Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer

Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter.

Author

  • Tim Slavin

    Tim is an award-winning writer and technologist who enjoys teaching tech to non-technical people. He has many years experience with web sites and applications in business, technical, and creative roles. He and his wife have two kids, now teenagers, who are mad about video games.

Also In The October 2013 Issue

An Interview with Troy Hunt

Troy Hunt is a software architect and Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) focusing on security concepts and process improvement in a Fortune 50 company. He's based in Australia.

1Password, LastPass, RoboForm

If you use a password you created that is less than eight characters, your password is vulnerable to hacking. Here are three ways to create and use secure passwords online.

How to Write Secure Code

Coding securely doesn't have to kill the joy of programming. In fact, learning how to code securely provides insights into languages and computing.

How to Code HTML Email

How to code an HTML email like the ones you open every day turns out to be an offbeat software coding challenge.

What is an SSL Certificate?

How to tell if a web page is secure is one of the most basic yet least obvious ways to protect your data online.

Where to Find Command Line Interface Software

One key computing skill is the ability to use command line interface (CLI) software to enter commands to control a computer. Here are some options.

Lua

Lua is a comparatively simple programming language used in a wide range of places, from digital TVs to video games to phone applications. It's also designed to be simple to use and lightweight.

Arrays

Here is how three programming languages handle a common problem: how do you organize and keep track of useful data?

Linux Command List for Command Line Interfaces

Some of the most common commands you'll need for a command line interface (CLI), in a Linux command list.

Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter.

News Wire Stories for October 2013

Must read stories about computer science, software programming, and technology for September 2013.

Learn More Links for October 2013

Links from the bottom of all the October 2013 articles, collected in one place for you to print, share, or bookmark.

Interested but not ready to subscribe? Sign-up for our free monthly email newsletter with curated site content and a new issue email announcement that we send every two months.

No, thanks!