At this point in my degree I have finished all my Computer Science course and am just left with some math and science classes, so close to the end yet a little bit left. I would consider myself a well-rounded coder with experience writing simple console apps, to websites, to complex website content management systems, to Windows apps that use databases. I have participated in robot challenges, startup competitions, added and worked existing code for production applications, converted vital databases, and worked as a group to develop web applications.
All that being said I find the act of writing code for an application fun and exciting at times. You have to figure out the problem, find ways to deal with data, and then output something useful. This can be a challenge at times because there is never any two problems the same, yes there are things you can reuse but almost never has someone written code to do exactly what you are doing. I think that’s part of the reason I enjoy it.
But some times you have to be in the right place to really let things come out, environment can have an effect on distractions, comfort, availability of resources, alertness, and even mood. Another thing that seems to drive some coding is truly having something you want to work on, I have had lots of things that were interesting to me, but I didn’t have the drive to work on them when given the opportunity. I have also found I want to work on something but don’t because other things come up. This doesn’t mean when I need to get things done because I have responsibilities to get it done or there is intensive to do so that I can’t or don’t always find a way to get what I need to do done.
I guess what I am saying there is times when it is easier because I am really interested in something or I want to solve a problem, and I can buckle down and get lots done in a short amount of time. Writing code is a real mental process, you have to think about logic, how things are given to you, the users, the task to solve, and how to get it all done. You can get stuck in your mind working on the problem and it will stick with you night and day until you solve it by writing the code. Sometimes it seems like your avoiding the problem but it will be stirring around in your mind.
Starting to ramble now, I guess what I am saying is that I have found something that can really drive my brain to solve problems, and keep me interested. I just now have to finish up classes and see what opportunities come my way to give me a place to use my abilities and enjoy doing it. I think it is closer than I even know but that wait is what makes it hard. Every thing I get involved with I do see some value in helping me see more of the world both in code and with others. That’s all for now, I shouldn’t blog so late at night…
PS: WOW my number of visitors has dropped over the past year, Handbreak must have passes its usefulness and I really haven’t been adding much content but once every 6 months. I should (like I always say) add more posts, guess I should actually try that with code blog posts.