What Are Coding Communities?

Coding communities, sometimes referred to as “hackerspaces” or “makerspaces”, are groups of people who share an interest in coding. They can range in size but generally use platforms like Discord, Slack or Skype to connect people from around the world who need help with coding projects.

These groups aim to connect with people who experience the same challenges and accomplishments as you and support each other in your coding journey. The members can provide advice, resources, and tutorials to teach each other about the different coding languages and platforms they are working with or learning.

Where Can You Find Coding Communities?

If having the support of a coding community sounds beneficial to you, it may be worth searching for one (or more). To do this, you can generally find them with quick online research using terms such as “online coding communities,” “groups for coders,” or even “group chats for coders.”

Specific platforms and websites are also useful for finding coding communities. Reddit is a popular one as it has many dedicated forums related to programming and software development, while Codementor provides an online platform that can help connect you with developers from around the world.

Some communities also use more mainstream platforms like Facebook and Twitter that are more general in their focus but can also be helpful for connecting with coders to share advice and experiences.

What Are the Benefits of Coding Groups?

While we have touched on some of the advantages of being part of these groups, we have yet to touch a plethora of others. Here are a few worth mentioning:

Find People With Varying Experience Levels

One of the coolest things about coding communities is that they unite people of all experience levels. Everyone from newbies to coding veterans has the insight to share on different topics, and it can also be a great way to make friends with similar experience levels as you and seek help from those who have more years under their belt. In a coding community, you will likely find people of all experience levels, including:

• Beginners: Those who are just getting started in coding and may need help getting off the ground.
• Experienced coders: People who have been coding for years and can provide valuable advice and insights on best practices, new technologies, or debugging tips.
• Corporate professionals: People working in tech companies have many years of professional experience under their belts.

Work Opportunities

As a freelancer of any kind, you never know where work might pop up, and this is especially true for coders. Because coding projects can be so large, even the most experienced coders will often need someone with specific expertise to get around a wall they have hit during the process.

For example, someone developing a website may have all the skills needed to develop the front end but may need someone with more experience developing mobile apps to create the back end. In cases like these, many coders will turn to coding communities to find suitable candidates to fill positions and help them with their ongoing projects, which can often come at a generous profit, with the most experienced coders making 5-digit monthly figures.

On the other hand, someone developing an online casino could be familiar with developing slot games but could be lacking the knowledge needed when it comes to implementing promotion systems where players can redeem offers like new free spins no deposit, or loyalty points. This is where experienced coders can come in and provide the support needed to finish these projects on time and on budget.

Get Feedback

Wondering how well you did on a project or a portion of a project? Nobody gives better feedback than the experts themselves! Coding communities can be a great place to seek and give feedback. Whether it be on your website design, a game you are coding or even just a small tweak in some existing code, if you want feedback from people who value feedback just as much as you, these groups are the place to go.

Depending on the community, you may even find that people are willing to test out your software/product/service/game free of charge and give you honest feedback on their experience. And while anybody can critique your work, hearing it from people who can also offer viable solutions to the problems they raise can give you a huge helping hand in improving your projects.

Where Can You Find Free Coding Resources Online?

Besides getting human help, dozens of online websites offer resources for coders for all kinds of projects. Whether you want to reuse pre-written code or learn more about a particular coding language, you can find almost anything online to help you on your programming journey. Here are some of the coolest online resources for coders that are worth looking into:

• Khan Academy: As one of the leading platforms for online courses and education, it’s no surprise that Khan Academy has countless courses in the coding space. Whether you want to learn the basics of computer programming or a specific language like Python or HTML, there is a course for you.
• GitHub: GitHub is an online repository for coders and developers to store their work, collaborate on projects, and get feedback from others in the community. This resource can be particularly helpful if you work on smaller projects like a simple website or game that can use code written for other projects since many coders will share their codes on GitHub for others to use free of charge (or paid) to save time and energy.
• Stack Overflow: Stack Overflow is essentially a huge coding community with a lot to offer coders of any experience level. Through its forum layout, coders can ask questions, answer them, seek feedback, give feedback, and collaborate on projects with other coders. This platform also offers comprehensive documentation to help coders understand different coding topics.
• Codecademy: Codecademy offers online courses and tutorials for coders of all levels. From basic HTML & CSS to more complex languages like Java, Python or Ruby, you can find plenty of material here to help you get better at coding. The great thing about Codecademy is that you are able to go through the material at your own pace, and you can even do a course in less than a day if you so desire.

Conclusion

Coding has its ups and downs, there’s no denying that. But when it comes to overcoming struggles and bumps in the road, a coding community can go a long way, especially once you find the right one. By using the tips and tricks offered in this article, you will surely have a headstart in finding your coding community and making the most of it.

The post Discovering Coding Communities: Free Resources and Support appeared first on Simple Tech-Code.

PHP code is executed on the server.

What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

What is PHP?

• PHP is an acronym for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor”
• PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
• PHP scripts are executed on the server
• PHP is free to download and use

PHP is an amazing and popular language!

It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the web (WordPress)!
It is deep enough to run large social networks!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner’s first server side language!

What is a PHP File?

• PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
• PHP code is executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as plain HTML
• PHP files have extension “.php“

What Can PHP Do?

• PHP can generate dynamic page content
• PHP can create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on the server
• PHP can collect form data
• PHP can send and receive cookies
• PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
• PHP can be used to control user-access
• PHP can encrypt data

With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files, and even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.

Why PHP?

• PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
• PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
• PHP supports a wide range of databases
• PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
• PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

What’s new in PHP 7

• PHP 7 is much faster than the previous popular stable release (PHP 5.6)
• PHP 7 has improved Error Handling
• PHP 7 supports stricter Type Declarations for function arguments
• PHP 7 supports new operators (like the spaceship operator: <=>)

The post PHP Introduction appeared first on Simple Tech-Code.

Kotlin originated at JetBrains, the company behind IntelliJ IDEA, in 2010, and has been open source since 2012. The Kotlin project on GitHub has more than 770 contributors; while the majority of the team works at JetBrains, there have been nearly 100 external contributors to the Kotlin project. JetBrains uses Kotlin in many of its products including its flagship IntelliJ IDEA.

Kotlin as a more concise Java language

At first glance, Kotlin looks like a more concise and streamlined version of Java. Consider the screenshot above, where I have converted a Java code sample (at left) to Kotlin automatically. Notice that the mindless repetition inherent in instantiating Java variables has gone away. 

You can see that functions are defined with the fun keyword, and that semicolons are now optional when newlines are present. The val keyword declares a read-only property or local variable. Similarly, the var keyword declares a mutable property or local variable.

Nevertheless, Kotlin is strongly typed. The val and var keywords can be used only when the type can be inferred. Otherwise you need to declare the type. Type inference seems to be improving with each release of Kotlin.

Have a look at the function declaration near the top of both panes. The return type in Java precedes the prototype, but in Kotlin it succeeds the prototype, demarcated with a colon as in Pascal.

It is not completely obvious from this example, but Kotlin has relaxed Java’s requirement that functions be class members. In Kotlin, functions may be declared at top level in a file, locally inside other functions, as a member function inside a class or object, and as an extension function. Extension functions provide the C#-like ability to extend a class with new functionality without having to inherit from the class or use any type of design pattern such as Decorator.

For Groovy fans, Kotlin implements builders; in fact, Kotlin builders can be type checked. Kotlin supports delegated properties, which can be used to implement lazy properties, observable properties, vetoable properties, and mapped properties.

Many asynchronous mechanisms available in other languages can be implemented as libraries using Kotlin coroutines. This includes async/await from C# and ECMAScript, channels and select from Go, and generators/yield from C# and Python.

Functional programming in Kotlin

Allowing top-level functions is just the beginning of the functional programming story for Kotlin. The language also supports higher-order functions, anonymous functions, lambdas, inline functions, closures, tail recursion, and generics. In other words, Kotlin has all of the features and advantages of a functional language. 

The post What is Kotlin? The Java alternative explained appeared first on Simple Tech-Code.

Now, bear in mind that as far as programmers go, there’s no such thing as knowing too many languages. A programmer with a grasp of many languages is a programmer who is highly marketable and very much in demand. Upskilling is always a smart way to go.

Still, you have to start somewhere; and that should be with one of the more popular languages, one that’s experiencing unprecedented growth in demand.

We present to you, JavaScript!

So with this in mind, let’s explore 10 compelling reasons to learn JavaScript.

1) It’s the most popular programming language 

We start our list with possibly the most significant reason! According to Stackoverflow.com, JavaScript is the most popular programming language used by professional developers today. Even back-end developers choose JavaScript more often than not.

2) It’s in your browser

JavaScript is, without question, the default language of the internet. You need to look no further than your browser for proof since JavaScript was most likely used to develop it. Since browsers are a necessary part of any user’s online experience, it’s easy to see why JavaScript is so significant.

3) JavaScript also exists outside of the internet

JavaScript has many uses that go beyond its traditional internet roles. It powers smart televisions, works with the internet of things (IoT), creates native apps for iOS and Android, and builds cross-platform desktop apps, to name a few.

4) JavaScript is Ideal for Newbies 

Since it’s already installed on every web browser today, JavaScript spares the rookies from the chore of setting up a development environment. Newcomers can just jump in and start coding. It’s one of the most accessible entries into coding available, a value-add for beginners. There is also a large online community that offers support and advice.

Also, JavaScript is an excellent tool for beginning programmers who want to expand their skill set into other languages. JavaScript supports valuable skills such as object-oriented, functional, and imperative styles of programming. Beginner developers, in turn, can apply these skills to any new language they want to learn, like Python, Java, or C++.

5) JavaScript is Easy to Learn

Not only is it a natural language to use, but JavaScript is also easy to pick up. JavaScript turns intricate details into abstracts, making things easier for the newcomer. Unlike the higher-level languages, JavaScript has more of a natural language feel to it.

6) You Can Create Visual Effects and Other Eye-catching Aesthetic Features

There’s building a web page, and then there’s building a visually appealing web page that attracts the user’s attention and encourages interaction. JavaScript is so versatile that you can use it to easily add cool design elements such as animation, interactive maps, and scrolling video. Organizations and clients want web designers who can not only put together a technically sound page but one that also will lure visitors. If you know JavaScript, you can deliver.

7) JavaScript is Versatile

Far from being a one-trick pony, JavaScript empowers a programmer to handle any aspect of app design. Do you want to do user-side (front-end) coding? You can do it in conjunction with Angular. Are you more interested in the server-side (back-end)? Bring Node.js into the mix and you can do that, too!

You can also create desktop, mobile, and web apps with Electron, React Native, and React. If you’re intrigued by machine learning, then JavaScript will help you there as well.

8) JavaScript also Affects Big Data and the Cloud

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is the go-to standard for data exchanges on today’s internet. NoSQL databases use JSON documents for record storage; and although JSON plays well with any programming language, it does best with JavaScript.

Also, more developers are turning to Node.js to build cloud-based apps, a very much in-demand market.

9) It’s a Valuable Tool for Game Designers

Games are a big business today, and developers who know JavaScript have that extra advantage. The language’s versatility, power, and ability to easily create visual effects make it a perfect fit for game developers.

10) Finally, the Career Potential is Skyrocketing

With an increasing number of businesses and organizations going digital, there is a corresponding increase in demand for developers who are familiar with the better-known programming languages. As we’ve already noted, that’s JavaScript!  

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