- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Learning programming help/advice
Posted on 8/9/15 at 6:15 pm
Posted on 8/9/15 at 6:15 pm
(no message)
This post was edited on 7/4/21 at 9:35 pm
6
Posted on 8/9/15 at 6:34 pm to Upperdecker
I'd imagine databases are the most important tools for biologists.
Posted on 8/9/15 at 7:14 pm to tom
Yes they are. What would be a good programming language to learn for manipulating databases?
Posted on 8/9/15 at 7:38 pm to Upperdecker
It depends on the type of database, but learn any sort of sql and you will not be too far off.
Posted on 8/9/15 at 9:05 pm to Upperdecker
I always suggest python. It's a great beginner's language, but is also very powerful and is used in many fields. There are many (many!) packages available, including several for science, engineering, statistics, and database work.
Posted on 8/9/15 at 9:33 pm to Korkstand
yea i agree with kork. i have very little experience with programming, but i have messed around with python a bit and found it to be the most straight forward language
Posted on 8/9/15 at 9:49 pm to Upperdecker
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/18/15 at 7:29 am
Posted on 8/9/15 at 9:55 pm to Upperdecker
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/18/15 at 7:29 am
Posted on 8/9/15 at 10:00 pm to Korkstand
The most striking thing to me about Python is that whitespace is significant, which is not the case for any of the languages I know. I think I would actually like it if I were to ever learn it, having written so many braces, begin/end, etc.
Posted on 8/9/15 at 11:13 pm to bigblake
quote:
SQL is very important, but I feel that it's not a true programming language
It certainly can be if you string multiple queries together. And PL/SQL is just as procedural as they come.
quote:
Plus if you wanted to learn SQL you'd need a database to start
Easily fixed. You can download Oracle for free and populate it with data from one of the many books on the topic.
Posted on 8/9/15 at 11:40 pm to foshizzle
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/18/15 at 7:29 am
Posted on 8/10/15 at 12:43 am to Upperdecker
quote:
I'll be starting a masters in biomedical engineering
Python. Pick up some R if you can, and do whatever you can to get some matlab experience.
Here's a Python course from OCW
Here's the EDX version
I've done both of those -- they're good.
Here's R from EDX
I haven't done this one, it just popped up when I searched EDX for 'R'.
Python is heavily used in science. Web programming (php, LAMP, HTML/CSS) is absolutely irrelevant to your academic path. Do it if you think it's fun, but if you want a leg up on science, get python, R, Matlab, and / or some introductory computer science theory (language agnostic).
Honestly, I'd be amazed if most of those aren't required for your BME masters.
Posted on 8/10/15 at 6:49 am to tokenBoiler
Excellent advice everyone. I'll definitely start with Python then and have SQL in mind for the future
This is probably a down the road issue, but if I work on this for a while and get to the point where I'd like to add it to my résumé/job skills, how would I go about doing that? Is programming something that you just put on your résumé as a skill, does your prospective employer test you, or is there a common certification I could get? And I understand this could absolutely vary from field to field and employer to employer, so just tell me what you know from your experience
This is probably a down the road issue, but if I work on this for a while and get to the point where I'd like to add it to my résumé/job skills, how would I go about doing that? Is programming something that you just put on your résumé as a skill, does your prospective employer test you, or is there a common certification I could get? And I understand this could absolutely vary from field to field and employer to employer, so just tell me what you know from your experience
Posted on 8/10/15 at 7:17 am to bigblake
quote:
he'd first need to figure out how to install and populate a database, likely using the command line
Installing Oracle is like installing anything else, you just download and run the install package. There's no need to tweak anything for a basic installation. After that, scripts to populate a database are usually provided by book authors, just copy and paste. Easy as can be.
That isn't the way to set up a production database with security and multiple users of course, but just to set up a learning environment is quite simple. There isn't anything to keep secure, so go ahead and use that sysdba user.
This post was edited on 8/10/15 at 7:22 am
Posted on 8/10/15 at 7:18 am to Upperdecker
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/18/15 at 7:29 am
Posted on 8/10/15 at 7:42 am to foshizzle
I cannot stress enough to start with SQL.
Every single company out there has data, lots of data. If you don't know how to handle that data you're going to be useless with any language you know.
Stick with Microsoft stack as it is most commonly used across the industry.
You can download SQL Express for free and populate it with the Adventure Works database and you will have all the free data you need to play with.
SQL Express
Adventure works
Microsoft Virtual Academy
Every single company out there has data, lots of data. If you don't know how to handle that data you're going to be useless with any language you know.
Stick with Microsoft stack as it is most commonly used across the industry.
You can download SQL Express for free and populate it with the Adventure Works database and you will have all the free data you need to play with.
SQL Express
Adventure works
Microsoft Virtual Academy
Posted on 8/10/15 at 7:45 am to bigblake
quote:
SQL is really just writing queries to the database, which can be very complicated.
quote:
I feel that it's not a true programming language
This couldn't be farther from the truth. It is both a programming language and it is MUCH more than writing queries to access data.
There's that whole Extract Transform Load (ETL) layer where, you know, 90% of all data transformations occur. That's all though
Posted on 8/10/15 at 5:47 pm to Spock's Eyebrow
quote:
The most striking thing to me about Python is that whitespace is significant, which is not the case for any of the languages I know. I think I would actually like it if I were to ever learn it, having written so many braces, begin/end, etc.
If you think about it, usually when you use braces you are going to indent everything inside anyway for readability. Python just did away with the redundancy and further enhanced readability.
Posted on 8/10/15 at 6:39 pm to BoogaBear
I'd say Python is a good starter, but I agree with Booga that there's a good chance you'll get more out of starting with SQL. I'd do some super light reading on logical and physical database design before diving head first into writing simple SQL queries against the adventure works sample database.
Best of luck on continuing your education.
Best of luck on continuing your education.
Posted on 8/10/15 at 8:40 pm to Spock's Eyebrow
quote:
Python is that whitespace is significant, which is not the case for any of the languages I know
Go learn some Coffeescript and launch your future in the mother of all languages.
Page 1 of 2
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News