IST vs. ICT: Which IT Course is Right for You?

[Hyperreality]

I am very interested in informatino technology. It is one of the most fascinating and fastest growin indsutry in the world. I am considering to take it next year when I go to university.

Currently I am lingering whether I should take the Informatino System Technology courses of the university or taking Information and Communication Technology course offer by a local polytechnic. What is the difference between IST and ICT?

I am planning to do start my own business in internet business when I finish the course so which of the two courses would suit me for? And what kind of preparation should I make before taking the course? I only have a brief knowledge over HTML and Python.

Any suggestion is appreciated.

 

[dduardo]

1. Install apache and use mod_python to write server side web programs. If your going to be doing any type of professional web programming you'll need to know how to do this. Python isn't the only server side web programming language. You have CGI, perl, PHP, etc.

2. Learn some type of unix environment. You can go with some *BSD or you can use Linux. Learning how to setup DNS, FTP, SSH and other services will come in handy.

The more you know about networking and the internet, the better.

 

[Hyperreality]

Thanks dduardo.

 

[Hyperreality]

I noticed you mentioned about installing mod_python? Can you tell me what is it? Currently I've downloaded Python 2.3.3 from python.org. The program has IDLE and Python Command line but it doesn't have mod_python. Can I get it from python.org as well?

I also noticed there is post on Java Tutorial, would it help to learn Java as well?

 

[dduardo]

http://www.modpython.org/

I would concentrate on one thing at a time. If you want to do more advanced things, you should learn mysql or postgresql databases and incorporate them into your server-side software. In order to use mysql with python you need to download this: (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=22307)

Personally, I don't like Java for web stuff because it forces the user to have jre installed, it is slow as heck, and crashes all to often.

 

[syano]

What kind of business do you plan on opening?

You may want to find out if there are any trends in the area you plan on opening your business in. That is if a chunk of your market will be in a local geographical area. For instance, in Atlanta it is often easier to sell a Microsoft solution than another manufacture’s solution even if the other solution is better… because Atlanta is so gung-ho about Microsoft. Don’t get me wrong, Microsoft certainly does have some of the best solutions out on the market, but not all of them

At any rate, I guess to answer your questions about the best class to take would depend on if your main focus is to make a lot of money in your business or if its more about doing what you like with IT.

 

[Hyperreality]

I presume I need to grasp python before I can start learning mod_python with apache.

 

[dduardo]

Yes, well you said you had some experience with python, therefore I suggested it. If you've really not done much with python, then I suggest doing PHP instead. It has a lot more built in functions that are useful to web development.