Coding: What Do You Know About the High-Tech Language?

There are a lot of things that people don’t know about coding, myself included.  However, since I’ve worked at INTEGRIS I have learned a lot more about it than I ever thought I would.  And believe it or not, it’s actually pretty interesting!  It’s easy to look at a line of code and think “This is dumb, it’s just mumbled words, letters, and numbers that have no meaning”.  That’s exactly what I thought about it before I started dabbling in it a little bit, but I eventually realized that it does serve a purpose and a pretty important one at that.  Now, believe me, I’m nowhere close to being a coding expert…more like a rookie novice who is still trying to earn a seat on the team bench.  So that being said, this blog post won’t tell you how to code (remember, I’m a rookie), but it will highlight some of the areas of why coding is important not only in web and tech development but also where the future of coding is headed.

As technology continues to advance at an extremely rapid pace, coding is becoming more and more important to keep that pace. According to the Dictionary.com definition, coding is “the transforming of a variate into a more convenient variate”. Um…what?  Not really the most explanatory definition!  Coding is what makes all of the awesome websites, apps, and other computer software possible.  It is the language that is used for the development of these technologies to make it readable and understandable for us “non-tech lingo-knowing” folks.  I hope that clears it up because, with my still-limited knowledge of the subject, I don’t think I can explain it much clearer than that! So, hopefully, I haven’t lost you by now and we can continue on.

As I mentioned, coding is an important skill even if you have no interest in getting into a career in the industry, although I would recommend educating yourself on the code writing industry and all the perks ($$$) it offers.  But, for those who have no interest in making a career of coding, a great example of why you should at least learn some of the basics is website development.  Let’s say you have started your own business, a retail store selling home goods like furniture, appliances, and the like.  Because almost everything is focused around the internet these days, your business will need a company website to at least inform people about your business even if you don’t sell anything on it.  That’s where coding come into play.  Your ability to develop and maintain a website is very limited without some knowledge of HTML and CSS code which are the codes that all websites run on. There are plenty of different resources on the web that can get you started on learning these two codes. Here, here, and here are all great places to start.

Another use of coding skill is to make a career out of writing code.  If you have a serious interest in coding, this is where all sorts of doors can be opened up for you, although it is not an occupation that everyone is cut out for. Not only can you make a great living financially with a career in this field, but you can also develop some pretty awesome stuff! Remember earlier when I said that websites, apps, and other types of cool tech stuff were all made from code?  To make all of those things happen, a computer/software programmer is the hidden talent behind them.  There are a boat load of other professions that can be obtained if you have the right coding credentials, but I won’t get into those because it is quite a list.  But this list provides a good look into what types of jobs are out there in the coding and computer science world.

Another use for code knowledge is to start your own business.  Now, you might be thinking “how does code help me start my own business?” Let’s say you’ve got an idea that you think could be the next Instagram, or the next big sports app, or a new type of marketing software.  How would you make those ideas become a reality? Coding.  And unless you’ve got some very deep pockets that are ready to start spilling out cash for a team of coders and programmers, you’re likely going to have to do a lot of the work yourself.  But, like I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of resources that can allow you to learn how to code for reasonable prices or free.  Check out this article for some basic tips on where to begin when starting and building a successful software business.

The last main use for code I’m going to discuss is understanding how computers work.  This is an important one.  As I mentioned earlier in my ramblings, so much of the world is based on and focused around the Internet.  It is commonplace these days to use either a computer, smartphone, the internet, or all three every day, multiple times a day.  These things run on code, and therefore, knowing how the code works allows us to get a better understanding of how these technologies work.  Now, I can promise you, you don’t want me trying to attempt to tell you how the code works for those technologies (because I have almost no clue) so here is a great article that will provide a much better explanation than what I can provide.

The future of coding is bright as technology continues to advance.  It is difficult to tell exactly where the future of coding will take us because it is always adapting, changing, and improving.  There are many experts who have opinions on where coding is headed so check this article and this article for more info, and a much more educated prediction than I am able to give.  Well, this is where it all must come to an end, simply because I am still learning more and more about coding and I don’t have much else that I can say on the subject.  If this gave you a little bit of info that you didn’t already know, then I guess I have done my job.  So, now that you have this high-tech language on the brain, why don’t you dive in and learn a little more about it.  You never know where a little education can take you!

If you’d like access to a wealth of news, articles, and INTEGRIS company insights, then you’ve got to connect with us on social media! Be sure to follow/like us on our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ pages! If you’re not riding the social media train, then you can sign up for our Email List and get all the goods sent straight to your inbox!