Author Archives: Vladimirsan

Learning Map – Summer 2017

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A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. – A Game Of Thrones (George R. R. Martin)

This summer was a very hectic time for my self-study and for my career. I was finally able to make a career-transition I have been planning since I was in high-school: becoming a computer science instructor.

I’m very happy with the transition, and I have been mainly studying the technologies I’m going to teach: Javascript, Node.JS, Express, and React.I initially used Code School to learn the basics, but now I’m mainly studying with my workplace’s internal material.

I’m also using (and will continue using for a while) the great “You don’t know Javascript” book series.

I’m learning a lot and I’m having tons of fun!

My projects and I

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Red alert. The following post oozes nostalgia. Please proceed with caution.

Let me tell you a little secret: a part of my died when I came to the United States. I had to close my web projects (except my blog) to comply with student visa regulations. It was worth it of course, but as time went on, the consequences of my decision became more and more obvious.

To explain why, let me share some of my computer programming journeys.

Templo de Zelda and Ciberolimpiadas

You see, I made my first website when I was 14 years old (as of today, I’m 30). It was a Zelda fansite called “Templo de Zelda.”

Templo de Zelda screenshot

This was the second version. I lost the first version 🙁

I started with just a basic understanding of how to use a computer. By the end of the project, I had a strong set of web development skills. I worked on Templo de Zelda almost every single day for three years.

Templo De Zelda is, to this day, one of the things I’m proudest of. Some other day I’ll share detailed stories about my time with Templo de Zelda. It will be cathartic.

Templo de zelda (last version) screenshoot.

The fifth version of Templo De Zelda was in PHP and included forums, subsites, and much much more!

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Learning Map – Spring 2017

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A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. – A Game Of Thrones (George R. R. Martin)

I want to spend a little bit of time covering what I’ve been learning about in the past several months.

C#

One of my current goals is to become a C# “expert”. A Programmer’s Guide to C# 5.0 is the first step in a long series of steps aimed at making this a reality.

I had to think long and hard to decide between C++ (which was my main area of expertise as a student) and C#. In the end, I opted for C# since it’s more aligned with several of my projects (e.g. Unity).

I’ve studied (I’ll cover how in a later post) about 70% of the material in this book and I’m eager to learn more!

Core Computer Science

But why become a C# expert if my fundamentals do not keep up? Another of my goals is to take my CS fundamentals and make them world-level. That is a humongous goal in and of itself, so The Algorithm Design Manual is only my first step.

I’m about 40% done with this one.

Math

“Why didn’t I go with a more traditional book like Introduction to Algorithms for my fundamentals goal?” you might be wondering about.Well, I discovered that my mathematical foundations were weak. The last time a did SERIOUS math was when I took calculus back in my home country university (circa 2006…).

Weak mathematical foundations were unacceptable. After all…what is computer science if not applied math?. I decided to re-start from the beginning of the road (Arithmetic) with Khan Academy and re-build my knowledge without any holes. More importantly, this time I won’t let my math rust away.

I started with Arithmetics. I’m currently on Algebra one, and I’m planning on going to calculus and beyond…so I would say I’m barely scratching 10% on this one (probably less).

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