In the age of fast CPU’s and mature development platforms, will C++ see its’ use slowly diminish over time…
Oh, how the mighty have fallen…
C++: a programming language of immense speed and power has always been the poster child for learning to be a programmer. It’s still used in video games (for it’s processing speed) and other programs (and some apps), but all that power/speed does come at a price. Well, more of trade-off, really… the programming language is notoriously difficult and time consuming to write out [program], and paying programmers to write out such a time-consuming language can be expensive to a fledgling company or even a huge corporation in the red.
Now credit where credit’s due: C++ Is. A. Beast (in every way), and it’s not going anywhere any time soon but, “…it was created 30 years, 40 years ago; something like that… it was created at a time when computers were far far less powerful. The hardware was far less powerful so we needed to design programming languages that really took advantage of the limited resources in terms of memory and it terms of CPU.” With hardware becoming more and more powerful, other less…hardcore, let’s call it…languages have emerged that take advantage of those capabilities that come standard (compare the standard hardware setup of a computer in 1995 and 2010? Heck, 2005 even!) and in turn offer more flexibility with time and framework.
This video goes way more in depth about it (it also starts off trippy in a “Little Big Planet” kinda way). Enjoy the effects, the content and the GoPro magic…
…Fair warning: this may get a little depressing but it’s worth it; promise…
Chances are at one point or another you’ve felt the itch. That feeling of wanting a change of [job] scenery, maybe even a new career path. Some of us grab opportunity by the horns and just make that switch, others make a more calculated move that usually involves taking some courses, making some phone calls and waiting for the right time to jump and land on the “terra-firma” of a new career.
Much to the utter amazement of the last group of us who unfortunately feel like there’s no chance; maybe we feel like we’re under-educated, maybe our present job has sucked all the motivation out of us or maybe we’re just scared to fail and fall behind on payments (mortgage,bills,etc.).
I’d imagine the issue becomes especially worse when you’re looking into technology jobs, like a software developer. Our insecurities about our own skill and ability to learn can be almost crippling. We may even ask ourselves what are real benefits of investing myself in this field? Not to mention the time/energy commitment and how much money are we really going to make?
Short (and admittedly somewhat vague) answer: lots of things. But right after job satisfaction, let’s face it: it’s money. How much will do I stand to make? Check out this video and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised…
Also, if you’re wondering how stable a software development job is, check out this page.
The good news is, the more time you invest in learning new skills and competencies, the more money you can charge knowing that you are fully worth that amount <the more you learn, the more you earn>. So get out there and absorb all the knowledge you can. It may take time, it may take more energy than you thought, but it’s worth it and so are you!
