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D-ZN Interview: Reid; March 30th
Topic Started: Mar 27 2011, 01:18 AM (745 Views)
Minato
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Interview with Reid, March 30th


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Reid

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Today, our guest is Reid, one of the administrators here at ZNR. Even though he's not big into designing, we see what he can do with the technical aspects of theming/coding.


First off, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to do an interview with me.

No problem. :)

I would like to start by asking how long you have done coding? Do you have any formal training?

I started writing JavaScript in April 2009. I didn't really start getting into other languages heavily until around January 2010. No, I don't have any formal training; I'm completely autodidactic. I'm also only a senior in high school, but I plan on double majoring in computer science and mathematics in college, then going onto a career as either a software engineer or IT analyst.

When did you start JavaScript?

April 2009 on a board called zbcode. I was able to write "complex" scripts (in terms of ZetaBoards coding) by June/July, but it wasn't really until September/October that I got decent by my standards today. I still improve all the time, though. I can pin down when I wrote a script by looking at the style, too, which is pretty nifty sometimes.

Is there any other programming languages you know?

Well, I'm far more experienced with JavaScript than any other language, but I "know" Python, Ruby, Haskell, PHP, and C++. I know the basics of quite a few other languages, but I don't really consider myself as "knowing" them. Honestly, the ideaology of programming transcends any specific language, so I can typically write functional code in any language if I have a reference page handy, assuming it's not a huge paradigm shift. Other programmers will know what I mean.

Do you consider coding an art? If so, why?

Definitely. Programming is the art of controlling complexity. There is a certain beauty to it, too. Having the barest basics of logic cleanly fall into place to create an overarching picture that works well is really great. And like any art, it has a very subjective feel to it: what should I name these variables; should I comment this code; how should I structure this code; is this too complicated for easy reading in the future; is the code too messy; is there too much whitespace; is there too little whitespace, and so on.

I do love quotes (I'm addicted to them), and I do try to cut down on devaluing them, but I know of two that describe programming as an art perfectly:

"It's the only job I can think of where I get to be both an engineer and an artist. There's an incredible, rigorous, technical element to it, which I like because you have to do very precise thinking. On the other hand, it has a wildly creative side where the boundaries of imagination are the only real limitation." -- Andy Hertzfeld, about programming

"Great software, likewise, requires a fanatical devotion to beauty. If you look inside good software, you find that parts no one is ever supposed to see are beautiful too. I'm not claiming I write great software, but I know that when it comes to code I behave in a way that would make me eligible for prescription drugs if I approached everyday life the same way. It drives me crazy to see code that's badly indented, or that uses ugly variable names." -- Paul Graham, "Hackers and Painters," 2003

Do you code any themes?

Can I? Yes. Do I? I try my very hardest to avoid it. CSS is fine until it comes to the strange issues. Unfortunately, my reputation as a problem-solver means that when people have strange issues, they come to me. It can be quite trying, being asked to debug problems in a language that you hate. But, that's life.

Last of these questions. Who inspired you to start coding? And what can you teach someone who wants to get started but doesn't know what to do?

To start? Myself. I started coding because I wanted to create cool codes for my InvisionFree board. But along the way, I was inspired by HolySavior (Dan) and Choco, primarily. I always want to be the best, and when I feel anyone is better than me, I work a thousand percent harder to try to get back on top. I'm quite competitive by nature.

If you want to get started, but you don't know where to start (the irony!), I suggest learning HTML and CSS first from a site called HTML Dog. It's an awesome place that teaches extremely good practices. I highly recommend it. Once you are done there, you can try picking up JavaScript from the disparate sources around the web. Be careful of w3schools (see w3fools.com). The best JavaScript documentation on the web is found at the Mozilla Developer Center, but it is somewhat higher-level than your typical JavaScript tutorial site, so it really is aimed at the late novice. Filling code requests is a great way to practice your skills, though. It's how I learned, after all. You can also look at other coders' work; it's a really great place to start. Just be careful.

Fun questions:
Mt. Dew or Mellow Yellow? Mellow Yellow
World of Warcraft or Aion Online? World of Warcraft. To be specific, Mage. :)
Green or Blue? Blue
Favorite Game? The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Favorite Pastime? Programming or gaming
Anything else you would like to add?

Well... just a couple more quotes. (I really do overuse them.)

"The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.... The computer resembles the magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of the incantation is not strictly in proper form, the magic doesn't work. Human beings are not accustomed to being perfect, and few areas of human activity demand it. Adjusting to the requirement for perfection is, I think, the most difficult part of learning to program." -- Frederick Brooks

"What I mean is that if you really want to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it to someone else. That forces you to sort it out in your own mind. And the more slow and dim-witted your pupil, the more you have to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And that's really the essence of programming. By the time you've sorted out a complicated idea into little steps that even a stupid machine can deal with, you've certainly learned something about it yourself." -- Douglas Adams
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Swim-ZNR
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Cool! :D
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Cory
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Great interview! Reid is one of the coolest people I have met on the internet, he's usually helping me with JS and CSS issues on a daily basis.
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JAR
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Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion FTW!

Great interview btw!

EDIT: I'm confused... it says March 30th was when the interview took place. But the topic was created on March 26th... how?
Edited by JAR, Mar 30 2011, 06:03 PM.
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Helena-ZNR
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ZNR staff have special time-travel devices. It's one of the perks that keep us working for free. :helena:
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Swim-ZNR
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I always thought Reid was some college student... :D
lol
Edited by Swim-ZNR, Apr 1 2011, 06:16 AM.
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JJEmpire-ZNR
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Awesome interview. ^_^ Reid's a very good staff member, I can tell.
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