Commercial computer programmers are also known as software-engineers, or software-developers. The job has been in existence & developing for as long as computer systems themselves have been around. Without a software program, just about all electronics would be just dumb boxes that did nothing. Almost every item of technological hardware that exists incorporates a program within it. Of course, much of this is what we call 'firmware' or a basic operating system that allows the equipment to function; video-recorders & DVD players are examples of these. Think about the Navigation Menu that pops-up when you are watching a DVD - that is software, and so is the on screen interface which you use to set a recording on your Television. Whenever you see a movie on DVD, what's really taking place is a bit of software has pulled the 1s & 0s off the disc, and decrypted them at terrific speed into video information.

As with other sorts of technical training tracks, you should have a very clear plan of the ambitions you intend to accomplish, to ensure the correct mile-stones can be met along the way. When you don't start out with your goal objective in mind, but just sign up for the most reasonable-looking program, chances are you'll finish up in the wrong place altogether! Software and programming certifications are not always easy to understand, & if you don't select them very carefully it may appear that you are stepping through a minefield! Our IT advisors will help you to clarify things to suit your needs. A 40 min chat could save you thousands of pounds not to mention sometimes years of wasted training!

Systems-programmers operate in low level languages like 'C', though modern-day C is a far cry from where it started - and is actually a lot more user-friendly now. Applications-programmers work in lots of different higher-level 'languages', - there are rather too many to name all of them, but each of them will have their own list of rules & instructions - and may well suit one particular task more than another. Company database software, for instance, tends to be written in 'languages' that suit that particular environment, whilst games are generally written in low-level 'languages' like 'C' - as they have to run as rapidly as they can. With database 'applications', split second timing is not a priority, however with video games applications its very crucial indeed! The priority for a database friendly 'language' is that it provides options that make the job easier for the user. Stripping things out so that it can work faster would be counter-productive. You could compare it to the difference between a racing-car and a family estate. The 5 - 7 seater estate car is practical and more comfortable, but it's most certainly not built for speed. For the function of taking the youngsters from one place to another though, it does the job nicely.

There is an ever increasing trend to network & internet based software now, as the world moves closer & closer towards the idea of Cloud computing. This is the term meaning that all your data files are saved out in the ether, so they can be accessed from anywhere. Every little thing - even the basic-processing - is carried out within the cloud of computers. At some point the only requirement will be for you to have a really basic 'terminal' plugged into the Network (or of course wirelessly connected to it).

At it's simplest level then, we can say programming is merely telling an electronic device how to do it's job by using certain 'languages'. However this is obviously a massively 'dumbed down' way of explaining it. At the complexity of a Windows desktop computer, you can probably find close to one hundred individual programs which are running in the background, all sustaining the system & enabling you to actually do anything. There are in fact two different types of computer programs. We have the operating system software, that's low-level, and the applications software. Windows from MS is probably the operating-system most people are familiar with. A whole suite of software programs need to interact here to make your PC do anything you require of it - from running your desk-top space, to managing your interaction with it, to connecting you to the web or your network etc.

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