill set.

For companies that lack the technical know-how, and have a tighter budget in terms of chatbot pricing, the no-code bot builders that are easily available are likely the best option. Others who want a more custom solution will tend to lean toward chatbot development from scratch.

Let’s look further into what is involved in the process of creating a chatbot.

What Goes Into Creating a Chatbot?

Creating a chatbot that delivers positive results for a business—any business—is no small feat.

The creation of even the most basic chatbot will require a deep understanding of how human conversations work (of course!) and some insane programming skills. We will delve deeper into the skills required to be a chatbot developer momentarily.

For now, understand that the process of developing a chatbot from scratch is not going to be an easy one. It takes weeks, if not more, to strategize, design, and create a chatbot that hits the mark. And to do so within a predefined budget and timeframe to boot!

But worry not, if you have the right skill set for the job, the entire process will not only be rewarding but maybe even fun. That said, let us understand the most essential skills that every chatbot developer should have.

Top Skills for a Chatbot Developer

Chatbots have evolved over the years and have innovated conversations between customers and companies significantly. The skills required by chatbot developers are not all that different from those required by programmers.

A study by AIMultiple suggests that 65% of chatbot companies and customers believe talent shortage to be the primary challenge in the chatbot industry. Meaning, there are a lot of untapped opportunities for chatbot developers currently.

Now, without further ado, let us dive deeper into the skills you need to possess.

Expertise in Chatbot Frameworks

The first and foremost quality that every chatbot developer should have is expertise in chatbot frameworks. When you are into chatbot development, you will inevitably build chatbots from scratch. To do so, you need to be proficient in frameworks such as IBM Watson, APi.ai, Microsoft Azure Bot Service, and more.

While many businesses today turn to chatbot platforms for creating chatbots, you are going to need a working knowledge of these frameworks when you are developing custom chatbots. You should also have the ability to compare and choose the right framework for a specific chatbot.

Additionally, it is highly recommended that you get enough practice on open-source chatbot frameworks such as Wit.ai and Rasa, since practice is the only way to improve your skills.  Remember, if you are applying to small companies, you will need to choose a paid chatbot framework, as opposed to the open source ones. The latter requires you to have expertise in the Natural Language Processing (NLP) domain as well.

Proficiency in Programming Languages

This one is a no-brainer for experienced developers.

Along with the chatbot frameworks, developers should be proficient in working with several programming languages. If you have worked with chatbot frameworks to a large extent, chances are that you already have this part covered.

After all, these frameworks are based on specific programming languages. The common ones that you should add (or refresh) to your repertoire are Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby. Having these skills up your sleeve will help you customize your chatbot in ways that are best suited for your business.

So if you lack knowledge of these programming languages, or are out of practice, it’s time to start brushing up. Don’t hesitate to start learning some programming languages with the help of online courses and tutorials.

Knowledge of Emerging Technologies

Take a moment to remember what chatbots were like 10 years ago compared to now. The chatbots that you come across today definitely do not look like the basic chat boxes that we used to interact with just a few years ago, do they?

Chatbots today have evolved to incorporate some pretty awesome features.

Considering the transformative nature of chatbots, developers need to be up to date with the latest technologies and developments. To make an effective chatbot that can anticipate the possible conversational flow and seamlessly answer queries, you are going to need a deep knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and NLP.

Without the AI and NLP technologies, your chatbot won’t be able to tell the difference between a greeting and a customer query.

Apart from these technologies, Machine Learning also plays a pivotal role in defining the conversational flow and design of chatbots. If you do not have knowledge of these technologies and you are seeking out a chatbot development role, taking relevant courses (tagged above) might be a good idea before proceeding further.

Communication Skills

If you ask any major company about the skills they would like their chatbot developers to have, communication is probably going to be top of the list.

Why?

Well, what are chatbots if not another communication channel between companies and customers?

If the people developing the chatbots do not have the basic know-how of writing a human conversation, how will they design a chatbot that can replicate one?

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying you should delve deep into conversations like a conversation designer would, but you still need a basic understanding of how natural language should flow when you are working in chatbot development.

Experience Integrating Chatbots on Different Platforms

If you want to build chatbots for a living, you will inevitably need to have some experience in working with omnichannel chatbots. Simply knowing how to add a chatbot to a website just won’t cut it anymore.

In this day and age, businesses want to maintain consistent customer service quality across platforms. Be it WhatsApp, Facebook, or Skype, a chatbot developer should know how to integrate the chatbot.

After all, more than 55% of consumers prefer to get in touch with businesses through messaging apps.

Ability to Collaborate With Multiple Teams

Based on what you already know about chatbots, do you think all the elements are created simply by a chatbot developer?

The answer is a resounding no.

Many resources are utilized in the process of building a chatbot. The effectiveness of your chatbot, for instance, will heavily depend on its responses to customer queries, so you will need to develop good dialogues written by an adept conversation designer.

While as a chatbot builder, you will need to understand the basic conversational flow,  conversation designers will help you create more complex and advanced flows.

What’s more, you will need additional resources that focus on the analytics and deployment of the chatbot.

With all these aspects in mind, it is obvious that chatbot developers need to have the ability to collaborate with multiple types of resources. All the teams involved must be on the same page and communicate effectively to develop exceptional chatbots.

Could You Become a Chatbot Developer?

Being an excellent chatbot developer requires you to level up your knowledge of frameworks, programming languages, and communication skills. Along with these skills, having experience in creating and implementing cross-platform chatbots will only strengthen your profile.

And that’s it! If you are confident that you possess these skills and qualities, then you are well on your way to becoming a stellar chatbot developer. Even if you feel that you lack some of the qualities that we have mentioned here, it is never too late to hone these skills and improve your chances. After all, the demand for chatbot developers is only going to grow in the foreseeable future.

The post Must-Have Skills for Every Chatbot Developer appeared first on Simple Programmer.

The effective cross-platform compatibility is one of the main reasons why Mac is so popular and should be considered for your coding activities. In other words, if you choose to work on a Mac, you can run most major applications on your computer without hassles.

To continue the conversation, here are things that you need to know when getting into coding on Mac. But first, let’s take a look at something you should do before you start editing.

Adjust MacOS settings

Before you start coding on Mac, there are several system settings that you need to adjust to make the coding process more effective. Log in and run a software update to ensure that you are working with the latest point release of the application. Installing the latest updates will provide your system stability and security.

Installing Homebrew

If you are a beginner, create a user account for your use. You will always log in with this new Admin account. So, unless you give someone else your password, it will never interfere with your code. To adjust settings and set up your Mac for the coding development, sometimes you must install command-line tools from the App store.

• Install Xcode from the App Store and then open a window terminal and enter “Xcode-select – install.” This will be discussed in detail in the later paragraphs.
• You also need to set up Homebrew, as it provides a package management system for the macOS. This app allows you to quickly install and update any tool and the libraries containing the programs you have created over time. Ensure that you amend PATH so that the new versions of the tools installed with the Homebrew can take precedence over all others.

Auto-completion of Commands

Another step to adjusting your Mac settings for coding is enabling auto-completion of command which is provided by most of the command-line tools. For the adjustment, you must edit your file. zshrc in the home directory.

You can also install Rectangle on your Mac. Rectangle will help rearrange the window size with key shortcuts. Regardless of the desktop setup you are working with, you will need shortcuts for arranging the windows. This can either be to the side, maximizing the current virtual desktop or centering your windows.

After downloading the Rectangle app, add its accessibility within the security and privacy setting. When you are done, you can now use it to adjust the window size settings. Regardless of the editor’s choice, you ensure that you set the EDITOR environment variable to allow it to be automatically invoked by the command-line tools.

To keep your code projects neat, you have to set up a directory structure for your projects. Create a top-level directory with a short generic name that you can easily remember. For each repository host, make sure that you create a subdirectory.

If you are interested in the resource monitor at the top of the terminal, enable the status bar and click on the “configure status bar” to see all the available options. There are still settings that will allow you to reverse the mouse scroll. You can set the mouse to scroll direction independently while keeping the trackpad in the natural scrolling.

Manage Keyboard and Shortcuts

To be effective with programming on Mac, you will need to master the keyboard and other shortcuts that will help you get done with your work easily. Learning how to code can be mind-boggling, especially if you are a novice programmer new to technologies like Git, GitHub, and the Command-Line. With so many processes to learn, it’s vital to prioritize learning keyboard shortcuts.

Investing your time in learning several simple commands that are useful for coding will pay off greatly in time saved. Research shows that learning to manage the keyboard and integrating different shortcuts increases productivity.

That’s because you become more comfortable writing and editing codes more efficiently than before. And this will boost your confidence as you try to teach other first-time coders how they can easily do that. There are various keyboard shortcuts that you can learn to improve your overall coding process. Below are some of the tasks that you can accomplish with various keyboard shortcuts.

To cut, copy and paste, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts. Press Apple Key + X, press Apple key + C, and lastly, press Apple key + V. The first keyboard shortcut, Apple Key + X, will help you cut a code section from any of your files. This means that the highlighted code will get deleted from the screen completely, and it will never be available not unless you paste it again.

In the second shortcut, Apple key + C, you are copying a code section without permanently deleting it. You are trying to paste the duplicated copies elsewhere in the code file for the last shortcut. Save the code files by pressing the Apple key + S.

This saves valuable time instead of selecting the “save” command from the drop menu. If you want to comment on sections of the code, press the Apple key + /.

Toggling between tabs is usually performed by pressing Ctrl + Tab to the Right and Ctrl + shift + Tab to toggle and make the right decision. To search within files, press the Apple key + F. Then, enter the text you are looking for, and it will be highlighted.

Install Coding Apps

With the advanced technology, coding IDEs and other applications have been developed to help with effective coding. Even though Mac comes with significant loads of software that will help you achieve your goals, there are coding apps you need to install on your Mac.

There are two options, you can either download and install the app for free or for premium subscriptions. Navigate to the Mac App Store to search for the coding apps you are looking for. You can still download apps that are not on the store from their developers’ sites.

These apps will help you write your code effectively, debug to check the errors in the code and run the code to see the output. Knowing how to install different apps on Mac will make it easier to download and install various coding apps. If you want to install an app out of the play store, read the reviews about its functionality to avoid making the wrong choice.

Whenever you settle on the best app to download, you can click on its icon to open the dedicated page. Here, you see an outline of the various user reviews, functions, and screenshots of what the app looks like. Then, continue to install the app from the store.

Spotlight Download

You can press Command + Space to open Spotlight and type the name of the app that you have downloaded. That’s if you want to find it easier than navigating through various steps. On the other hand, you can also download these apps from the web. But you have to be extra careful about what you are doing. It’s important to remember, many apps on the internet are full of malicious elements that will infect your application.

Visit the app’s site and then navigate to the download option. Click on the download button and use the same procedure to install the app on your Mac. The Mac’s security applications will scan the app before installing it to ensure it’s free of viruses and other suspicious elements.

Not Mac Friendly Apps

Not every app you need for coding will be supported by Mac. So, how do you go about this? In this case, you can use virtual machine software to download the software and install it on the computer. There are numerous virtual machine software applications on the internet that you can download to use.

Make sure that the installed apps are updated frequently, as this is the only way to ensure that everything works harmoniously. You can also create a virtual machine that mimics the hardware components using the virtualization programs like VMWare and Parallels Desktop.

Modify Terminal

Terminal is the command-line interface for the Mac. Terminals are used to initiate actions that are supported by the user interface of the operating system.

Most of the terminals that are not modified are not exactly pleasant to work at or deal with. Before you start coding, customize the terminals. Modifying the terminals will help later when tweaking other new modifications to meet your preferences.

The first step to modifying the terminal is setting a theme. Click on the Terminal window and then select Terminal. After that, navigate to Preferences. You will see a list of the default Terminal profiles you can use in your coding environment.

Additionally, you can add a custom theme that you have created and stored in your GitHub account. This is the better option because you can always change it later.

After you have selected your themes, you can set your preferences. These include the text tab, window tab, tab tab, keyboard tab, and the shell tab. For instance, with the text tab option, you can deselect the Use Bold Fonts and allow Blinking Text. The window tab is mainly used for deselecting the active process name, dimensions, and arguments.

For the case of the tab tab, you use the preference setting to deselect the active path or active process and show the activity indicator. The keyboard tab is used when dealing with selections of the Meta key, and makes the Terminal look better than in the default setting.

You can leave it at this point, but you can also continue further and configure .bash_profile. This is usually done via the nano editor, as you only need to add and save a few lines. Still, you can use emacs, vim, and whatever editor you are comfortable with.

Purgeable Space

When starting to code on Mac, it is vital to ensure the system is running fast enough and all installed coding software will work smoothly. For this, it’s recommended to free up purgeable space on Mac which can be done with Terminal. This can also be done when you notice an annoying message when opening the terminal window. The process involved in making the Terminal better is cleaning up.

To get rid of those messages, you can run the command “touch .hushlogin.” It will automatically carry out the cleaning process for you.  The main way you will be able to enjoy your coding process and have an excellent experience for learning is through customization of your digital space.

Lastly, you can configure aliases to make your Terminal experience with coding a little better. Aliases helps to create a shortcut name for command, shell text or file name. There are several shortcuts you can use to set up useful aliases. You are not limited to what you can set, and that’s why you can decide on anything that you think will improve your experience.

Choose Command-line Tools

Various command-line tools are available that you can use for a better coding experience. What you should understand about these command-line tools is they won’t make you a great programmer, but they will make you feel like you are a great programmer. Being a great programmer lies in dedication to the right things and trying as many coding challenges as possible. To install command-line tools on your Mac, you must follow the following steps:

• Ensure that you update your macOS version. This will improve the compatibility of the Mac with the command-line tools. Older versions of Mac may not be in position to support some of the command-line tool features.
• Check whether the Xcode command-line tools are already installed. If they are not, you can install the Xcode command tools with Homebrew. It’s the most recommended method to use. Alternatively, you can install the Full Xcode package for the command-line tools.

These tools are built with Apple LLVM compiler, Make and linker, which make the compiling process more excusable from the source code. There are different command-line tools that you can use to enhance your experience.

You can use the system tool. One of the main reasons why most programmers hate terminals is that you can’t manipulate files like in finder. But with the system tool, you can quickly achieve this. There are mainly two open-source command-line file managers that you can use as system tools.

These open-source command-line file managers include ranger or nnn. Ranger is written in python and offers a quick start to the programmers. On the other hand, nnn is a full-featured terminal manager that is very fast.

Command Enhancement Tools

Some of the software applications installed for coding have many native commands that are available for basic use under the Terminal, while some of them are not good to use at all. So, you need to use command enhancement tools.

Some command enhancement tools you can use on your Mac include the exa, fd, and bat. Exa is a modern tool that can replace the LS commands. It’s an improved file lister that has more features and better defaults. Exa uses colors to distinguish metadata and file types.

On the other hand, fd is a simple, fast, and easy-to-use tool for searching that you can use to replace the Find tool. It uses truncated syntax and abbreviated command structure to keep the commands typed short.

Bat is a command enhancement tool of the CAT. This is a great tool, especially when it comes to translation. Bat files are used to automate routine commands without your input or intervention.

There are lots of wonderful and fun tools that you can use to enhance your coding experience with Mac. Each tool selected should be used with a lot of care to cover long-lasting service. Remember, the hands of programmers are the hands of magicians who transform written code into great software through various tricks on different IDEs.

Ready, Set, Go!

Coding with Mac offers better experience when you adjust your settings and install needed applications for the great development environment. You can adjust your MacOS settings to fit into the preferences that you highly prefer. Learn keyboard and the various shortcuts used. Understand the process of installing useful codes and modifying the terminals. Lastly, choose the command-line tools you need in your Mac. If you are ready and set to go, you can get started with coding on Mac.

The post Getting into Coding on Mac: All You Need to Know appeared first on Simple Programmer.

That is why developers with an excellent mastery of time management are the most valuable in any industry.

Using time in an efficient way improves your work quality and requires self-discipline and competence.

You’ll face all kinds of challenges if you don’t organize your time properly.

For example, you’ll have to rush coding sessions if you spend too much time on unnecessary activities. In addition, poor time management also leads to overwork, burnout, and costly mistakes.

To help you avoid these challenges, I’ve compiled a list of proven techniques for establishing an optimal coding routine. They will ensure you feel balanced and content whether you’re building a simple website or a complex software program.

1.  Manage Your Time

There are a variety of time management techniques that use specific principles and formats to help you structure your day. We will go over a few of the most popular ones. Remember, you don’t have to choose just one technique and stick with it. Think of them as tools that you can combine and adapt to your needs. We suggest choosing a few techniques that appeal to you and testing them out to see how they work for you, then making your decision.

The Eisenhower Matrix

The first step to making a good to-do list is to prioritize. The Eisenhower matrix, also called the priority matrix, is a decision-making technique that helps you prioritize your tasks by dividing them into four categories:

Important and urgent: These are time-sensitive tasks that attract severe consequences if not executed before the deadline. For example, critical bug fixes in soon-to-be deployed programs.

Important and not urgent: Tasks without critical deadlines but crucial to your overall project. This category may include tasks for goals that you set for yourself such as learning a new programming language.

Not important and urgent: Time-sensitive tasks that you can delegate to others. These include essential client emails and progress report requests from your colleagues or supervisors.

Not important and not urgent: Tasks and activities that disrupt your workflow and don’t contribute to your project. These include unnecessary meetings and spam emails.

The Pomodoro Technique

Minor distractions can derail your entire workday and leave you achieving close to nothing.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, found that you’ll likely take 23 minutes to fully resume work after an interruption.

The pomodoro technique can be used to keep you focused and manage these interruptions more smoothly.

The technique involves breaking down your work schedule into pomodoros also known as  25-minute time periods.

Fun fact: ‘Pomodoro’ means tomato in Italian, and this technique was actually named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer originally used to time work and rest periods.

Here’s how it works:

• Make a list: Create a list of tasks you want to accomplish (maybe using the Eisenhower method to help you prioritize)
• Timer: Set your timer for 25 minutes (this way you can focus only on work and not worry about the clock)
• Work: Focus on one task per pomodoro (if you finish a job before the 25 minutes is up, move on to another)
• Rest: Take a five-minute break after the 25 minutes are up
• Longer breaks: Take an extended break of 15-25 minutes after four to five pomodoros
• Rinse and repeat!

Time Mapping

Time mapping involves blocking out periods of time for tasks in advance. It gives you a visual map of your time. Usually this is done for a weekly schedule but can also be applied daily. A time map relieves the stress of making decisions regarding the next task to handle. It helps you move from task to task without pausing and thinking about the next thing to do.

For example, when you finish a coding session with time to spare on your calendar, you might be confused about what to do next.

Also, it helps you avoid Parkinson’s Law. The law states that tasks expand to fill the time allotted to them. This means you’ll find a way to keep working until you exhaust the time assigned to a particular task.

Knowing the next task to move on to gives you a sense of direction and urgency.

You can use a pen and paper to create a time map. However, using spreadsheets and calendars works best. There are plenty of calendar apps that have this function. You can use colors to code your activities according to type and priority.

The ABCD System

This priority system allows you to rank your tasks according to importance and urgency. The goal is similar to the priority matrix but the approach to categories is a bit different. You can try out both and see which one best fits your needs.

You will split your tasks into 4 categories:

• A: Task of the day: Your most important task that must be completed today. If needed, you can add up to 3 tasks here but it’s best to keep it to a minimum.
• B: Secondary tasks: Important jobs that would be nice to get done but are not as essential as “A” items.
• C: Not important: These are usually small and easy tasks that don’t really contribute to your goals but still should get done eventually.
• D: Delegate: These tasks should be handed over to someone else who can do them faster and better, or simply has more time on their hands.

After you’ve created your ABCD list, take another look and see if there are any tasks you can completely remove. Some people create an additional “E” list for these tasks, but you can simply erase them.

2. Plan Your Week

As we mentioned, time management is a significant part of your job as a developer. So, it makes sense that you allocate some time to it as well.

Sacrifice some of your off time to plan your days and weeks. For example, you can block out time in the evening to draw up your schedule for the next day.

You can also dedicate some time on a Saturday or Sunday to plan your week or even the coming month. Set aside an hour to first list your appointments, then prioritize your tasks for the week. After this, you can make a time map. Alternatively, you could just use your to-do list for the week and use the Pomodoro method while working.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Being productive and being busy are two different things.

Doing whatever you see in front of you is a recipe for rushing things at the 11th hour.

For example, postponing a critical bug update to reply to emails that flash on your screen is not an ideal way to work.

This behavior can leave you physically and emotionally drained.

Categorizing your daily tasks according to priority allows you to focus on what matters most. This way, you’ll beat deadlines and produce quality work.

You can use any of the time management techniques above to prioritize your tasks. Always ensure you make it a ritual to rank your jobs instead of simply listing them.

Break Up Your Day

The midday slump has become the bogeyman that almost every worker must confront. Some of us go through our fifth cup of coffee before 2 pm and struggle to handle any more work.

The secret to conquering this challenge is breaking up your day.

Working for hours without breaks is one of the reasons you lose energy and motivation before midday.

Breaking up your work schedule into chunks helps you recharge for the next task.

This way, you’ll get to midday and still feel fresh.

Sounding familiar? The pomodoro technique is especially effective in this case. Sticking to 25-minute work periods followed by five-minute breaks gives you the required structure to defeat the afternoon slump.

Schedule Time for Non-Coding Activities

Non-coding activities like client calls, meetings, and emails can consume a significant chunk of your time. If you end up focusing on them too much, they could leave you with an insufficient amount of time for coding, causing you to rush work and make mistakes.

You can do your best to minimize external distractions, but some responsibilities like meetings, calls, and emails are also critical to your success.

Meaning, you have to organize your time properly to accommodate these activities.

I recommend that you reserve these activities for periods when you’re least energetic and deal with lots of interruptions. Let your team members know when you’re available for meetings, and schedule client calls ahead of time.

Tackle Complex Tasks During Your Peak Productive Hours

Everyone has daily peak productive hours—two, three, or four hours when they’re most energized and focused. They’re also called golden hours or peak work times.

Identifying these hours allows you to allocate and prioritize your tasks properly. You can schedule the more challenging jobs that require critical thinking during your productive hours.

For example, if you’re struggling to figure out where a code has gone wrong, you need to do it when you have more clarity and focus. This may mean putting the project down and coming back to it in the morning when you’re in your most mentally productive state.

Finding your golden hours can be tricky, especially since they can fall in your lunch period or outside your regular work schedule.

So, to find them, change up your work schedule and record how much you get done. Try out working during your usual lunchtime or later in the evening and see how you feel. You can use a mood journal or even just a note app for recording your energy levels. There are also apps designed specifically to track work activity.

Split Large Tasks Into Smaller and More Manageable Pieces

When you look over your to-do list and see a giant 100-hour task, you may find yourself mentally exhausted before you even start. Often, this is how procrastination—the enemy of all project-based workers—starts. For this reason, breaking up large tasks into smaller chunks is important when planning your week or even month. This allows you to focus and get work done without procrastinating.

One way to do this is to work backward and make a timeline. What needs to be done before release day? What about the week before release day? Set time-based goals for small tasks that will add up to conquering that mountain of a project.

Splitting large tasks or goals in this way will end up saving you a lot of time.

3. Identify Time-Wasters

Time-wasters are activities that distract and interrupt you from your coding tasks. They can be social media engagements, domestic chores, emails, or meetings.

There are various ways to identify time-wasters. You can try to catch yourself when you find you are distracted and take note of what you were doing. Alternatively, you may use special apps both on your computer and phone if you suspect you are getting distracted by notifications and sites like YouTube.

Don’t only take note of distractions, but also of small tasks that often end up scattered throughout your day. How much time did you spend talking on the phone and answering emails? What about answering questions on GitHub? Track how much time is spent on all tasks for at least a few days. You may be surprised what you learn about yourself when you look at the data.

Use Time Tracking Apps

Time trackers allow you to monitor how much time you spend on specific tasks. The data you glean from these tools will help you optimize your work schedule.

One way to do this is to identify tasks you’re good at and those you struggle with. Then, you can reserve those challenging assignments for periods where you’re less distracted and tackle the more relaxed tasks when you’re just getting started or feeling tired.

A helpful way to figure out how to best manage your time is by using time tracking data to discover unnecessary and distracting activities. This way, you know what to avoid and can schedule those activities better.

Time trackers also calculate billable hours and automatically create pay sheets. Freelancers can use a time tracker that automates their invoice creation using tracked billable hours. This takes the dull and time-consuming task of manually calculating hours out of your hands so you can spend time on the things you’d rather focus on.

Companies, however, may opt for employee monitoring apps that can create each worker’s monthly timesheet, especially in remote work situations.

This saves you the time of manually calculating your billable hours and creating invoices.

Write a Script for Repetitive Tasks

Repetitive tasks can become tedious over time. If you find yourself doing many of these tasks, consider writing a simple script to automate them. This way, you can turn multiple steps into one—saving you both the time of doing the task and the mental energy of repeating a monotonous activity.

For example, you can write a script to launch another program or execute specific codes using keyboard shortcuts. You can also write a program that you can call up using a hotkey to perform mass file operations.

Task automation software is another option you can try out. Apps like ClickUp and Zoho allow you to automate meeting reminders, recurring tasks, and deadlines.

4. Use Collaboration Tools for Programmers

Coding-centric collaboration tools allow developers to work on projects, view each other’s work, and comment and edit in real time. In addition, these tools save time with reviews, bug-checks, and troubleshooting.

You can also use project management tools to streamline your workflow, especially when you work with a team of developers. Also, if you’re prioritizing your tasks using one of the methods we mentioned above, this is a great way to delegate tasks to others.

Cloud-based version control platforms like GitHub allow you to collaborate with other developers and store, manage, and track changes in your codes. In other words, you can work in real time with other developers and save time sending work back and forth.

Project management tools like Jira are designed for developers to manage design and coding workflows and allow developers to comment on tasks and provide feedback. The continuous feedback in real time saves time later on in quality assessments when it comes to bug fixes.

Carefully Document Your Process and Leave Comments in Your Code

When talking about working with others, we have to mention the importance of documenting your work. Many coders get a bit lazy and skip this step, however it is incredibly useful for time management. Use a technical document to chronicle and explain your technical process and decisions.

This way, you don’t have to field answers whenever you update a GitHub tree. It also reduces how much knowledge you have to transfer when you hand over the project. In addition, you can start using comments more proactively to explain specific lines of code and clear up any potential confusion. Finally, it’s still a useful rule to follow even if you don’t plan on sharing your work. If you take a break from a project, you may return to it and find yourself lost as you try to sort out what you were doing and how. Having the process written out will save valuable time by letting you jump right back in.

This method ensures your colleagues understand your decision-making and are able to provide appropriate feedback. Comments will also help other developers to find bugs in your code and fix them.

5. Feel Your Way Through It – Don’t Burn Out

Everyone has a different work pattern. Indeed, you should figure out the time management techniques that best suit your coding style. That said, you don’t have to force yourself into a strict process.

Test out different approaches to prioritizing and planning and take note of what works and what doesn’t. You can always tweak the methods to match your needs as well.

Tracking how you spend your time is a good starting point to figure out what wastes your time as well as when your golden hours are.

Overall, this process is not a quick one, so don’t rush or stress about it. It’s all about experimenting and learning what works for you.

The post 12 Battle-Tested Time Management Techniques for a More Productive Coding Routine appeared first on Simple Programmer.