Learn Protocols

For someone first beginning the journey into IT or computing, in any discipline, the sheer amount of specialised knowledge that one needs to know can seem incredibly daunting. There is a lot to learn, and some of it really is complicated, but there is something that one can do to make the early steps easier: learn protocols.

Much of what people see in computers is built on frameworks, and those usually have a number of common, standard libraries and protocols. HTTP is a prime example; it can be really easy to make a quick web site with Google Sites or Wordpress, but it can be just as easy to write up a dirty file and serve it up with Apache. By seeing the series of steps that make a simple site, using the base protocols, it is easier to distinguish all the other layers that make up modern, complext sites, by adding in one at a time things like PHP or Ruby.

Base pieces are less intimidating that big, monolithic and complex structures. It also helps in troubleshooting: knowing why you can’t connect because DNS is not configured properly gives a clear, logical progression to the process, instead of being dead in the water. Educating oneself on even just the base concepts of protocols, nothing overly specific, can save hours of frustration and confusing in the future!

Thanks for reading, be sure to stay tuned for more like this.