One comment I frequently hear from my non-techie friends is whether programming is hard to learn.  Or does one have to be super smart to pick up programming concepts?  Don’t get me wrong programming isn’t easy, but I do believe anyone with a brain can learn it.  Now might you turn into the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg?  Probably not, since most of us are just average.

To get started in programming, I think you’ve definitely got to start small and work your way up.  You won’t learn everything there is to know about programming in a matter of days, weeks or even months, but over time you will soak up more and more knowledge.  That’s what I find amazing even to this day.  I primarily work as a php/mysql programmer, and even after several years I still find new PHP functions I never knew existed.  Read more…

Looking for a programming book to help polish up your programming knowledge?  Whether you are a rookie or a seasoned programmer, technologies and coding standards seem to change on a dime these days.  So it’s important to keep up with what’s going on with coding.

With the proliferation of the web today, you can find any number of programming and computer books online.  Some might even be free, and others can be downloaded for just a small fee.  Personally I still like having something I can hold in my hands.  After all I already spend way too much time staring at the computer screen as it is during the day, so the last thing I want to do is spend more time reading a programming book on the computer. Read more…