Software Development major?

I am majoring in Software Development and the language they are teaching is Java and I think they teach PHP but i haven't got that far yet. I am just worried about getting a job afterwards, I understand most of it, arrays and random numbers is kinda killing me right now though, it seems like the stuff we do in class is so far off what programming in the real world would be like, seems like all we do is create calculators. I want to learn Java very bad, i think programming is interesting, am i getting shorthanded at this school or is it like this everywhere?

Software Development major?
Most universities these days have moved over to Object Oriented programming in Java. At University of Texas, intro classes are in Java, and functional languages are introduced and taught in some upper division classes.





I find PHP to be very useful, but I cannot see it as a great primary education language. Java is more complex and arguably much more difficult than PHP.





There are exceptions, Oklahoma State teaches C#, but they also lost their accreditation in Computer Science...





Also, if your school only offers a degree in Software Development, and not Computer Science, you're probably getting short handed. Any intro class is going to be far off from what is done in the real world. You have to learn algebra before you learn calculus and physics. Great knowledge of Java can get you a job, but employers are also going to be looking at your degree and where its from.
Reply:I would ask your professor or the dean of the school.


There are all kinds of programming from games, to web sites, to Windows applications, to XML web services and many more. Each of these requires a different set of tools and skills. If you add to that the skills you need to write/support and maintain business programs, you have a lot more to learn. Over the years I've written a dozen books (some are used as textbooks) that cover only a small fraction of the stuff you'll need to know to be employable.


In any case, I suggest you start writing real apps. Create your own language and write a compiler, an interpreter and perhaps an OS to run your language. Build your own web site--even if only on your own system. Build an accounting system to manage your finances. When you're ready for work, you'll have a lot of examples and experience to help you get the job.





hth