Geek School

Studying and writing code is one of the best ways to learn good programming techniques. Technical books and documentation are too often filled with useless toy examples and hastily-written snippets. Programmers need to learn the features of languages, the idioms, the common ways to solve problems.

I think programmers would learn most effectively through an apprenticeship. A student programmer would work alongside an experienced mentor on real code, gradually “learning the ropes.” Instead we have degree programs that don’t teach the fundamentals, certifications that can be earned by people with no experience at all, and increasingly baroque hiring processes at companies that want to hire only rock star talent.

Since apprenticing opportunities are almost non-existent, Geek School is an attempt to show real-world programming, step-by-step, with explanations and code. Anyone can participate, just keep the comments civil.

If you would like to write articles for Geek School illustrating a programming problem and solution please contact me at gregj@geekschool.org.