In two weeks my class in object-oriented programming will be coming to a close. I decided to take the class in hopes of giving me better insight into computer programing and computer science in general. Of course, I also took the class in preparation of possibly going back for a masters degree in HCI ( Human Computer Interaction), specifically the program at RIT, which requires 2 semesters of Object-oriented programming.

While my plans of  going back to school are still up in the air, learning about Java and Object-oriented programming gave me a lot more prospective into computer programming.

1. Computer Programming is mostly problem solving. When was first introduced to programming in High School by way of  C++ and Basic Web Design. I thought it was interesting, and what I thought was interesting was the ability to tinker with code. For me, this tinkering is really solving and resolving problems. Breaking and fixing. Changing perspective and questioning. Computer Programming can be taking several problems that exist in a “non-tangible” domain and solving each problem till it is a tangible solution.
2. Computer Programming is unforgiving. While I am not 100% exactly too sure what I mean by this statement, I have learned that a programmers logic must be dead on for a computer perform what you want it to do. By learning to look closer, line by line, you can really break down each process and make sure that each line has specific purpose to the end result. This means that tinkering and hacking programs together should be avoided in many cases. Use what you know and what you want the computer to know.
3. Computer Programming takes time. Being accustom to using various open-source platforms, I mostly have the pleasure of working with frameworks and API’s.While this is a great thing to have available, I sometimes feel that by using a snippet or framework I am taking a shortcut. This is not always entirely true, but  after being introduced to what is involved when writing a program, it made me realize the amount of time it can take. This also made me realize that sometimes by not writing from the ground up you loose control of the end result.

Now that my class in Java is coming to an end, I am thinking of what will be my next focus. While I am tempted to take a second semester of Java, I am also wanting to focus in on Front- End Web Development (which is my main area of expertise) , HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, and ASP.net.

I guess time will tell.