Updates material from our courses for newcomers to programming ... we're very happy to help newcomers learn about the basic principles of programming, running an extra day for a very small group on the front of our regular courses for delegates who have programmed before, but in different languages.

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In this final session of "learning to program in xxx", I'm going to stress the importance of some of the more mundane elements, but practical requirements of programming.

1. You should comment your code so that the PROGRAMMER who follows behind you (or yourself in a year or two) can understand what has been done, and pick it up, fix issues, and update it. You should also include things like a version number so that you're not left puzzling which version is which, nor fixing an old version

2. You should document your code so that the USER who makes use of it knows how to do so. That user could be someone visiting your web page, running your application, or another programmer calling in elements of your code as part of his program; we've seen the use of library routines during the day so far ... and YOU may be providing such library routines.

3. You should provide SAMPLE / TEST code so that you can test the continued operatation of the application / routines in the future, and ensure that they're still running right when you transfer a copy to a computer running a different operating system.

Comments and documentation are not, entirely, extras that you have to provide in addition to the running code. By a good choice of variable names, and by insetting the code sensibly and spacing it out, you're doing much of than work within the code. And your test code not only helps you get the code right in the first place, but also provides examples of how it should be used for others who'll be making use of your code.
(written 2014-11-22)

 J715 - Putting the Java Language Together
  [836] Build on what you already have with OO - (2006-08-17)
  [1181] Good Programming practise - where to initialise variables - (2007-05-09)
  [2735] Type checking, Java arrays and collections - (2010-04-23)
  [4430] The spirit of Java - delegating to classes - (2015-02-18)

R212 - Ruby - Test::Unit
  [4389] Cucumber example - test::unit, scenario outlines, datafile driven test - (2015-01-09)

C239 - C and C based languages - Putting it all together
  [925] C++ - just beyond the basics. More you can do - (2006-11-14)
  [945] Code quality counts - (2006-11-26)
  [2646] Compile but do not run PHP - syntax check only - (2010-02-22)
  [2673] Multiple Inheritance in C++ - a complete example - (2010-03-12)
  [2674] Make and makefiles - a commented example to help you learn - (2010-03-12)
  [2851] Further C++ material - view new or old - (2010-07-04)
  [3067] Using C and C++ functions in the same program - how to do it - (2010-11-24)
  [3069] Strings, Garbage Collection and Variable Scope in C++ - (2010-11-25)
  [3252] C++ - unknown array size, unknown object type. Help! - (2011-04-17)
  [3810] Reading files, and using factories to create vectors of objects from the data in C++ - (2012-07-21)
  [4374] Test driven development, and class design, from first principles (using C++) - (2014-12-30)
  [4559] When do I use the this keyword in C++? - (2015-10-29)

U196 - Testing and Development in Lua
Y212 - Python - Code testing, patterns, profiles and optimisation.
  [235] Preparation for a day's work - (2005-03-04)
  [1140] Python GTK - Widget, Packing, Event and Feedback example - (2007-04-09)
  [1146] __new__ v __init__ - python constructor alternatives? - (2007-04-14)
  [1148] Python decorators - wrapping a method call in extra code - (2007-04-15)
  [1555] Advanced Python, Perl, PHP and Tcl training courses / classes - (2008-02-25)
  [2123] Using Python with OpenOffice - (2009-04-09)
  [2616] Defining a static method - Java, Python and Ruby - (2010-02-01)
  [3441] Pressing ^C in a Python program. Also Progress Bar. - (2011-09-15)
  [3442] A demonstration of how many Python facilities work together - (2011-09-16)
  [3464] Passing optional and named parameters to python methods - (2011-10-04)
  [3478] Testing your Python classes with the unittest package - how to - (2011-10-14)
  [3658] Using Make for a distribution - (2012-03-17)
  [4090] Test Driven Development in Python - Customer Comes First - (2013-05-16)
  [4344] Python base and inherited classes, test harness and unit testing - new examples - (2014-12-07)
  [4446] Combining tests into suites, and suites into bigger suites - Python and unittest - (2015-03-01)
  [4470] Testing in Python 3 - unittest, doctest and __name__ == __main__ too. - (2015-04-21)
  [4538] Flask and unittest - hello web app test world - (2015-10-15)
  [4540] Unittest of a Flask application including forms - (2015-10-15)
  [4542] The principle of mocking - and the Python Mock package - (2015-10-17)
  [4617] Pytest - starting example - (2016-01-07)
  [4618] Pytest - second example beyond hello world - (2016-01-08)
  [4716] Profiling your Python program - (2016-11-01)

H115 - Designing PHP-Based Solutions: Best Practice
  [123] Short underground journeys and a PHP book - (2004-11-19)
  [237] Crossfertilisation, PHP to Python - (2005-03-06)
  [261] Putting a form online - (2005-03-29)
  [340] Code and code maintainance efficiency - (2005-06-08)
  [394] A year on - should we offer certified PHP courses - (2005-07-28)
  [426] Robust checking of data entered by users - (2005-08-27)
  [563] Merging pictures using PHP and GD - (2006-01-13)
  [572] Giving the researcher power over database analysis - (2006-01-22)
  [839] Reporting on the 10 largest files or 10 top scores - (2006-08-20)
  [896] PHP - good coding practise and sticky radio buttons - (2006-10-17)
  [936] Global, Superglobal, Session variables - scope and persistance in PHP - (2006-11-21)
  [1047] Maintainable code - some positive advice - (2007-01-21)
  [1052] Learning to write secure, maintainable PHP - (2007-01-25)
  [1166] Back button - ensuring order are not submitted twice (PHP) - (2007-04-28)
  [1182] Painting a masterpiece in PHP - (2007-05-10)
  [1194] Drawing hands on a clock face - PHP - (2007-05-19)
  [1321] Resetting session based tests in PHP - (2007-08-26)
  [1323] Easy handling of errors in PHP - (2007-08-27)
  [1381] Using a MySQL database to control mod_rewrite via PHP - (2007-10-06)
  [1389] Controlling and labelling Google maps via PHP - (2007-10-13)
  [1390] Converting from postal address to latitude / longitude - (2007-10-13)
  [1391] Ordnance Survey Grid Reference to Latitude / Longitude - (2007-10-14)
  [1482] A story about benchmarking PHP - (2007-12-23)
  [1487] Efficient PHP applications - framework and example - (2007-12-28)
  [1490] Software to record day to day events and keep an action list - (2007-12-31)
  [1533] Short and sweet and sticky - PHP form input - (2008-02-06)
  [1623] PHP Techniques - a workshop - (2008-04-26)
  [1694] Defensive coding techniques in PHP? - (2008-07-02)
  [1794] Refactoring - a PHP demo becomes a production page - (2008-09-12)
  [2199] Improving the structure of your early PHP programs - (2009-05-25)
  [2221] Adding a newsfeed for your users to a multipage PHP application - (2009-06-06)
  [2430] Not just a PHP program - a good web application - (2009-09-29)
  [2679] How to build a test harness into your PHP - (2010-03-16)
  [3539] Separating program and artwork in PHP - easier maintainance, and better for the user - (2011-12-05)
  [3813] Injection Attacks - PHP, SQL, HTML, Javascript - and how to neutralise them - (2012-07-22)
  [3820] PHP sessions - a best practice teaching example - (2012-07-27)
  [3926] Filtering PHP form inputs - three ways, but which should you use? - (2012-11-18)
  [4069] Even early on, separate out your program from your HTML! - (2013-04-25)
  [4118] We not only teach PHP and Python - we teach good PHP and Python Practice! - (2013-06-18)
  [4641] Using an MVC structure - even without a formal framework - (2016-02-07)
  [4691] Real life PHP application using our course training MVC example - (2016-06-05)

P711 - An Introduction to Standards in Perl
  [242] Satisfaction of training - (2005-03-11)
  [668] Python - block insets help with documentation - (2006-04-04)
  [743] How to debug a Perl program - (2006-06-04)
  [965] KISS - one action per statement please - Perl - (2006-12-05)
  [1221] Bathtubs and pecking birds - (2007-06-07)
  [1345] Perl and Shell coding standards / costs of an IT project - (2007-09-11)
  [1395] Dont just convert to Perl - re-engineer! - (2007-10-18)
  [1728] A short Perl example - (2008-07-30)
  [1853] Well structured coding in Perl - (2008-10-24)
  [1863] About dieing and exiting in Perl - (2008-11-01)
  [2375] Designing your data structures for a robust Perl application - (2009-08-25)
  [2688] Security considerations in programming - what do we teach? - (2010-03-22)
  [2875] A long day in Melksham ... - (2010-07-17)
  [3398] Perl - making best use of the flexibility, but also using good coding standards - (2011-08-19)

Q456 - Object Orientation and General technical topics - Test Driven Development and Behaviour Driven Development
  [4336] Test Driven Development - a first example of principle in C - (2014-12-01)
  [4346] A behaviour driven example of writing a Java program - (2014-12-09)
  [4380] Behaviour Driven Development / Ruby and Cucumber - (2015-01-02)
  [4387] Regression Testing my website - Cucumber and Watir - (2015-01-07)
  [4457] Test framework for TCL - Tcltest - some examples - (2015-03-11)
  [4634] Regression testing - via a very short C testing framework - (2016-01-29)
  [4652] Testing new algorithms in PHP - (2016-02-20)

Q100 - Object Orientation and General technical topics - Learning to Progam
  [116] The next generation of programmer - (2004-11-13)
  [1605] Learning and understanding scripting programming techniques - (2008-04-08)
  [1963] Best source to learn Java (or Perl or PHP or Python) - (2008-12-28)
  [1985] Learning to program as a part of your job - (2009-01-10)
  [2001] I have not programmed before, and need to learn - (2009-01-19)
  [2048] Learning to program in PHP, Python, Java or Lua ... - (2009-02-19)
  [2092] Tracking difficult bugs, the programmer / customer relationship - (2009-03-20)
  [2286] New to programming? It is natural (but needless) for you to be nervous - (2009-07-14)
  [2294] Can you learn to program in 4 days? - (2009-07-16)
  [2326] Learn a new programming language this summer. - (2009-08-06)
  [2504] Learning to program in ... - (2009-11-15)
  [2505] I almost put the bins out this morning - (2009-11-16)
  [2898] Programming Standards from the start! - (2010-08-02)
  [2973] Learning to program - where to start if you have never programmed before - (2010-09-28)
  [3120] Learning to write good programs in C and C++ - separating out repeated code - (2011-01-04)
  [3551] Some terms used in programming (Biased towards Python) - (2011-12-12)
  [3895] Flowchart to program - learning to program with Well House - (2012-10-14)
  [4008] Reading and checking user inputs - first lessons - Ruby - (2013-02-17)
  [4318] Learning to Program - how we start to teach you at Well House Consultants - (2014-11-16)
  [4322] Learning to Program - the conditional statement (if) - (2014-11-21)
  [4323] Learning to program - Loop statements such as while - (2014-11-22)
  [4324] Learning to program - variables and constants - (2014-11-22)
  [4325] Learning to program - what are algorithms and design patterns? - (2014-11-22)
  [4337] Learning to program sample program - past its prime, but still useful - (2014-12-02)
  [4575] Learning not just what a program does, but how to design it in the first place. - (2015-11-06)

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