Computer Information Systems degree - What Language?

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MrHood22

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I'm going to DeVry University for Computer Information Systems. I'm finishing up my General Ed classes now (math, Microsoft Office, critical thinking, ect) and i'm about to start my CIS classes in a few weeks. I'd like to atleast browse at some of the stuff ahead of time so some of the stuff looks familar when we do it in class.

I was wondering what languages I should learn (C? C++, Java, ect)?

I'm also going to minor in Web design (or network security), what should I learn for that?
 
Web design... Learn PHP, SQL, Java...

Anything else... C++. And I'll probably get castrated for this, but if you want an easier to learn and only for Windows, try Visual Basic. :) It's easy to pick up a book and just go with it with some good results.
 
Well i've done all that stuff in High school but I barely hit the tip of the iceberg. I hate VB so i'll probably look into C++.

Any good online resources?
 
If you are studying information systems you are most certainly going to mess with databases and SQL is a must for that. Its also a good assumption that you will need to make some web app sooner or later that displayes the data in the databases on a website and JAVA, PHP, ASP.NET are good languages to do that in.
 
If you just want to get ahead on your coursework, it seems like you should figure out what languages the courses will use, or what language courses you will be taking.
 
Basically some things are universal across products like sql, d/x html, css.

Then there's different ways to do the same thing like asp/php, vbscript/javascript, oracle/sql server.

Since you'll probably never write your own operating system or anything I'd look into vb.net oo model or realbasic (which can compile for mac/win/lin w/o some crap .net framework necessity)

There's a good line of demarcation between IT-style programming and computer programming. Since you're cis no computer programming is really necessary unless you're building a dbms or something (which is usually given to a cs graduate if I'm not mistaken).

I help a professor teach advanced web design and vb.net to bsit students and have been doing it for a few years. You should look into learning oracle perhaps and also some type of server-side database extraction method like asp/php. Once you combine that with html and css most other stuff is fluff like flash or javascript menus.

let me know if this helps.
 
C# for windows stuff and c++ for pretty much everything else. Eventially it's good to learn them all.
 
C++, Java and ASP.NET and you'll have a good foundation.

I find more web programming jobs needing ASP.NET more than PHP but if you can learn C++ you'll have the fundamentals down for PHP.

Also, learning basic SQL syntax would be wise.
 
I graduated DeVry in NJ with BS in CIS. When I was there, it was alot of SQL, some PHP, mostly Java and C++.

When I was leaving, they switched to C# from C++ and they added VB .Net. I think they still have PHP, they may have went to ASP. DeVry goes the direction of where ever the job market goes, so you're on a good path no matter what they offer.

I would defiantly learn SQL, because there is a lot of focus on it. If you learn the basics to C# and Java (core, swing, awt) you'll be ahead of your class.
 
SQL and PHP/HTML/CSS should cover the basics for web development. Perl/Python for scripting. C and Java should cover the rest. Scheme or Lisp if you're feeling adventurous. This should give you a broad enough base to learn any other language you may encounter. Thats the list for a general all-around developer, but I don't know if that will apply in your particular case.

For your major, I'd start off with SQL + PHP/HTML/CSS for the web design minor. I'm not sure exactly what CIS entails, but if it is IT related I'd recommend learning perl or python.
 
mikeblas said:
If you just want to get ahead on your coursework, it seems like you should figure out what languages the courses will use, or what language courses you will be taking.
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yup.

if you just want to broaden your base then look at the other suggestions.
 
i took C# class, CIS 162.....I hated every minute of it. that will be my last adventure into computer programming..

Ive taken VB 1 and 2..and that is a lot more tolerable.....

C# was such a fucking headache...im sure you can get through the first coarse as i did, And figure out if you like it from there
 
Basically it's like this: Java is the devil.

Other than that, look at Monster.com or Dice.com and see what's in demand and get an idea on compensation. You will have to know some PHP, but personally I would recommend going the .Net route for professional development. There are tons of jobs out there for .Net developers, even VB.Net, because most people don't need performance these days. It doesn't matter if an app takes 63 seconds to run some process (VB.Net), or 55 seconds (C++).

Businesses choose VB.Net (or .Net in general) because it's easy to keep development costs down, and because there's a whole certification industry attached to it that gives employees the opportunity to at least on paper better themselves through Microsoft Certifications.

There are plenty of PHP and Java programmers who make very comfortable salaries. In the end it will come down to personal preference when it comes to specialization. The language doesn't really matter that much once you know the programming basics in terms of data structures and algorithm development.

Some basic SQL will be needed for any type of work.
I would recommend ASP.Net & VB.Net or C#.Net over Python and Java (or god forbid C).

If you are not looking for web deveopment but application development, then good old C++ and even Fortran (for scientific computing) become good choices because performance starts to matter.
 
Thuleman said:
There are tons of jobs out there for .Net developers, even VB.Net, because most people don't need performance these days. It doesn't matter if an app takes 63 seconds to run some process (VB.Net), or 55 seconds (C++).
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You know what? I think you're quite right in the respect that in this day and age, performance is not quite as critical. What I mean to say is whether the algorithm you use is O(n) or O(3n) in the long run doesn't mean very much since it's in the same order and one way or another, hardware will catch up. What's important would be something like O(n) vs. O(n^3), which can make a big difference in the long run.
 
Thuleman said:
Basically it's like this: Java is the devil.
Click to expand...

I don't understand phrases like this. J2EE is pretty huge right now. As someone who has programmed in both .NET languages and Java I don't see a lot of problems with either, they have advantages and disadvantages.
 
Thuleman said:
Some basic SQL will be needed for any type of work.
I would recommend ASP.Net & VB.Net or C#.Net over Python and Java (or god forbid C).
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From my recent foray into the job market (here in Portland, OR) it seems that .NET and Java jobs are about tied for the number of available positions, with Perl, Python, PHP, etc taking up the rear.

OTOH, most of the Java/.NET jobs are short-term contract gigs with lage, faceless corporations where you're forced to go through some clueless tech staffing agency that'll round-file resume out the window unless you match their keyword search and can "4YR JAVA, 3 YEAR MSSQL, 4YEAR UNIX, 2 YEAR WEB DESIGN".
 
I would become an expert in SQL and get used to C# and Java then the rest you can learn rather simply with this out of the way.
 
MrHood22 said:
I'm going to DeVry University for Computer Information Systems. I'm finishing up my General Ed classes now (math, Microsoft Office, critical thinking, ect) and i'm about to start my CIS classes in a few weeks. I'd like to atleast browse at some of the stuff ahead of time so some of the stuff looks familar when we do it in class.

I was wondering what languages I should learn (C? C++, Java, ect)?

I'm also going to minor in Web design (or network security), what should I learn for that?
Click to expand...

I'm doing a somewhat similar program at a Canadian university....

... our program has different streams, including Telecom (Cisco prep), Apps Dev (mostly Java, some C++), Digital Media (HTML, PHP, Flash, etc), ERP (SAP), and Databases (SQL server).

The first two years give you a bit of a base in each department (classes on HTML, VB6, networking infrastructure) and then you specialize. I'm doing Apps Dev, and I went in with an understanding of VB, Java, and some C++ knowledge, plus some HTML, Flash, and networking experience (well I did all 4 CCNA semesters) under my belt.




If you want to do the web stuff, learn HTML and PHP.
If you want to do the database stuff, learn how to write SQL queries and understand DBMS'es
If you want to do Apps Dev, learn C++. Java will be a piece of cake by comparison.
 
Cyrilix said:
You know what? I think you're quite right in the respect that in this day and age, performance is not quite as critical. What I mean to say is whether the algorithm you use is O(n) or O(3n) in the long run doesn't mean very much since it's in the same order and one way or another, hardware will catch up. What's important would be something like O(n) vs. O(n^3), which can make a big difference in the long run.
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Depends on 'n'. At n = 50000, every iteration through all points becomes very noticeable.
 
wuggle said:
Depends on 'n'. At n = 50000, every iteration through all points becomes very noticeable.
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Sure does. And the order of the algorithm uses doesn't matter much when other things users notice are important -- like long startup times, or slow painting.
 
I went to devry as well and you really don't have a say in what programing you do. I got a mix of vb6, Java, C#, JSP, sql.
 
mikeblas said:
Sure does. And the order of the algorithm uses doesn't matter much when other things users notice are important -- like long startup times, or slow painting.
Click to expand...

I certainly agree, but aren't we exaggerating just a little? What I mean to say is, if you have a reasonable low-order algorithm, then at least you can be somewhat guaranteed that as time passes, your algorithm will only become more valuable.
 
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