Programming Achievements: How to Level Up as a Developer

about.md

Programming Achievements: How to Level Up as a Developer

1. Select a particular experience to pursue.
2. Pursue that experience to completion. (Achievement unlocked!)
3. Reflect on that experience. Really soak it in. Maybe a blog post would be in order?
4. Return to Step 1, this time select a new experience.

This gist is part of a blog post. Check it out at:

http://jasonrudolph.com/blog/2011/08/09/programming-achievements-how-to-level-up-as-a-developer

Conventions for this fork:

• done
• maybe someday
• [-] probably never
• [~] i'm on it

Merges:

• https://gist.github.com/1138647 (fogus)

programming-achievements.md

Complete interesting programming courses:

• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Learn a variety of commonly used programming languages:

• Write a program in Ruby
• Write a program in Python
• Write a program in C
• Write a program in C++
• Write a program in Java
• Write a program in Objective-C
• Write a program in C#
• Write a program in PHP 5
• Write a program in Perl
• Write a stand-alone program in Javascript

Learn a variety of non commonly-used programming languages:

• Write a non-trivial program in Brainfuck
• Write a program in Lua
• Write a program in smalltalk
• [-] Write a program in Lisp

Learn a variety of frameworks:

• Write a web application with Rails
• Write a web application with Django
• Write a web application with node.js
• Write a web application with Tornado
• Write a web application with Sinatra
• Write a web application with socket.io
• Write a program with Mono
• Write a program with .Net
• Write a program with OpenGL
• Write a program with WebGL
• Write a program with DirectX
• Write a program with Cocoa

Learn a variety of editors/IDEs:

• Use vim exclusively for a month
• Write a package for sublime-text
• Use TextMate exclusively for a month
• Use emacs exclusively for a month
• Use netbeans exclusively for a month
• Use Visual Studio exclusively for a month
• Use XCode exclusively for a month

Learn a variety of systems:

• Build an application using Hadoop
• Build an application using Mahout
• Incorporate Chef into a project
• Incorporate Scout into a project
• Incorporate leveldb into a project
• Incorporate Thrift into a project

Learn a variety of programming paradigms:

• Write a program in assembly language
• Write a program in an imperative language
• Write an application in a functional language
• Write an application in an object-oriented language
• Write an application in a prototype-based language
• Write an application in a logic programming language
• Write an application using the Actor model
• Write an application on Forth
• Write an application in a concatenative language (e.g. Joy)
• Write an application in a strict design-by-contract language (e.g. Eiffel)
• Write an application in a array-oriented language
• Write a data definition and data access layer for a complex domain

Get comfortable in multiple operating systems:

• Use OSX exclusively for development for a month
• Use Linux exclusively for development for a month
• Use Windows exclusively for development for a month

Experience the ins and outs of programming for different platforms:

• Write a nontrivial web app
• Write a nontrivial desktop app
• Write a nontrivial mobile app
• Write a nontrivial game
• Write an embedded app
• Write a realtime system

Enhance your understanding of the building blocks that we use as developers:

• Write a networking client (e.g., HTTP, FTP)
• Write a device driver
• Write a B-tree database
• Wrap an existing library to provide a better (more pleasant) user experience
• Write an application or framework that provides a plugin model
• Write a testing framework
• Write an interpreted programming language
• Write a compiled programming language
• Write a logic-based programming language
• Write an operating system kernel
• Write an operating system
• Write a text editor
• Write a game engine

Get your hands dirty with harware:

• Write some code for a single-board computing system
• Write a CPU emulator
• Target that same CPU on an FPGA
• Build that same CPU from discrete parts
• Build a small machine around your CPU
• Write a program for your machine
• Build a robot

Enlighten yourself with koans, katas, and the wisdom of ages:

• [-] Complete five code katas
• [-] Complete 21 code katas
• Complete the programming koans for a language that you want to learn [clojure]
• Attend a code retreat
• [-] Read SICP and complete all the exercises [already read SICP, did some exercises, there are too many of them :p]
• Read a standard

Program in the open:

• Contribute to an open source project
• Have a patch accepted
• Earn commit rights on a significant open source project
• Publish an open source project
• Perform a Refactotum of an open source project
• Contribute to a standard

Learn about algorithms:

• Determine the asymptotic running time of an algorithm
• Implement basic Sorting Algorithms: Bubblesort, Heapsort, Quicksort... Understand their tradeoffs.
• Implement basic Graph algorithms: Prim, Kruskal, Dijkstra, A*...
• Create and implement a dynamic program
• Prove that a problem is NP-Complete
• Understand the halting problem

Learn by teaching others:

• Present a lightning talk
• Present at a local user group
• Present at a conference
• Deliver a training course
• Publish a tutorial
• [-] Publish a constructive code review of an open source project
• Write a programming book