Kerry Thompson wrote:
"I have to agree with Cory. I've been programming since 1981, and, to stay
employed, I have needed to learn Basic, COBOL, Fortran, Assembler, RPG,
Pascal, C, C++, HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, XSLT, Lingo, ActionScript (3
versions), and probably some others that I can't recall at the moment. (For
the record, my all-time favorite is ActionScript 3.)"
Hi Kerry,
I'm a designer who is getting more and more interested in programming and
not just actionscript 3.
From your list above, and in your opinion, which are the "must learn"
programs to learn?
I have been doing alot of reading on PHP, HTML, Javascript and Actionscript
3.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Vlado Krempl
Sydney, Australia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kerry Thompson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Flash Coders List'" <flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com>
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 7:14 AM
Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] books for flash programming
Cory Petosky wrote:
In the end, though, the advantage to learning multiple languages is
that you'll be better at what you do. No question. It's been common
knowledge among programmers since the 1970s.
I have to agree with Cory. I've been programming since 1981, and, to stay
employed, I have needed to learn Basic, COBOL, Fortran, Assembler, RPG,
Pascal, C, C++, HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, XSLT, Lingo, ActionScript (3
versions), and probably some others that I can't recall at the moment.
(For
the record, my all-time favorite is ActionScript 3.)
I'm not saying that to boast, but to point out how quickly the industry
changes, and how adaptable you need to be. The ability to learn new
languages, and apply the algorithms you know to the new syntax, is
crucial.
You young whippersnappers may not realize it, but ActionScript 3 will be
obsolete so quickly you won't know what happened. Flash itself may be
obsolete--it's already being replaced by Flex for a lot of code-heavy
apps.
Look what happened to Director and Shockwave, once the king of the RIA.
When I started programming, only a few academics and military types knew
what a network was, nobody had e-mail, and even the term "hyperlink" was a
dreamer's concept. Nobody knows what computer science will look like in 10
years, much less 25. How many people here know how to program a quantum
computer where the unit of information is the Quark, which is not binary,
but may have 28 different states?
Programming languages are much like human languages. Learning a second
language makes it much easier to learn a third, then a fourth, and so on.
Plus, knowing another language helps you understand your primary language
better. I speak from experience (so to speak), as I learned Chinese as an
adult. It was a revelation, as was learning Assembler.
Don't get complacent with your AS3 or AS2 knowledge. You'll get stuck in a
rut, and your understanding of computers will be limited. Ask any
programmer
who has done significant assembly-language programming. There's nothing
like
getting close to the machine, on the bit level, to help you understand
what's happening in your ActionScript code, and how to optimize and
organize
it.
Cordially,
Kerry Thompson
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