How would you define "Coding Experience"?

Miscellaneous Topics
#1

In my profile information, I was wondering if programming with "Code" counted as coding experience. Before I started programming with programming languages that were Object Oriented and used for professional jobs, I used UBLogo. It was an introduction to computer science for me when I was a kid.

Lft 10

would move the turtle (or dot depending on what version you used) 10 pixels to the left. Since that was code, would that count as programming? If it does than that and Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) began my mind as a programmer. I never thought the same about video games and how they worked again. Anyways, would it be fair to add the 2 - 3 years of the above knowledge, along with the year or less of programming with an OOP language?

#2

The definition of ‘Program’ is,

[quote]provide (a computer or other machine) with coded instructions for the automatic performance of a particular task.
[/quote]
I find allot of people argue about ‘coding’ vs ‘programming’. Coding is writing out information on what you wan’t the computer (or compiler / interpretor) to do through text. Theres allot more ways you could tell the computer what to do, like mouse and keyboard. But its when give specific tasks for the computer to do, like a list of instructions/data, that’s programming. Saying basic code isn’t programming is like saying walking isn’t apart of moving.

I may be completely wrong on how these terms work, but I guess it all boils down to ‘telling what the computer to do is programming’.

P.S You can use [icode][icode.][/icode.][/icode] To embed code into your text
Also, welcome to JGO :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks, I thought it would be unfair to others who actually know more to say I have so much experience when it was really considered basics.

#4

20 years of programming doesn’t mean professionally. Hell, you could have even used scratch for the 20 years. It means in general, just be honest about what time you started. :slight_smile:

#5

Personally, I define coding experience as actual programming in an actual language, like one of the many C variants, Java, BASIC, etc.

If I claimed all of my “development” experience that could even be loosely connected to coding (like the many scripting languages I know) I could argue I have 20 years of coding experience. But I consider the day I installed Eclipse 1.5 years ago as when I actually started “programming”.

#6

It’s not formal, just put down the duration you think is most applicable to how long you would say you’ve been programming, like you might on a job application or something (although maybe that is formal).

PS @Ecumene: You can insert empty formatting tags to interrupt the parser instead of periods: [icode[b][/b]][/icode[b][/b]]

@Ray Well then there’s the “Java Experience”

#7

@Ray I got my Java textbook a year ago and installed my first IDE the day after my birthday (next month). I didn’t exactly learn or program correctly, but that’s when I began using C#, then Java. Seems reasonable to me.

#8

True. But I don’t (well, personally) consider coding experience as counting to the program-specific scripting languages. Since most of those were very specific to whatever program they were related to (SphereServer, ZZT, POL, UBoard, IPB(parts of it), few others I can’t recall off hand that pretty much no ones heard of anyway).

To me coding experience sums up what we would all consider classic programming I guess. Although who knows, maybe all that scripting experience I have is why I picked up java so quickly. I pretty much came into the java world already understanding basic concepts like for loops, while loops, if statements, variables. I just had no clue how to program nor did I know anything about more advanced (at the time) things like HashMaps, HashSets, Arrays, etc. But I was very familiar with some of the concepts due to my scripting languages knowledge.

#9

Just put what you think is appropriate.
IIRC, the purpose of it was so member of the forum could judge how much experience someone had more accurately than forum rank. It doesn’t really matter that much.

Too little and you’re selling yourself short.
Too much and we’ll be able to tell.

No point in looking like a person who’s been programming for years but knows as much as someone who’s been doing it only months.

#10

It’s not really that simple either though is it? Some people have only been coding for a couple of years, but know way more than those with 10 years. It’s a guide at best.

I’ve been “coding” for way too long, but how much relevance the speech synth stuff I was writing on the NASCOM in 1984 when I were a wee lad has to do with the games I write to day - I’m not sure.

So always, take listed experience with a pinch of salt :slight_smile:

Cheers,

Kev

#11

When looking at candidates at interview (this is before they even get asked in for an interview) I took no notice whatsoever about how long they’d been “programming”. The things that got someone an interview, in order of importance, were:

  1. A clear, concise, and neatly formatted CV with all the pertinent information simply presented and all the waffle at the end, and no spelling or grammatical errors.

If you passed #1, I would then go on to look at criterion #2 (if you didn’t, it was thrown straight in the bin)…

  1. Total years experience in the key platforms needed for the job. For us that meant Java and SQL at the time. We didn’t care about programming experience, or programming C# experience, or programming C experience. Only Java, and SQL.

…by which we would sort candidates in order of how interesting they were and get them into interview in that order.

At interview it was all about personality and how pleasant you were to be around, with the most basic cursory technical test just to see how people would think. Almost everyone who got this far was offered a job, but the company was offering such a joke of a salary we actually got turned down more often than not :slight_smile:

So, in a nutshell, don’t bother embellishing your CV with spurious claims of experience. That’s waffle, that no-one cares about. Chat about it in the interview.

Cas :slight_smile:

#12

Interesting stuff, although OP is talking about the “Coding Exp / Java Exp” profile feature of JGO :point:

#13

True, though I thought I’d throw a little real-world insight into the actual value of the figure…

Cas :slight_smile:

#14

I like this answer, it’s part of why I listed myself as “1 year”. Yeah, I have a ton of programming-like experience, but if I were to claim here on JGO I had 15-20 years of coding experience everyone would assume I am a coding god/expert (or a complete moron, for my lack of knowledge with so many years). 1 year is suitable, since I really have only picked up real actual programming somewhat recently and I am still learning.

#15

I’ve been programming for 34 years now, and I’m still no good at it :cranky:

Cas :slight_smile:

#16

Agreed :slight_smile:

Kev

#17

:o 34 years?

#18

Heh :wink:

Aye, 34 years. I just never quite progressed to the levels of Kev, Riven, Roquen, renanse, theagentd, etc. but I’m getting stuff done and earning a living at it, so that’ll do.

Cas :slight_smile:

#19

Damn you and your overriding logic.

Kev

#20

@Cas Woah, I thought everyone applies for the job then sits at a cubicle doing who knows what.