General Information About Computer Programming Degree Programs
Very few corporations can function today without the use of computers, and computer programmers are already in high demand. Even a basic degree in computer programming can open up many career options for those who are able to master the concepts involved.
Computer Programming Degree Study Options
Computer programming students can earn an Associate of Science in Computer Programming or a computer programming certificate in two years. A bachelor's degree will require at least four years of study and a Master of Science in Computer Programming an additional two years after that. As more people are awakening to the benefits of a computer programming degree, it behooves students to try to go as far as they can with their computer programming education in order to secure the best and most lucrative job options.
Advanced Computer Programming Degrees
Since more than two thirds of computer programmers have bachelor's degrees or better, it is more important than ever to obtain an advanced computer programming degree. Students can pursue a Master of Science in Computer Programming as well as taking courses for certifications in different areas of computer programming (specific programming languages, for example).
Master Of Science Degree In Computer Programming
In around two years, students can build on their bachelor's degree in computer programming by obtaining a Master of Science Degree in Computer Programming or Information Technology. This degree will help graduates qualify for many of the jobs available in the technology world today. Students who are willing to put in the extra work needed for a graduate degree in computer programming will often be richly rewarded.
Further Education In Computer Programming
Although a doctorate in computer programming is not required for most desirable computer programming jobs, obtaining that extra level of education will be appealing to many employers and may increase your earning potential. It may also give you the capability to produce independent research innovations in the field of computer programming.
Choosing A Degree In Computer Programming
Most high schools today now offer some kind of basic computer courses. Students who took to these courses readily and hunger for more computing information, or who independently have explored the possibilities of computer programming should definitely consider a degree in this lucrative field. Those with a facility in mathematics, science and/or engineering will also find they have an aptitude for computer programming.
Career Opportunities In Computer Programming
Today, computer programmers are the people who keep industry moving. Computer programmers may find opportunities in the military, in video game development, in business software development, as the go-to person in an Internet company or managing computer operations for a large corporation. Nearly any industry you can think of will have some opportunities for computer programmers.
Earning Potential For Computer Programming Careers
Computer programmers have tremendous earning potential. The median annual salary of a computer programmer is around $65,000, while the most successful computer programmers make over $100,000 a year. Software designers and developers tend to make the most, while programmers involved in company management and systems design tend to make slightly less. Remember, computer programmers with bachelor's degrees often make more that those with just professional certificates, and those with master's degrees may make more than those with only the bachelor's degree in computer programming.
Getting Your Computer Programming Degree Online
Computer programming is an ideal degree to get online. You can earn a computer programming certificate or associate's degree online in just a couple of years and already be in a position to increase your earning potential from your current low-paying job. You can also earn a four-year Bachelor of Science in Computer Programming online and since your distance learning program requires the use of the Internet and computer software, you can be fairly confident that you’re getting a relevant, top education in computer programming when you take courses from a reputable, accredited online college or university.
Getting Your Computer Programming Degree Offline
While you can definitely get a great computer programming education online, a physical university or college is a great place for learning computers as well, whether you’re coming straight from high school or taking computer courses as part of a continuing education program. Brick-and-mortar universities will allow you access to the school’s computer labs and onsite resources, which can be a great help in the learning process. If you attend a traditional college or university, you will be required to put forth a significant time commitment, as you will be expected to be on campus at the times that classes are scheduled and will have to put in time for school-related projects as well. However, the degree that you leave with after four or six years will in most cases be so valuable that it will be well worth the time you put in to get it.
Computer programming is the discipline of understanding and manipulating the source code that makes computers work. Computer programmers know how to write this code in order to create computer software programs, how to test these programs and how to fix these programs when they don’t work. Understanding and working with the programming languages that utilize the source code is extremely complex, but those who are capable of doing it well are in great demand.
Computer Programming Books
Students who are getting started in computer programming may wish to read "Faster Smarter Beginning Programming" by Jim Buyens, "You can Do It!: A Beginning Instruction to Computer Programming" by Francis Glassborow and/or "Concepts, Techniques and Models of Computer Programming" by Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi. Other computer programming books are available at your school library, at Amazon.com and you can even get a wide variety of computer programming texts at no cost at TechBooksForFree.com.
Computer Programming Articles And Databases
Computer programming articles can be found all over the Internet. Many should be available at your school’s library. Another great source of computer programming and related articles is Suite 101 (Computerprogramming.Suite101.com). Additional computer programming information can be found for free online at FreeProgrammingResources.com.
Online Computer Programming Journals
While learning computer programming basics and innovations in computer programming, you may wish to refer to some computer programming journals. Some computer programming journals that you can gain access to online include the Science of Computer Programming, MSDN Online, Information and Software Technology and the Journal of Discrete Algorithms. These journals and others can be found through your school library or elsewhere throughout the Internet.
Other Computer Programming Research Tools
A great tool for budding or current computer programmers is the Internet Public Library. Their programming section (ipl.org/div/subject/browse/com70.00.00/) has information about programming in various languages, source code guides and programming FAQs to help you through your biggest computer programming obstacles.
Computer Programming Resources
Sciences > Computer Science > Programming
See also our CS Depts. & Tech. Colleges page for career prep.
Atrevida Game Programming Tutorials
"A series of articles providing an introduction to game programming on the PC"
By Kevin Matz
"A Comparison of C++, FORTRAN 90 and Oberon-2 for Scientific Programming"
Article by Bernd Mˆsli
Computing Languages List
"This is a list of specific Computing Languages. The languages listed here either have usenet groups, FAQs (from the List of Usenet FAQs at Ohio State), or WWW home pages."
European Association for Programming Languages and Systems (EAPLS) - (dead link)
Free2Code - Tutorials
Tutorial Categories: IRC ; Networking ; Operating Systems ; Other ; Programming ; Security ; Web Development.
Journal of Functional and Logic Programming (JFLP) - (dead link)
"...is an electronic journal which covers a broad scope of topics from functional and logic programming. It is especially concerned with the integration of the functional and logic paradigms as well as their common foundations."
Published by the European Association for Programming Languages and Systems (EAPLS) - (dead link)
The Language List
"The Language List is an attempt to enumerate all known programming languages.
A listing of around 2000 languages - nice page with easy to use search engine
Mmaintained by Bill Kinnersley
Mathematical Programming Glossary
"This contains terms specific to mathematical programming, and some terms from other disciplines, notably economics, computer science, and mathematics, that are directly related."
Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC)
"...is an Air Force Research Laboratory Center managed by the University of Hawai'i."
- Training and Workshops
Online Workshop Materials for: Introductory SP Parallel Programming Workshop ; SP Parallel Programming II Workshop ; LINUX Cluster Workshop.
Also includes an alphabetical list of all MHPCC tutorials found in the Workshops.
A Programmers Heaven
"This site is dedicated to programmers all over the world. Our main goal is to provide a complete start-off for programming related web surfing and file downloading...Choose from almost 9579 files and 2633 links that we have!"
Resources for Programming Language Research
"A collection of information and resources for research in programming language theory, design, implementation, and related areas."
Maintained by Mark Leone
Sourcebank
The Search Engine for Developers
"...provides the freshest and most comprehensive set of resources available to the software development community. Unlike conventional Web sites, Sourcebank offers tools that can be personalized and variously utilized according to needs of individual end-users."
Teaching About Programming Languages Project
By Gary T. Leavens
WEBster
The Place on the Net to Learn Assembly Language Programming
Popular site for those wanting to learn 80x74 assembly language programming.
Maintained by Randall Hyde
Alice
Alice
Learn to Program Interactive 3D Graphics
"The focus of the Alice project is now to provide the best possible first exposure to programming for students ranging from middle schoolers to college students."
C Languages
Association of C & C++ Users (ACCU)
"is a non-profit organisation devoted to professionalism at all levels in C, C++, Java and Python.
cplusplus Resources
The C++ Resources Network
Sections include: Information ; Documents ; Reference ; Source Code ; Electronic Forum.
Thinking in C++ (etext)
2nd ed., 2000-2003.
By Bruce Eckel
Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming: A Gentle Introduction
"The goal of this site is to provide an introduction and overview of Extreme Programming (XP)."
By Don Wells
Fortran
Computers and Internet: Languages: Fortran
Java
BlueJ - The Interactive Java Environment
Sections include: What is BlueJ? ; Why BlueJ? ; Download ; Documentation ; Extensions ; Help & Info ; Resources.
Maintained by Michael Kolling.
engAPPLETS
Java Applets for Engineering Education
Section include: Fluid Dynamics ; Statics ; Dynamics.
By William Devenport, Rakesh Kapania, Kamal Rojiani, Kusum Singh
Gamelan - The Official Directory of Java
An exhaustive collection of links in Java Programming alone
Introduction to Programming Using Java (etext)
"...the fourth edition of a free, on-line textbook on introductory programming, which uses Java as the language of instruction."
By David J. Eck
Java Applets for Visualization of Statistical Concepts
"These applets are designed for the purpose of computer-aided education in statistic courses. The intent of these applets is to help students learn some abstract statistics concepts easier than before. The approach taken here is based upon visualization and simulation."
- VESTAC: Visualization of and Experimentation with STAtistical Concepts (Education K.U. Leuven)
Java Corner
This major site includes: Documentation (Books, Tutorials, Specifications, Magazines) ; Development (Compilers, IDE's, Tools) ; Resources (Repsitories, Applet Collections, Servlet Collections, Java Script).
JAVA Digital Signal Processing J-DSP) Editor
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Multidisciplinary Initiative on Distance Learning, Arizona State University
Java Home Page
The official site from Sun Microsystems
Java Programming Language
Operations Research - Java Objects
"...is a collection of 500 Java classes for developing Operations Research, Scientific and Engineering applications. It contains data structures and algorithms for developing problem specific solutions as well as implementations of classical algorithms. OR-Objects is divided into packages of related classes which makes finding classes easier and improves the clarity of the documentation."
Thinking in Java (etext)
3rd ed., 2002.
By Bruce Eckel
Working with XML
"...the JavaTM XML Tutorial, is an online manual that can quickly get you up to speed writing XML code and XML-based software for end-user applications."
- java.sun.com
Linux
DesktopLinux.com
"...is exclusively devoted to the use of Linux as an end-user desktop operating system for personal and business purposes. This site features news, opinions, HOWTOs, FAQs, product previews/reviews, product listings, a discussion forum, and links to other web resources, all focused on using -- or learning to use -- Linux as a desktop operating system."
Linux/Unix Tutorial Site
"Absolute Beginner to Linux 'Expert' in 10 Lessons"
"Here you will learn how to use UNIX and Linux. This is a practical UNIX tutorial designed to get you up to speed as a UNIX/Linux user.."
Loads of Linux Links
"The purpose of the Loads of Linux Links project is to collect, organise, classify and maintain important URLs about Linux and the Open Source movement for all levels of Linux users. The LoLL project now has 3000+ links which are updated regular."
By Andrew Willard and Barbara E. Irwin
Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC)
"...is an Air Force Research Laboratory Center managed by the University of Hawai'i."
- Training and Workshops
Online Workshop Materials for: Introductory SP Parallel Programming Workshop ; SP Parallel Programming II Workshop ; LINUX Cluster Workshop.
Also includes an alphabetical list of all MHPCC tutorials found in the Workshops.
UK.LINUX.ORG
Sections include: An Introduction to Linux ; The Press ; Major Linux Distributions ; UK Linux Links ; Linux Archive Sites ; Documentation and Books.
Maintained by Alan Cox
Perl
CPAN: Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
"CPAN is the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network. Comprehensive: the aim is to contain all the Perl material you will need. Archive: 774 megabytes as of July 2000."
Linux/Unix Tutorial Site
"Absolute Beginner to Linux 'Expert' in 10 Lessons"
"Here you will learn how to use UNIX and Linux. This is a practical UNIX tutorial designed to get you up to speed as a UNIX/Linux user.."
Visual Basic
Visual Basic Section
Includes tutorials for beginning and advanced users and a collection of over 70 visual basic source code.
XML
Working with XML
"...the JavaTM XML Tutorial, is an online manual that can quickly get you up to speed writing XML code and XML-based software for end-user applications."
- java.sun.com
X-VRML Language - (dead link)
Sections include: News ; Overview ; Language ; Projects ; Examples ; FAQ.
Developed by the Dept. of Information Technology, Poznan University of Economics, Rennes, France.
Other Languages
ADA 95 Reference Manual
"This is KSCE's hypertext version of the Ada 95 Reference Manual (Language and Standard Libraries), revised international standard (ISO/IEC 7452:1995): Information Technology -- Programming Languages -- Ada."
Ada Source Code Treasury - (dead link)
Lisp Resources - (dead link)
Includes Reference Documents, Texts, Code, Vendors, Patches, and more
Logic Programming
WWW Virtual Library
See also our CS Depts. & Tech. Colleges page for career prep.
Computer, IT, & Technical Colleges & Schools
Engineering Study Aids
More Resources
Created by librarian Mike Madin
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