Comment on: How do i start my Software Developer path.
1 19 Feb 2016 21:05 u/ejrado in v/programmingComment on: How do i start my Software Developer path.
The most important thing is to start doing it. What is interesting to you about software dev? Is it games, searching large data sets or social media?
whatever it is, do a search for open source for that, download load it and learn how to build it. There are free tools everywhere - v/nogarbagetrashonly pointed out the community version of visual studio. There's also free eclipse for java/python whatever.
If that doesn't resonate with you, then you can take a class at your local university - or there are plenty of online classes you can take.
But be prepared - you don't necessarily need a degree to do software development, but you will need to be able to show experience doing software development (like contributing to an open source project, creating your own application and maintaining it, etc). This isn't flipping burgers, so you'll need to invest time and effort to get in the door.
Once you get in the door, though, it can be a very rewarding career.
Comment on: I need to convert my development team to a "test first" mindset. Pro-"test first" Voats, how was your team converted? Anti "test first" Voats, tell me your criticisms so that I can prepare for them.
I would suggest that you have the infrastructure in place first - daily builds or hourly builds. I know you're in python, but a build includes running all unit tests. If any test fails, the build fails.
In the past, I implemented a $1 'fine' for causing the build to fail. After x amount of time, we'd have a pizza/beer party.
To me, the beauty of TDD is twofold:
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CYA - if your test passes, then your code is good. I'm dealing with an issue right now where another dev forgot to update stored procs. My tests previously passed but now are failing. But I can point to my test and say this worked previously. And provide an easily reproduceable way to find what's wrong.
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Simplified development. When your test passes, you're done. Period.
I also concur with sychian about paired programming. It's a great way to learn TDD.
Edit: a word
Yes, you can absolutely jump into it. Most (if not all) colleges provides a 101 intro level course. What I recommend to most folks today is to double major or make Computer Science (CS) a minor. The most successful folks I know generally have a passion in another area that is complemented by CS. For example, accounting major with CS minor and then go develop a QuickBooks killer.