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A journey into the programming realm
The point of no return
Leaping into the unknown
We live in a world where the yellow brick road has many forks and can take us on many incredible journeys. This is my story as well, as this is how I met Robert, whom I personally thank for being a great leader, and for the very well deserved effort he has put into writing this book.
This is what this book is all about. It is a journey, an expedition, which brings you closer to the realm of programming. Robert succeeds to sketch a ladder, which will take you from the most basic computer science knowledge to some of the most advanced topics in this industry. The vast experience Robert has and his outstanding work ethics make him an excellent professional, and the book comes as a natural consequence in which he passes this information to everyone interested in this domain. The book delivers accurate information; it contains many well-designed exercises, which will sharpen the practical skills and the theory aforementioned.
I veraciously believe that every professional out there, and not only, has something positive to gain by reading this book. Working with Robert got me to know him closer and I am honored to be the one writing these words and to be the first person who read this book.
—Andrei Toader
Who am I? I'm just a guy who really loves programming.
I've started taking interest into computers at a young age, and from that point, I knew what I wanted to do in life. Coding gets you as close as you can be to the feeling of creating something out of nothing. Your creativity will bring life to anything that you want, in any way that you wish.
I've read dozens of books, worked in both small companies and big corporations, and used multiple technologies and programming languages. I wrote code, I wrote bugs, fixed bugs, and improved myself and my code over time. And yet, I'm still learning.
That's the most important advice I can give you - keep learning and you will become a better person and a better programmer throughout your life.
Most (or all) books teach you about one specific subject. I'm not here to do that. I'm here to show you what programming actually means, with good things and bad things, with happiness when the code compiles, to wanting to throw the laptop over the window after 10 hours of debugging and not figuring it out. It's all part of the process.
During my transition from a junior to a senior developer, I've noticed that there's so much information out there - which is great. The problem is, it's too much to filter the good one from the bad one. You probably don't know where to start, you're not sure what to read, you don't know if a blog post / video / book / course is relevant to you, and so on. Maybe you don't even know whether you want to write web apps or games. How can you make the right decision for you unless you know all your options?
My family had the biggest impact on my life, as they taught me love, manners, respect, and so much more which defined who I am. There are no words that can express my gratitude for them, and for the effort they put into raising me and making me grow as a person.
I’m eternally grateful to my university teacher, Mr. Nicolaie Popescu-Bodorin - I wouldn’t have been who I am now without his guidance. He saw the potential in me and believed in me even before I did, and taught me about the discipline and importance of work for achieving success in life.
To Mr. Florin Balanescu, who was my mentor and who was always there to help me during my early programming days – Under his guidance, I gained a bit of confidence that I am capable of achieving my dream of becoming a software developer.
Special thanks goes to Mr. Andrei Toader, the early reviewer of this book, who took his time to read and improve the quality of it, and to Ms. Teodora Chinde, which did an extraordinary job with the book graphics.
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