Stef's Top 10 Programming Rules - MUST LEARN!!

[@StefanMischook]

Learn to write code (HTML5, JavaScript, Python, CSS3, PHP, SQL) from an ancient nerd: school.studioweb.com/store/

[@asgharafridi6482]

Its very helpful...sir i need your suggestion.. plz email me [e-mail]

[@odunayoogungbure]

#1 Concentrate on fundamentals #2 Learn on a need to know basis #3 Faster write time is more important than fast run time #4 Open is better than closed with regards to all tech #5 Market forces are always greater than tech/nerd advantages #6 Don't jump on 1st generation technology for production project #7 Simple code is superior code #8 Code should be self-describing #9 Code should be fine-grained #10 Don't marry a language or framework

[@guicampell]

I'm looking for u thanks hahaha

[@YoungDen]

3. Faster write time is more important then fast run time.

[@odunayoogungbure]

@@YoungDen Thanks For the correction

[@StefanMischook]

I approve this list! :)

[@odunayoogungbure]

@@StefanMischook :) ..What a perfect opportunity to ask..Please, I need your response...Been using PHP for 2years and I'm thinking of picking another language but I'm torn between C# and Python..What should be the ultimate deciding factor

[@tnetroP]

Rule #11 - If you do something more than twice then automate it. That applies to both your code (write a function, procedure or object to encapsulate the requirement) and also your general business life (develop a system to reduce repetetive manual effort).

[@ZAGGNUT1]

Copying / Pasting code usually is a hint to this.

[@ConquestOnyekachiIdam]

@@ZAGGNUT1 Nope functions are better, literally saved me hundreds of line by calling a function which takes one line than copying the same code 10 times or more

[@Terracraft321]

@@ConquestOnyekachiIdam I think he meant that copy & pasting code is a sign, that you should automate that thing instead.

[@dream_emulator]

Tip 8 bonus = set your preferences to auto code-fold method bodies when opening a file. This way when you open (someone else's) project you instantly see a neat overview of all the methods in every file. This helps me so much, especially in React.

[@wilhelmsarasalo3546]

Hey, I use Delphi (or FPC/Lazarus) when a client wants a Windows GUI App where runtime performance matters. Doesn't have bad write time performance either. But libraries are lacking etc. This is for clients who only care about what a program does, not what I used to write it.

[@Guts-zo3jv]

This video is a great relief for someone who's feeling overwhelmed by learning. Thank you!

[@TheTariqibnziyad]

I see Guts also got into programming, and like the struggler that he is he started with Assembly.

[@kdot78]

@@TheTariqibnziyad he should've started with binary. Guts like difficult tasks.

[@brilliantgeorge]

@03:50 Two really good examples of closed tech which the industry got tired of is 1) Symbian vs Android and 2) Adobe Flash. Both of these were a massive problem due to private companies not giving a public API. Symbian was the only way to program for a mobile phone in the early 2000s but was considered a black art, back then Nokia was the dominant mobile phone manufacturer. The most common way to develop games for Symbian was JavaME. Android is maintained by Goole and was open from the start and this completely changed the terrain in mobile phone programming. Today is the most popular choice among other ones like Xamarin and Swift/ObjectiveC but these two are geared mostly towards Windows and Apple mobile operating systems respectively. As for Adobe Flash it was created by Macromedia (remember Shockwave Flash?), which was later bought by Adobe and remained private and closed. Flash applications were wonderful to look at but the technology was completely closed. Some of you may recall that it was Apple who decided to block it completely on iMac laptops due to slow performance issues (so they claimed). That was a heavy blow on Flash. It managed to carry on for a few more years but you don't hear much of it today, instead you have HTML5 and the likes of that to create animations for the web.

[@elitehaxxor8025]

I work in IT and the need-to-nerd principle is spot on. 75% of the time I know absolutely nothing about what I'm getting myself into because technology changes so fast or we take on a new product or technology. I'll usually just research a bit to learn about it, then learn and look at documentation as I work through everything. No one knows everything, and the person who acts like they do is always avoided when it comes to questions. Either they're bullshitting the answer or giving misinformation.

[@adriatic123]

Such refreshing to see a knowledgeable IT teacher, contrary to those wannabe KZbinr teachers that take more effort into acting like a clown than to teach something useful.

[@raymondorenda7385]

Tools and technology matter a lot. With full stack coding where you use more than one language, try coding with the 'best' language with an IDE that sucks and you will find out.

[@FouadBallan]

I respect people who are older than me in the field as a software developer with a mere small 3 years experience hearing Stefan lay his wisdom upon us is amazing. I wish though it is more detailed please. This is my 4th video from Stefan that I watched but I feel like I want more .

[@lunarmodule6419]

Excellent - 100% with you. I would add the classic : Data is King. The data structure should be so clear that the code just flows from it. Data first, then code around it. Merci.

[@AGUNGKAYA]

Linus told it too. Nice

[@Sofieew]

Can not agree more! Delivering great insights again. One thing I would like to hear more about is rule nr 3 "Faster write time is more important than faster runtime". I think that is a very interesting topic to discuss further.

[@naehalmulazim]

I WISH I watched this when it first came out! Golden! So many truths I found out after a lot of hurt!

[@StefanMischook]

Thanks for the comment.

[@claybowser]

Been watching your channel for almost 2 years. Thank you for mentoring me.

[@oni_thefirst]

Thanks for the video Stefan. I'm already 4.20x better than I was before and I haven't seen the whole thing yet. On the road to getting 10.69 times better

[@Ben-kz2km]

Great advice. Whenever you're about to violate one of these rules, stop and think for a moment if the benefit you're after is worth losing the benefit of sticking to the rule. In most cases, it's not.

[@quanle760]

Your rules work for most developers, but not all. It's all about the balance, and since most devs tend to stay on the other side of the equation (like focus too much on runtime speed), your rules work for them. To perfect the rules, you need to point out the balance point, like how simple is the best, so if someone tries to write more simple code than that balance point, then it is wrong

[@Aemulatius]

In general, I agree with you, but I just wanna point out something about nr 3. Nowadays run speed is also becoming important if you wanna go serverless. If you write the same functionality in 2 diff languages, then the one that runs faster wins when going serverless because you need fast startup and fast response times to reduce costs.

[@NothingMaster]

There is an aura of authenticity about Stef; albeit he still has to make a living.

[@davidbasil2727]

The realest programming adviser out there, no doubt!

[@aminwejebeshanahan7137]

this

[@byronkenoly]

thanks Mr. Mischook ...you're putting me on the right track

[@MrStartupX]

You just saved my 20 years of learning. I will definitely build upon this 12 rules. Thnx Stefan

[@StefanMischook]

Happy to help!

[@manofqwerty]

I like that you just go through the list. Most other YouTutubers take so long to get through a list; you knocked two out in the first minute!

[@StefanMischook]

I had too ... nature was calling! ;)

[@Palermo1999]

#5 is the most important to me. I look around and see where the well paying jobs are in my area and that's my favorite language / framework.

[@mehmetakifalakurt249]

I can't believe his videos has only average %1 of dislikes. This is the reason why I watched one of his videos and got addicted to the channel...

[@newprogrammer1811]

#11 watch every Stefan Mischook's Videos on youtube.

[@r3n736]

I actually did that and Stef knows.

[@mayank_upadhyay_19]

This point is good too

[@akramazad5137]

#0 Don’t Marry Ruby on Rails

[@majorhumbert676]

Why?

[@AGUNGKAYA]

@@majorhumbert676 marry a woman instead . lol

[@Marelybbmarley]

Is ruby good? I'm new

[@suthashantharmarajah9864]

Really solid advice! Thank you!

[@StefanMischook]

Glad it was helpful!

[@washingtonradio]

Excellent list - 4 will anger some relics who grew up in the 70's and 80's. Use the power to your advantage instead of obsessing over gaining milliseconds of speed out of the code execution; the code will be cleaner as a result because no weird tricks are being done.

[@JazzyJunior]

As someone just entering into the industry, I really appreciate the pragmatic knowledge shared.

[@jggabayno]

I appreciate your every content extremely this one. Thank you for being a good mentor not only in programming but in real life. Salute

[@sammyfromsydney]

Agree with some. Disagree with others (or at least can provide exceptions). Others need to be explained better. #1 Concentrate on fundamentals Agreed. Just don't get so caught up in them that you never move on to the detail of what you're trying to do. Without a foundational knowledge of programming and software development you'll spend years struggling with why you should or shouldn't do certain things. You don't NEED a degree to get this knowledge. I have had mentors who were phenomenal without a computing degree. But it most definitely helps to have one because it means you've spent a couple of years at least tinkering with those fundamental ideas. #2 Learn on a need to know basis Yes and no. What you need to know, learn first, and don't get overwhelmed. But if you end up in a long steady job, you can quickly stagnate if you don't keep that knowledge up. If you haven't had a look at a new language in a few months, break something out at home for fun. Or break out a theory book. Especially when you're starting out and have extra free time, but even when you get older and have a family, unless you want to find yourself without a job you should always be learning something current. #3 Faster write time is more important than fast run time That depends entirely on the code you're writing. You should not optimize early BUT you should have tinkered enough with the code to be confident that your code will be fast enough once you do. Early experimentation is key to this. There are jobs even in business coding where microseconds are important. (Stock trading for instance). Games, scientific apps, embedded apps. Lots of areas where speed matters. If you're just writing a standard web entry system of course you don't need blazing speed. Make sure it's not completely unusable though - I've seen that too. The language and environment do matter. #4 Open is better than closed with regards to all tech This SHOULD be true but you'd be surprised how many companies are now adopting an approach that if they can't get commercial support from a large company they will not adopt a product. #5 Market forces are always greater than tech/nerd advantages No. Big fail on that one. Your software must first and foremost work in the real world. That means picking the right language and environment to build your system on. Within that selection you should certainly favour more used and better supported tools, languages and frameworks. One big thing to note though: being an expert in a niche language can be lucrative. I was paid well for my time as a consultant in large part due to my familiarity with Smalltalk as recently as 2000-2005. Once the work dries up though you better have some experience in something cuirrent. (I was coding the front end in Java applets which were still popular at the time). Part of the reason we see so many systems fail is that business people won't listen to "the nerds" You don't second guess your doctor or mechanic. Don't second guess your software developer. #6 Don't jump on 1st generation technology for production project ...well if no one did, then tech would never progress. The risks are high, but the reward of getting in on the ground floor can also be high. You just have to be able to absorb that risk and have a plan B. Most projects that are first are going to pay a price for it. Some will fail. #7 Simple code is superior code Agreed. it should be as simple as it can be while still being correct. #8 Code should be self-describing Agreed. #9 Code should be fine-grained This one is also correct but needs to be expanded on. There are going to be modules/classes/functions whose "one thing" is to provide program flow and breaking them up too finely as some advise actually makes the code harder to follow and more error prone. #10 Don't marry a language or framework Of course not. Right tool for the job. Always.

[@dft2858]

Not only do you give great info with your videos Stefan, but I also give you credit because of that Joe Cool shirt. One of the coolest characters of all time. 👍🏼

[@iowaqas]

Great advice! I am starting to learn how to code and after going through your programming rules I feel more free to go with the flow and choose the best technology that's required for my current project or job.

[@StefanMischook]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jackrambo1931]

Hi Stef. Priceless video. If only post secondary educational institutions taught these 10 rules, the experience would actually be worth it. Please go into detail for each of these concepts. I hope you make a 10 part playlist of videos where you take a deep dive into each one of these rules.

[@georgemcwilliams4466]

I agree with your list. Companies DO marry tech and it’s incredibly difficult to switch. The bigger the company, the harder it is to change.

[@michaelvigato3228]

Thank you Stef, your videos are always inspiring and helpful! Keep it up!

[@stevenhorton8604]

It's crazy that this isn't his most viewed video -- this is certainly his best.

[@StefanMischook]

Thanks!

[@abdulrahmansalah8753]

really great rules every programmer should learn before writing single line of code 👨‍💻

[@mazdaknazemi8207]

guys you need like this vid . kind of bundler for programming.

[@crushfire2004]

Not marrying language is easier than not marrying framework... With all abstraction and magic, sometimes we just feel uncomfortable using another framework even on same language

[@dimitriouchemistry2215]

When you are talking about writing clean code or fine grained code, could you maybe show an example here and there. This would be helpful for us newbies. In any event, great video, thanks for your advice!

[@Lamarr168]

Good information - very practical and at times, even pragmatic. A few of the points are about simplicity being a strength, and that's a major principle in my software engineering philosophy. Other points are about avoiding becoming a software dinosaur or chaining yourself to the Titanic by committing to staying with a language or framework that is heading for the recycling bin.

[@PositiveVibesVids]

My new favorite code channel besides my own

[@GeraldOSteen]

#1 - Absolutely true; the MOST important rule of any such list. #2 - Good rule; though it's best to understand *why* a technology is used/preferred/necessary. If you don't understand this, there are many potential problems that you will not be able to resolve. #3 - False; I understand the sentiment, but the reasoning is flawed and it makes the overall statement incorrect. A more correct statement would be: spend less time worrying about absolute performance and more time on creating a viable solution. Being able to complete a task quickly, and correctly, is more important than spending extra time finding the most performant method. Don't take shortcuts, though, and remember that especially on the web, transactions as close to real-time as possible are pretty vital. #4 - Generally true, in many cases, but does not necessarily apply to "all tech"; note that 'open' does not necessarily mean dominant. #5 - Almost always true, sadly; keep in mind that market forces change as tech/nerd advantages become more prominent. #6 - Great rule and always true; be aware of new technology, but don't be quick to adopt it. Learning a new language/technology is great, but don't try to use it in a production environment. #7 - True; note that 'superior' code almost always *is* simple code. #8 - True; in the work-place, it is exceedingly rare that you will be the only person working on a given piece of code so make it readable. You don't gain extra points for trying to make yourself look awesome by using code others can't easily understand. #9 - True; a function that serves its purpose to do one well-defined task is almost infinitely more useful than another function which tries to do too much. Code re-usability is a great thing and properly designing a piece of code that is appropriately fine-grained means you don't have to rewrite it to do the same task at another time. If you created something simple and useful, keep it in a library. You can then use that in other projects, thus speeding up development time on other tasks(and making you look awesome to your boss). #10 - True; as much as you may love some piece of technology, it doesn't fit perfectly for every task and it may be replaced as the best option for tasks which it does well already. Be prepared to move on as you continue to work, learn, and grow.

[@adrian-4767]

Stef I'd really like more breakdown of those rules! P.S. This is one of the better (if not the best) video you've made so far on your channel so far!

[@HolyManta]

Great video, some points I already figured out on my own, others only just got me thinking

[@MansfeldPlPlus]

I totally agree. Fundamentals are the key!

[@oleksiyraiu7190]

The cat can read my code, even when I can't. But then it never tells me!

[@igorthelight]

Just like in this trailer: store.steampowered.com/app/619150/while_True_learn/

[@ngehtohnain3489]

@@igorthelight haha funny

[@CD_Cyberdeus]

The best teacher! Super easy to watch and learn from! Really impressed! Thank Stefan! Wish I could have found your channel sooner would have saved some money ! Cheers

[@breebw]

Yeah nice. I have been programming on and off since 1984, beginning with Assembly, Basic, C etc. There has been a ramp up in the last few years, so these videos are very important to someone like me. #1 Concentrate on fundamentals eg know what the Fencepost problem is.

[@dc0413]

Hey Stef...as always, great video and a timely topic. As such, I wanted to ask a quick question: I have heard for years from you about "learning the fundamentals" (your first rule).... can you go into a bit more detail just WHAT exactly are the fundamentals of any programming language, since they vary so much? Thanks for your help in this!

[@denzelcardoso611]

As a young Web Dev, I think you give really good advices.

[@yutubl]

Yes! Fundamental knowledge is fundamental as in every technical / engineering area, and yes to simplicity as long as the problem is fully understand (see fundamental) and an adequate solution can be solved with simple code without side effects or maintaining problems which are often a reason for refactoring 1st code to something more elegant, better testable or expandable. For libraries & frameworks: learn 1st their fundamentals & don't waste time to program around their issues (may be solved tomorrow) & better avoid (currently) problematic areas until corrected. So I agree strongly, as 1990s Turbo Pascal Developer since 2000s C++, C#, SQL (also learned JavaScript and Java but not payed for it), and now trying & considering Python - but still not sure if that's what brings me into a job.

[@danielbole6837]

Thanks for all you do Stef! Much appreciated

[@leandrogamarra3163]

I personally have from 7 to 10 on my own list!

[@omerali-taha4341]

Thank you Stefan, your videos are helping a great deal in this torrid journey of learning to code! thank you.

[@StefanMischook]

Glad I could help.

[@deserve_it]

What do you think about Powershell ? Does it going to be sometimes a nearly popular language as Python for example? I have found it very neatly constructed , easy to use, even more concise in syntax than Python . And surely the pipes , they make lifr much more easier.One overall name conception makes it easy to remember method names and search for required method more intuitive .

[@noelborge1484]

Great job ! Stefy .. am getting involved in becoming a code writter

[@aris13pat1]

I like your rules.Simple to understand and apply. Nothing super-genious-made-to-impress stuff. Make more rules,books and courses...

[@mohammed_haddad]

Yes Stefan do more videos going into the details of each rule please

[@cloudstudios7408]

As far as game development I’ve read a lot of them use c++ and in regards to run time, I wanted to know how that paired with your rule?

[@dejotaalmodovar7762]

Ey, I like your video, but it would be nice to clarify that the third point (#3 Faster write time is more important than fast run time) is not aligned in videogame programming. For game developers, slower write time languages for faster run time (like C++) are the WIN. For the rest, I concur. Thanks for sharing!

[@PerfectSense77]

Really appreciate you sharing your knowledge in this way. Thank you.

[@DSeeKer]

Training your concentration and being comfortable failing when learning a new framework or language are also fundamenta

[@shahinmodaresenshayi3576]

Almost agree with you in all cases except for your emphasizing on speed in programming. It is important to complete a project as soon as possible but it is not as important as developing an efficient program. I really like your videos, really useful, tnx.

[@sonnychiba5270]

welp time for me to refactor function orderAPizzaAndGetAMicrophone() {...}. Great video btw

[@theepicgamer1196]

functions should only do one task, not two

[@saraevans9187]

Hi - I'm an elementary tech teacher. Beginning coding is HUGE in our standards. If given the choice, what do you think a 10 year old would benefit in learning if given the choice between Python and Java?

[@StefanMischook]

I would go with Python because there are less issues to contend with. Also, it is just much easier to setup Python on a computer vs Java. Installing the Java JDK and checking classpath etc ... can be a real pain. With Python, it now can be easily installed with Windows 10 via command prompt, and just doing a standard install of Python via the download from Python.org, is also easy. Python works on Chromebooks and comes installed on Macs as well. Python has easy to use visual libraries (drawing, animating etc ....) that will make the material more engaging. Check out my interactive, gamified code teaching platform, StudioWeb: www.studioweb.com/ I can set you up a demo classroom so you can check out the curriculum, and all the classroom management tools - like the auto grading. Had to shamelessly self-promote!! :)

[@saraevans9187]

@@StefanMischook Yes please! Which grade level would you suggest I pilot for? I teach k-5 technology 45 minute sessions per week.

[@rogenecrisvioleta8017]

Yeah, I totally agree with your list stef. Especially number 1 and honestly, it made me become better I can catch up immediately now.

[@smarthumanism3221]

As you mentioned the importance of fundamentals, would you make a video about the comparisons between inline, stack, and heap?

[@no_fb]

#11. Always be careful with generalization. For example, #3 => NO! It depends on the application, and often also the language itself will depend on the application. Using Python ANTLR-generated parser to process long source files is not efficient, bad choices, even if that's faster to script in that language. Energy-wise, the language is also very important, and mobile isn't a negligible market. #2, I would be cautious with that approach, since it generates idiots that don't have a sufficient background to choose a good solution. In all professions, generally, be curious, get informed, progress. Finally, IMHO the #1 rule in development is to think about the architecture before starting to code.

[@JCTR21]

Cool vid. Thanks, Stef!

[@amdenis]

Great advice- especially 10

[@avnerduchovni6675]

Got to rule 2 and went back to programming ;) Thanks uncle Stef

[@Letsallparty2]

Any chance on the follow up vid happening?? Dive in a little deeper on each subject :)

[@integralproject4775]

Loved the video. very short and clean. would like to watch more detailed videos about rule 7 to 9. also please put up a video about web interface design...

[@backtoGodhead0]

That's pretty cool, thanks Stefan!!

[@goktugerol1127]

The best yt channel in the industry. I like all of your videos and advices.

[@StefanMischook]

Thanks!

[@spuriustadius5034]

OK, but the way you *really* learn these rules (or any "rules") is by breaking them and facing the consequences until you understand. This is especially true in computer work where the norm is to be hung out to dry without mentorship.

[@Chrosam]

Stef, straight up to the question Can you elaborate on why you think PHP is better than Node

[@StefanMischook]

I don't think it is better. At the TIME, I thought for the project, it was better. But I am sure that they are neck-and-neck now.

[@bounty1402]

4:00 I couldn't disagree more! MySql is used mostly for websites, so it has the numbers. But the majority of small and medium companies use MS Sql Server for their internal software and ERP, WMS, etc. In general open is better than closed, but if you want to get a IT career you need to learn close technologies.

[@bounty1402]

anyway this is a great video, I agree with all the other advices 😉

[@AstonJay]

3 years later... These rules are timeless🙌🏻

[@fila8727]

Some serious wisdom here. Thanks Stefan

[@conoroflanagan2908]

I think a good one (credit to uncle bob, not 100% sure tho) is to put off any architectual decision as long as possible i.e don't put any abstractions/patterns in sooner then is absolutely neccesary. This probably falls within rule #7 but a goodie i've been hearing it a lot lately.

[@norman1721]

Hey Stefan, quick question on practice projects when in comes to learning how to program. I'm currently learning Python with the book "Automate the boring stuff with Python" and try to solve every practice project at the end of every chapter. However these projects sometimes take me 5+ hours to solve, if i can even solve them at all (I work in 90 minute chunks every morning before going to work, so some projects take sometimes a whole week before i can go on with the next chapter). These projects are probably beginner projects but still take me a huge amount of time. So my question is: How many hours should i try to solve a particular project before looking up a possible solution to the problem at hand? Do you have sweetspot for this? Looking forward to hearing from you :-) P.S: You can use this question in one of your videos if you like, maybe this question came up several times already Kind regards

[@richy2496]

Very interesting. Been a musical producer/Mixing engineer all my life and started learning audio software development. I see that every single Pro audio software is written C++ even their UI s. Wonder why not try something different.

[@menace992]

Because C++ can be super fast, utilize hardware to its limit and so on. Video editing/audio software has to be fast and efficient. Furthermore, Qt is an incredible, godly framework that makes great cross-platform software.

[@richy2496]

@@menace992 Wao! thank you for your response. The information you share are very useful and motivating.

[@azackmatoff2570]

Just found out your channel, thanks for the valuable info

[@pierreabbat6157]

For what I do, which involves heavy math, #3 is wrong. I've gotten significant speedups by rewriting the function that calculates the area of a triangle given its corners and the function that calculates the Euler spiral. It's in C++; the slowdown would be intolerable if I wrote it in Python.

[@redayoub]

thanks Stef , i liked your video waiting for the detailed video

[@karljay7473]

Amen on the #7, that why I cringe about some of the things Swift is doing. Swift got rid of ++/-- and it really sucks. I had to update some Swift code and one -- (decrement) turned into FOUR lines of code. People the knew Swift 1~2 don't know current Swift. ++/-- has been around for a LONG time and now every time you use Swift, you have to remember all these things. I hope Kotlin doesn't go down that path.

[@heinrich3427]

I don't know if this is already in #1 but good debuging skills are just as valuable as good programming skills. Learn how to debug and profile code for memory leaks and performance bottlenecks and you'll look like a wizard. It seems this is not a skill teached by schools but I think it is very fundamental.

[@Pattesvador]

Hi. Great video. Just discoverd you today and wanted to know if you elaborated on these points in another video because I would love to hear what you have to say about the first one as I'm trying to become a programer. Thank you.

[@chris4321das]

From over 25 years of experience in 11 companies - I AGREE 👍

[@atharva1237]

More details would be very helpful. Love ur vids!

[@ronarmengol1677]

super stuff....love from zambia!!!

[@_.o..o._]

Thanks S. :) very useful advices.

[@chordfunc3072]

When writing code some people are writing "code". I like my code to be as concrete as possible, abstract is not better, you can make an abstractions ones you understand the problem you are trying to solve increeeedibly well, and it's a problem that comes off often. But when making an app or a website, you are generally not building a library or framework. Just my opinion. You can always make some abstractions later to reduce your code volume, but in the early stages, I usually don't really understand the problem well enough to really come up with a good general solution.

[@chordfunc3072]

No. 8, 100%

[@derrickp]

Do you have any advice for someone looking to pivot into programming? I am older (37) but have a CIS degree from around 2005 but with somewhat dated languages C++, COBOL and Visual Basic.net. Never held a programming job but would like to move in that direction.

[@meliodas.1108]

I was a windows user . I switched to linux . And i dont wish to go back . And im a student in computer science . Is there anything wrong with it that can affect me getting a good job? Because most of my friends use windows .