Today I decided to go on a mission: I’m going to slowly learn enough programming to build a simple user based web application from scratch, on my own. The framework of choice is Ruby on Rails. I’ve heard many good things about it and its active community will surely be a supportive boon to my learning experience.
Why am I on this mission? Well, for starters, I believe knowing just a tiny amount of programming will make me a better web designer.
My casual dabbling with HTML, CSS and Javascript (admittedly hack-stabbing at js) has already helped me immensely when working with professional front-end engineers and programmers. The more I know, the better I am equipped to engage in technical discussions on projects with specialized engineers and programmers.
Knowing web programming will also empower me in prototyping, making and shipping my own ideas in a self-stustainable way. Being able to plan, design, program and even copywrite my personal (and simple) web projects without external aid is a very exciting thought. That doesn’t mean I won’t work with people ever again. I love a good collaboration as much as the next guy and I am a of the belief that specialization is better than being spread too thin. But sometimes you just want to get things out fast and entirely your way.
It won’t happen in a day. I will slowly keep at it. I’ll most likely never be a professional programmer or a front-end engineer. And I don’t really want to. I leave that to my super talented and geeky friends. But it’s good to be familiar with it.
I will post updates on my learning curve and project status in the near future, most likely starting with Ruby resources I’ve found useful.
