Computer-Programming, also called software engineering or development, is yet another expansive area of IT. Software engineering has, of necessity, existed for as many years as the the computers which run those programs. Without a software program, just about all electronic devices would just be inert boxes that didn't actually do anything. Virtually every item of technology that exists incorporates a program running in it. We might not generally visualize them as programs but that's essentially what they are - even a DVD-player has an operating system which enables it to perform properly. Software is all around you - it's what lets you setup a recording on your television set, & what's behind the navigation menu on the DVD or Blu-ray you're watching. When you see a film on DVD or Blu-ray, what's really happening is a piece of a software program has pulled the 1s & 0s off the disc, & de-crypted them at amazing speed into video-information.

A short while ago MS updated their key qualification paths. They upgraded from their former 'MCAD'/'MCSD' ('Microsoft Certified Application/Solutions Developer') exams to the 'MCTS' (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) and the 'MCPD' ('Microsoft Certified Professional Developer') exams. Typically, there's two 'MCTS' pre-requisite exams prior to moving on to the entire 'MCPD' examination. If you are new to the sector and haven't written programs before, (despite the fact that the first module from Microsoft is classed a 'foundation' unit,) it would be sensible to do a programming introduction-course first. You should also obtain a reliable knowledge of software environments & software-support before any of it, so give some thought to beginning your training by doing a support-course. A 'support' qualification will allow you to to acquire your first IT job. Usual study periods would possibly be close to 600 to 700 hrs for the complete career-track, and therefore you would generally program for 12 - 18m of part-time training.

Understanding where it is you'd like to get to is essential before embarking on this or any other specialist qualification program, if you want to prepare the correct route. Any time you really don't begin with the end in mind, but just subscribe to the most 'reasonable' course, you might end up in the wrong place altogether! Programming & software accreditations aren't really easy to understand, and if you do not select them very carefully it may look like you are walking through a mine-field! Our industry advisors can help simplify things to suit your needs. You could save a few months or even sometimes years of wasted time, & quite a lot of money with an informed conversation.

Software engineers working on systems use languages such as 'C'. The C right now is a low-level easy to use language that scarcely resembles the initial release. Higher level languages are used by applications programmers. All these 'languages' (& there are many!) are unique; they each have their own rules and instructions and all are tailored to be more appropriate for certain tasks. So database-programs are probably destined to be written in an appropriate language that suits the database environment, but games-programs require a low level language (like 'C') to operate quickly enough. With database applications, split second timing is not a priority, but with games 'applications' it's very significant indeed! The actual emphasis for a database friendly 'language' is that it can provide functions that help to make the job easier for the end user. Stripping things out to make it run more quickly would be counter-productive. It's a bit like making a difference between the family estate car & a racing-car. The estate-car provides family transport at the right price & quality, but it's certainly not likely to win a race! For a family on a lengthy journey though, comfort, warmth and a soft ride are much more relevant.

As the world moves more closely to the idea of cloud-computing, we are going through an increasing progression towards network & internet-based software. What this means is all of your files are located remotely, so you can access them from any place you happen to be. In fact even the raw processing is performed elsewhere on one of the computer systems within the cloud. In due course all you are going to need is actually a relatively simple 'terminal' that is attached to a wired or wireless network.

In its simplest form, a program will use a certain language to inform a piece of electronics just how to carry out a task. This is obviously an enormously simplified way of explaining it. At the complexity of your Windows desk-top computer, you can probably find close to one hundred different programs which are operating behind the scenes, all maintaining the system & enabling you to actually do things. PCs essentially run on 2 separate types of software - the operating-system is low level, & the applications run by the system are higher level. MS Windows is one of the most recognised operating systems of all. A whole suite of programs need to interact here to ensure your PC does anything you ask of it - from running your desk-top space, to managing your inter-action with it, to connecting you to the web or your network etc.

Many elements make it generally accepted that 'C' is the most useful language for the commercial-programming trainee to begin with. It's an extremely disciplined 'language' and quite a few contemporary languages are based on it; which means that once it's learned, you'll find the cross over in to other 'languages' much simpler. 'C' is the principle 'language' for systems. Its amongst MS's most supported languages in the development environment Visual Studio, and also within it's accreditation programs. Considering such a wide scope of professional accreditation, & such evident endorsement by MS, any programming trainee would be foolhardy to dismiss the value of learning 'C'. In fact, C began life back in the sixties (it wasn't actually called C until the 1970's though.) The transformation over to object-oriented 'C++' (which means the program is not merely a single, linear string of events - it may be a number of objects interacting with each other) was completed during the 1980's. Microsoft released their '.NET' enabled adaptation of 'C' as we moved into the twenty first century. It has become known as C#, & is the version used around the world today. .NET was a big advancement, as 'Windows' software-writers could now gain access to pre-written programs that did a lot of the basic tasks on their behalf.

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