Programming Archives - Comeau Software Solutions

Finding a Career in Software Development

April 17, 2014December 30, 2025 Andrew Comeau

Part of the Getting Started in Software Development series. Reviewed – July 2023

You’ve probably heard people talk about how we’re living in the Information Age with an emphasis on how much information there is to process from all different directions. This is certainly true and it can be a challenge for the average person, especially if they were born even a few decades ago before there was a personal computer in almost every home and when most people were happy with a few local channels on their TV.

The flip side of living in the information cloud is that it’s never been easier for you to find information and learn virtually any subject. Universities no longer have a monopoly on education and people are no longer dependent on their local library, bookstore or media outlets for materials. Conversely, I never imagined when I was growing up in a small town in the 1970s that, one day, I could be a published author without going through the trials of manuscript submissions, editorial reviews and multiple rejections … but here we are.

Articles, Careers, Programming

Software Development is More Than Writing Code

April 17, 2014March 28, 2024 Andrew Comeau

Part of the Getting Started in Software Development series. Reviewed – July 2023

Ask a lot of people about the requirements to be a computer programmer or software developer and they’ll probably start talking about computer science degrees and years of formal training. Those things don’t hurt but they’re not strictly necessary, either. I personally do not have a degree aside from the accounting diploma I earned from a local college many years ago. I am certified by Microsoft in Windows application development, a certification I earned through self-directed and cooperative study with a few co-workers. Most of what I know about programming is through self-teaching and experience. Nevertheless, with my current experience, all I have to do is post my resume and send copies to a couple of recruiters and my phone starts ringing. It’s about the demonstrated skills, not the paper.

Articles, Careers, Programming

Should I become a computer programmer?

January 28, 2014June 18, 2025 Andrew Comeau

So, I was glancing at Reddit first thing this morning and saw the following question …

I’m exploring the possibility of being a programmer, wondering what there is to it, and why you enjoy your job.

A very articulate high-school student was thinking about career choices and wanted to know what being a computer programmer was about and if he should explore it. Always wanting to encourage potential programmers, I offered my answer …

Careers, Programming

On software design …

September 18, 2013November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

In my upcoming book, Your First Guide to Database Design, my goal is to provide a clear guide for users at all levels of experience on how to organize their data into an efficient database, regardless of whether they’re using a desktop database like Microsoft Access or a network software such as MySQL. The first chapter…

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Database Design, Programming, Reviews

Tweaking the System – Finding the most efficient application design

July 12, 2012March 28, 2024 Andrew Comeau

Like any system, one of the important traits of a good computer program is the efficiency with which it runs. Many people might think of this in terms of how fast it loads or how dependable it is. It can also be measured by how well organized the interface is which determines how successful the program is in enabling the user to do their job. Programmers like myself also look at how much memory the program uses which can determine whether the program will run reliably or whether the user will be plagued with crashes and blue screens.

Articles, Programming

Using Typed Datasets in Visual Studio

July 10, 2012November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

If you’ve worked with Visual Studio or .NET for long, you’re probably familiar with the System.Data.DataSet class which enables you to create a collection of data in memory, often retrieved from an SQL database. Within a dataset object, you can have a series of related DataTables that categorize the data. Moving further down, each table can…

Articles, Programming

Weekend Links

April 22, 2012November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

I’d planned to spend the weekend writing up a new programming article for the site but it got a little hi-jacked by another project I was working on. On Friday, I needed to figure out how to generate ZIP files from a website and just couldn’t put it down for the weekend. The situation is…

Learning PHP

April 8, 2012November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

One of the projects I started late last year was learning some non-Microsoft technologies, one being PHP; a scripting language that is used behind websites in order to provide more dynamic features than ordinary HTML is capable of. PHP has been in use since 1995 and is one of the most widely available web technologies. …

Bringing things up to date …

April 6, 2012November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

Every so often, I remember that I have a blog attached to the site and I make new promises to myself to keep it up to date but it doesn’t seem to happen that often. 2011 was a busy year for me which was one reason I didn’t update the blog much. It’s easier to…

Careers, Microsoft Access, Programming

Design Abstractions

May 21, 2008March 29, 2024 Andrew Comeau

A few years ago, Joel Spolsky wrote a wonderful article for his site called The Law of Leaky Abstractions, the general idea of which was that while new design technologies such as programming tools that let you build data interfaces by clicking and dragging controls might make things easier for the average professional, they will never replace a solid understanding of the technologies they are built on top of. This is because the tools that do so much work behind the scenes never offer the fine control that the lower level tools will. They also provide an illusion of power that makes it easy to avoid learning the real substance. The article provided some good examples and now I have one of my own to share.