Starting with Git

Git is a distributed revision control system. This means that git will track the changes in any directory you tell it to. Starting out with git you will only need a handful of commands. I will try to explain each of these to the best of my knowledge.

Git quick steps. (here we go)

Step one - move to the directory(folder) that you would like to start using git in.

Step two - type in the command git init . This will set the origin (starting point) for the tracking of your directory.

Step three - This is the step that you do your work. Like creating files or directories.

Step four - Now we check that git noticed any changes you have made since step two. At this step we type in the command git status. This will show us that git noticed the changes.

Step five - This step we will add our changed files to the staging area. We do this by typing the command git add [your filename]. This stages your changes to get ready for the last step.

Step six - In this final step we will use the following command to update the file we changed: git commit -m 'description of what was done'

Now we have started git to track any changes and completed one cycle of the git work flow of modify files > stage files > commit files.

Quick Recap of commands used:
Step one - change to directory that git is needed.
Step two - git init
Step three - make your changes
Step four - git status to see changed files
Step five - git add [filename] to stage changes
Step six - git commit -m 'description'
Step seven - rinse and repeat.

Next post I will explain how to set up a repo on GitHub and how to link it up with your work.

Keep coding friends,
Ryan Smyth

Focus

I have been teaching myself to code on and off over the last year. I have followed many tutorials only to get hung up on one little part and then go searching for the next one that promises to teach you everything you need to know. I have come to realize that the only constant variable in all these tutorials is me. Truthfully that is the best thing. I have learned that we are all capable of changing ourselves and have the ability to learn any skill that we truly desire.

 I started my working career as wide eyed electrical apprentice 17 years ago. I remember the feeling back then being overwhelmed with all the things I didn't understand and know about being an electrician. Back then I would have never thought that I could become a real electrician. Even after I became a master electrician I still never thought that I was truly qualified of the title. Recently I have been guiding a lot of new people on their quest to become an electrician and it really helps me see how far I've come from the days of not understanding how to wire for a simple light switch.

 I have noticed that my current path to becoming a software developer is a lot like the old tried and true path I learned becoming an electrician. It starts with learning a whole lot of things you do not think are connected and then the switch is flipped and it all comes together. Just like when I was first learning the ins and outs of becoming an electrician, i have come to see that only hard work and focus will get you through it to the end.

 I have learned a lot over the last year in my self studies but now it is time to commit and turn my focus to becoming a true coder. I am now starting my first week at DaVinci Coders. This is a 14 week immersive course teaching the foundations of a junior Ruby on Rails Developer. After a lot of research I truly believe that this will be the beginning of flipping on the switch in programming that I have been searching for. This blog will be updated weekly with all the things I am learning at DaVinci Coders. I know I will miss some items, but I will do my best to document the skills it takes to become a junior Ruby on Rails developer.

Keep Coding My Friends,

Ryan Smyth

10-13-2014

I haven't posted in a bit. I have been hard at work learning to code.

I have worked my way through HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I was even able to make a simple mock up site with HTML and CSS. The course told me to use the bootstrap framework but I found that I could do it faster by doing the CSS my self. I showed it to my brother-in-law who said it looked good. I think he was just being nice.

I joined at local meet up group for Ruby on Rails. The next meeting is on October 22. I haven't decided if I will go yet. I tend to get a little shy as my daughter says in groups.

On a highly positive note. My father is letting me use one of my mom's old MacBooks to learn on. I've only had it a couple of days and I'm already up to speed on the Unix command line and version control with git. As soon as I get some stuff in my GitHub account I will post a link. It is amazing how much more sense the tutorials make when using a Mac. Also with it being one of my mom's it feels like she is right there pushing me to learn more.

-Ryan Smyth

9.30.2014 Day 2

I'm following the road map laid out in "No Degree, No Problem" by Joshua Kemp. This guy really impressed me with his goal to become a self-taught developer in 8 months. He started out shoeing horses and now is a junior developer. Amazing!

I hit a snag in the first step of the plan which was to buy a Mac Book. So instead my wonderful wife let me steal her old laptop and replace the OS with a Linux OS. Hopefully this wont create any issues. I've never really used a Linux system before.

I was able to get Ruby, Rails, Sublime Text and Git all set up and running correctly without doing to much Goggling. Then I  spent the last two days learning the command line.

Using the command line takes me back to when I was in elementary school and we used the old Apple IIe's. Man did I love making that triangle move around the screen. It blew my mind that you could type all these simple commands and get the triangle to move any which way.

Well tomorrow I start following a pretty hard course from a developer boot camp called Epicodus to start my journey to learning web development with RoR.

I am also looking to join a couple of Ruby meetup groups. Hopefully they wont notice my inexperience right away and I can learn a lot just hanging out with some developers.

-Ryan

9-28-2014- Day 0

My hope for this blog is to help hold me accountable in my journey to learn to program.

I plan to post at least two times a week on the progress that I am making.

About Me

I am a Master Electrician with 17 years experience and live in Lakewood, CO. I have an amazing and supportive wife and two daughters who are 4 and 2 years old.

How I got to wanting to learn to code

After 17 years of being an electrician I felt that I was missing something in my career. I felt that after all that I had accomplished and learned as an electrician was coming to a dead end. After talking with my wife about this felling we decided I should take the leap and go back to school to become an electrical engineer. 

To do this I really needed to brush up on my math. I joined a site to complete some tutorials in calculus. This site also had some videos on Java programming. I have always loved computers and having the newest technology available. I decided one night to give it a shot.When I made "Hello World!" pop up I was completely hooked and haven't been able to stop thinking about programming since. 

Luckily I have a genius brother in law who has a CS degree and graciously lets me ask him all my questions. If he doesn't know he will find an answer for me as soon as possible.

My Plan

Work my way through all the lessons at Epicodus, then dig deeper into Ruby on Rails and JavaScript. I am starting to check out some meetup groups also, but am nervous being so far out of my comfort zone around people in real life.

-Ryan Smyth