I have a general understanding of computing and networking as I am currently employed in the information assurance field (CISSP and Network +), programming is however, completely new to me.
I guess the hardest part is I want to be an expert right away. I often read HN for inspiration and therefore want to perform at the same level.
So far the basics seem, well very basic and easy to understand. When I start looking at building something, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I want to push out things that I can be proud of and will help the community develop, and I guess that desire is conflicting with my current level of knowledge.
Sorry, bit of a rant and long post, but just trying to sort everything out so I don't get disillusioned.
I have a lot of ideas, for instance an RSS feed filter to remove duplicates. Same idea could also be used to filter twitter feeds, although I understand the code would be different.
Do you think it would be better to work on my own projects and jump in the deep end or should I start with cookbook code and learn from that first? Part of the problem maybe is not understanding where to go once I learn the basics.
In this case, absolutely jump in the deep end. Find a way to get RSS feeds, and a way to display them -- there's probably libraries for either, however you plan on doing them -- and try to process them in between. Start with something small that works, and add functionality piece by piece, careful to make sure each change you made results in something that works. If you understand each piece, you understand the whole. Every piece you understand, you've learned something.
About "being an expert" -- programming is a very, very broad topic, with far too many different technologies and libraries used in different situations, so when even "experts" work, usually only a tiny amount of their work falls under their actual "expertise" (as in what they could do blindfolded), and they are always Googling what to do next. So when you do that -- constantly Google what to do next -- don't feel like you're not an expert.
I guess what I'm saying is, (perhaps unlike other fields) the body of knowledge in programming, not only that exists, but that any typical work involves, is so vast, there are no "experts" that have intimate knowledge of all of it.
Since you are aiming at an academic audience I think Curriculum Vitae might be a great option. It represents the professional and yet has a feeling of acedemia.
It would all depend on how you frame and present it. Your target audience is an intelligent one and I think would pick up fairly quickly that CV is representing more than just their resume.
Probably the best idea though is to take some of the ideas that you have and do some A/B testing. That way it's what can empirically be proven to work the best.
I just started to learn how to code (Python) two weeks ago, but I have been an HN reader for about the last four months. The stories here often inspire me to progress and push myself in other areas of my life. I also like hearing about the leading edges of technology.
I am new to python but just a few of the articles I have gone through on this site were comprehensive and invaluable. This is definitely on of my new tools to help me learn and understand the standard library.
Thank you for your reply. Now that I think about it more and in line with your comment, with HN being a start-up atmosphere, I guess it makes since to see more of the generalist mentality.
