What programming language should I learn on my free time as a Network Engineer?

drew726

I'm almost done with WGU and I don't want to just slack off because I have a lot of downtime at work. Was wondering what scripting language I should learn and would be the most helpful if I want to become a Network Engineer and get into security one day. Leaning towards Python right now.

tr1x

I have the same goals as you and am about to finish WGU. I'm also starting to learn Python, I bought a book titled "Gray Hat Python" which teaches you how to use Python on the security sides of things. I think it's always good to know one programming language regardless of what position you have in IT and I'm finding that Python is a pretty common one especially when it comes to security.

DevilWAH

Personaly i would not worry to much about which one, jsut chose one of the well known ones, VB, powershell, Perl, Python, Bash, Java...

The list is endless and diferent compinies will want different things. In the last year i have played with Perl, VB, VBA, and most recently c#, all to achive the same outcome.

Perl version www.devilwah.com\switch

c# version see below.

All i can tell you is once you have lernt one scripting language, you will fine any others much quicker to pick up, really they are all the same with different syntax.

I like the power I find in c# now as you can create a stand alone application that does jsut about everthing (only issue is its .NET so windows only really). But I took the things I had lernt in perl at the start of the year and had taken me many weeks to learn, and droped them in to a c# application in a matter of days from knowing nothing of c#.

So as i say dont worry to much about the language you chose, chances are that the next company you move to will want a different one. Best advice is ask around you company what other people there use. Then pick the one that has some nice people already working with it. That way you have people to ask for help when you get stuck, you also find its a way to progress in the company. Showing interst in other peoples work and learning a new skill that will benifit them is always going to look good.

drew726

DevilWAH wrote: »

Personaly i would not worry to much about which one, jsut chose one of the well known ones, VB, powershell, Perl, Python, Bash, Java...

The list is endless and diferent compinies will want different things. In the last year i have played with Perl, VB, VBA, and most recently c#, all to achive the same outcome.

Perl version www.devilwah.com\switch

c# version see below.

All i can tell you is once you have lernt one scripting language, you will fine any others much quicker to pick up, really they are all the same with different syntax.

I like the power I find in c# now as you can create a stand alone application that does jsut about everthing (only issue is its .NET so windows only really). But I took the things I had lernt in perl at the start of the year and had taken me many weeks to learn, and droped them in to a c# application in a matter of days from knowing nothing of c#.

So as i say dont worry to much about the language you chose, chances are that the next company you move to will want a different one. Best advice is ask around you company what other people there use. Then pick the one that has some nice people already working with it. That way you have people to ask for help when you get stuck, you also find its a way to progress in the company. Showing interst in other peoples work and learning a new skill that will benifit them is always going to look good.

Cool thanks. I use to actually be a comp sci major before joining WGU so I've done C++ and Java but I kind of hated programming.

pham0329

I agree with DevilWAH. When learning programming, don't focus so much on the syntax, but learn the concept behind it. Once you understand OOP, loops, the basic if/then statement, it's just a matter of different syntax.

ChronusMaximus

As everyone has pointed out once you learn the basics of programming you will be able to pick up other languages quicker. I agree that everyone in IT should at least be familiar with a programming language. With that said I am a newbie to programming but I am currently trying to learn Ruby which has a big following lately. There seems to be a bunch of resources and a pretty helpful community as well. The other two languages I would suggest are Python and TCL.

Python because there is a ton of material on it. There are several courses such as MIT OpenCourseware and Google's Code University along with several free e-books. From my own searching it looks like it can be applied to anything from Computer Science theory, networking or even web application.

I mention TCL because I have found some material on TCL being included in Cisco IOS but do not all of the pros and cons of it but it would be interesting to know since it seems it would be included in most IOS versions as well as unix and linux.
Cisco IOS Scripting with Tcl - Cisco Systems

As I have been stumbling through learning programming I have found github a helpful resource. Sharing code on github and looking at other programs has helped me to figure out how to do certain tasks. It is also helpful to find open-source code so you do not reinvent the wheel when trying to accomplish a task.

I would also recommend learning a version control system such as git. It only takes about an hour to learn the basics and you can use it to version control your code and roll back which has saved me a lot of frustration while learning. It also works with router configs!

Hope this helps. Programming is fun and there is always something new to learn.

drew726

I actually learned all about OOP, sorts, etc in college. Just haven't decided on a language to focus my efforts on.

DevilWAH

drew726 wrote: »

I actually learned all about OOP, sorts, etc in college. Just haven't decided on a language to focus my efforts on.

Unfortunalty you will never get an answer on this question, we each have our favriots, and all have there strenths and weaknesses. There is no "entry" level language. I suggest first find a project where you need to do soem scripting, and then look for a language to use.

VB Script is a nice basic scripting language, but no point in learning it if it if you are going to end up working on Linux boxes all the time. Most languages are aimed at areas of technology. You need to know where you will be using it and for waht, before you can make an informed discssion about what one to learn.

Stackoverflow is a great resorce for scripting / programing.

Turgon

A bit of perl and shell scripting. Routers even run kron these days. I just wish I had the time to set aside to get into it. Automation, tooling and monitoring is a large part of network engineering these days. Fortunately I have people that can take my requirements and get it done as Im too busy to pull it together. Not my job anyway.

powerfool

I would pick one that is likely to assist you in your duties. As others have mentioned, I would choose from the following: PERL (especially if you use UNIX-type operating systems), PowerShell, VBScript, or DOS batch scripting. PowerShell is the most current of the last three listed, but is more to pickup than DOS batch scripting.

I used to be a programming before I got into network/systems work. The best folks that I have worked with have all had some programming skills. It assists in your troubleshooting because you have an idea of how something could work... plus it's logic and so is troubleshooting. Plus, I make tools for myself to use and I share them with others when I think it will have some decent value and little chance of them coming back with suggestions (I just don't have time for them).