Hello world 🤟🏻 my name is Francisco, fcoterroba on the Internet and today I bring you a post in which I, along with two other people, are going to debate, comment and explain how the first year has been in our respective higher education cycles of the computer family. 👨🏻💻
Before starting, how could it be otherwise, if you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend that you go watch the latest video I have on my YouTube channel in which I explained, in a very simple and concise way, how to perform the installation of a smart light bulb 🧠 with which you can change its color, control it with your own voice and much more! You can see it here 👇🏻
Now yes, let's start!
DAW (Web Application Development)
I am doing the higher degree of DAW in its distance modality, in an Almerian institute. And as far as I can tell, the experience is looking fabulous.
It is true that it is not for everyone, because the student has to have control over his crazy hours since, there are no classes, as such. Teachers open new topics of various subjects from time to time and you, at your own pace, do the activities, read the syllabus and take exams on the subject.
But we have not come to talk about distance learning, but about the cycle itself.
Both DAW and DAM share an equal first year, since the basics of programming are taught from scratch, regardless of whether you are going to be focused on the web or multiplatform.
This, in part, is good since the double degree is simple, once you obtain the DAW degree (in 2 school years), you can obtain DAM in just one more year. Without having to take the first course.
We are going to ignore the subject of FOL (Training and Labor Orientation) and LMSGI (Brand Language and Information Management Systems) since they are subjects present in all higher training cycles.
The specific subjects (and my point of view on them) first are:
- Information systems
It is a first approach to computing, really focused on people who have not seen anything about computing previously. In this module I have reinforced my knowledge about hardware, operating systems, virtual machines and little else. It is more reminiscent of an ASIR subject than development since it also covers server issues, domain names, DHCP, etc. - Databases
It is one, from my point of view, of the most complicated subjects of the year. Here, as its name indicates, databases are studied from the deepest and simplest aspects of the entities, through the relationships; binary, tertiary, etc. We have also learned to make diagrams, be able to explain them and in the last topics, to program these databases. - Programming
Along with a database, one of the most expensive too, without a doubt. This subject is a bit difficult for everyone. Whether due to the language used (Java and its tedious OOP), the methodology of the study or anything else, we have all had a hard time with this subject but we end up getting it.
Of course, you are going to learn to look for life like you have never done before, since the subject gives you a basic notion, a lot, I would say. But to do the task you need much more information. (You can also ask the teacher but if you want to dedicate yourself to this, sooner or later you are going to have to pull your own chestnuts out of the fire 🔥). - Markup languages and information management systems
It is a first contact, very very far from web development since technologies such as HTML, CSS, XQuery, RSS and all their variants are studied. It also becomes somewhat complicated even if you know markup languages since, as in almost all modules, it is more complicated to understand the what are you looking to find it. - Development Environments
This subject is a bit all the opposite of what one imagines when one wants to be a programmer. This subject consists of automating processes, making test cases, making diagrams, learning their life cycles, the license that we must put on our program and a long etcetera. You will do little programming here but it is interesting to see the opposite side of coding.
ASIR (Information Systems Administration in Red)
Hello! I am Manuel Jesús Flores (@_manueljesus00) and I am a recently graduated student at ASIR and to give a quick spoiler, you touch on everything.
The first impressions were more or less as I expected, touching on a bit of everything since, unlike DAM and DAW, ASIR focuses on the work of the systems administrator or SysAdmin although it also touches on some programming, not as much as development cycles but enough to understand code and make modifications to implement applications.
Now going into depth, I consider ASIR an extension of SMR (Microcomputer Systems and Networks) but it goes quite deep into the technical aspects and not so much into computer theory.
- Hardware Fundamentals
It is about knowing how a computer and all its components physically work, that is, from assembling a desktop computer to how to repair printers by opening them completely, how to set up servers or how to do data recovery. In addition, Von-Neumann architecture is given (I advise you to study it, it is difficult to swallow but necessary), binary translation to decimal, octal or hexadecimal, to set up budgets according to the needs that exist at that moment or to make backup copies (you will begin to hear RAID0, RAID1, RAID5 or NAS in classes). - Database management
Here you will learn about the different phases of database design, and forget about wizards. You will learn to code in SQL or PL/SQL and you will use Oracle normally (although you can also find MySQL, PostgreSQL or any other management system). You will also create basic procedures and functions. - Implementation of operating systems
In the subject you will learn how to install and configure operating systems and disk partitions as well as know how to search for drivers for each system. You will learn to master the terminal, create files and delete them using only the keyboard and not the mouse, and create security policies. What you are going to touch will be Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows Server and a lot of Linux (I won't tell you exactly which system because there is a wide catalog). Regarding programming, you are going to create your first scripts in bat and ps1 or PowerShell (Windows) and sh (Linux). These scripts will be to automate things such as backups (which is also given here a little). In this subject you will basically learn how to set up the operating system as you wish and how to automate. - Markup language and information management systems
This is where you come into most contact with programming. They will teach you the minimum to learn how to create websites with HTML, CSS and JavaScript (JS), data processing with XML and connection to databases. You will also learn to master Github or Gitlab and how to manage WordPress, Blogger, or Joomla. - Network planning and administration
As the name says, you will learn how networks work, the different types there are, and how to manage them. You will create simulations and configuration files that we then transfer to a physical switch or router. We will learn how to open ports, grant IP addresses, do addressing, set up subnets and how to physically create network cables. Take it as a game, normally you work in teams so that a system comes out ahead.
Hey! My name's Diego and I am a student of multiplatform application development in Malaga. Specifically at the I.E.S Portada Alta institute in face-to-face mode.
I will talk about my experience, it is also a bit linked to the fact that it has been face-to-face, that is, we had to attend class. But as you already know, with the issue of the pandemic and confinement, we have been confined for the last quarter and that is why we conducted classes online.
Something that, if I have noticed and that can be an advantage or disadvantage, is that telematically in my case I made better use of time, but I have seen that in other cases it was not like that. So studying at a distance is not for everyone and it is something that everyone should reflect on.
Let's go to the focus of the matter, the subjects I have studied during this course:
- Information systems → It is a subject that gives you the basics of computing in general in terms of networks, hardware and software. I have come from an Intermediate Grade so I had no problems with this subject and since it is a single subject everything was very summarized so I do not consider it a complicated subject. They teach you a little bit of office automation, how to set up a computer, install operating systems and create networks. In my opinion, an important subject that people do not give much importance to, but I believe that a developer must master his environment to be good.
- Databases → One of my favorites! The professor was a genius and we also went very deep into relational databases. Literally the first quarter was just Entity-Relationship Model. The second and third quarters with the bases established were SQL, complex queries, database administration, in our case it was with MariaDB (MySQL's sister). Honestly, in my case with this teacher it was a great level. In my experience, the concept that cost me the most was double negations. In fact, it still costs me, but it is super powerful that you can make a single query. The subject was quite complicated but very satisfying.
- Programming → Another subject that usually costs students a lot. But it is also one of the most important along with a database. We take the programming subject with C# (a Microsoft language). In this subject you will learn from the most basics of programming to more advanced concepts such as patterns (MVVM, MVC), OOP (Object Oriented Programming), etc. My recommendation is that with this subject you be very consistent and do all the exercises. Furthermore, it is recommended that you investigate and advance on your own.
- Brand languages → It is a subject that I did not find very difficult. They taught us HTML and CSS for building simple web pages. And everything that has to do with the world of XML and data. In my opinion, something very important is missing that I already knew and that is very present in the work world, which is JSON.
- Development Environments: This subject didn't bother me too much either, it is a subject that tries to teach you good programming practices, development environments, performing unit tests, basic paths for unit tests. Something very important that they did not teach is GIT, a version control system that is essential for the working world today. This allows you to keep track of your program and go back when you need to. It's like Ctrl + Z but in the world of programming. GIT also allows you to work collaboratively, which is one of its strong points.
Hello 👋🏻! I'm me again, Francisco and that's all for today. But not before leaving you with a reflection written by Diego, very interesting and the purest reality that exists in our world:
I have seen many colleagues who think that when they arrive, they will simply have to study for two years and then they will have a job all their lives without re-documenting, learning, etc... If you are one of that group of people, I am afraid to tell you that this is not true. It is your thing, because in this sector technology advances at gigantic steps and we will always be behind it, but we must try to be as updated as possible.
Without anything else to add, this has been today's post and the return from the holidays with more strength than ever! I hope you liked it and in addition to following me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, I highly recommend following Manuel and Diego! Two stars in their field.
See you next week! 🤟🏻
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