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Prerequisites for Programming Courses

Do you know what you need to know?

Please check that you meet the prerequisites for a course before you attend it.

Incus Data courses are intensive: we cover a lot of material in a short time. So we are serious when we say that you need to have certain knowledge and skills before you attend the course.

Do you think you are a fast learner, so you can skip the basics? Do you think that you can save money by going straight to the more advanced course? If you think that, you are wrong.

Meeting the prerequisites for a course is compulsory, not optional. And it is as much for your benefit as it is for ours and for the other delegates attending the course.

You benefit the most from training which is intended for your current level of skill. When you learn to drive a car, you first learn the basics of steering and changing gears. You don't start with parallel parking and hand-brake turns. The same applies to all types of learning.

What happens if you ignore the prerequisites?

Here's what happens when you attend a course and you don't have the required knowledge:

• You are soon confused by the subject matter and the terminology. This will make you feel frustrated and inadequate. You will not enjoy the course, and may even (unfairly) blame the lecturer for this.
• You will learn much less on the course than you should. Every topic builds on the material already covered. So if you don't understand today's content, you will fall further behind tomorrow. As we cover more new information, you will fall further behind. You will never get a chance to catch up.

Our lecturers try to help everyone on the course. But it is unfair to the other delegates when you don't meet the prerequisites. Here's how it has a negative impact on them:

• We have to slow down the speed of the course for you. This may mean that we cover less material, or that we don't have time for more advanced content.
• The lecturer has to give more attention to the person who is not prepared. This means less time for the other delegates.

Good training is expensive. You waste your time and money if you attend a course that is too advanced for you.

We are very serious about prerequisites. If you do not meet the requirements, we reserve the right to move your booking to a more suitable course.

What are the prerequisites?

We set out the prerequisites for each course in the course outline. This varies from course to course. Here are some important rules::

• Most Incus Data courses need you to have previous programming experience. The only exceptions are:
  • Introduction to Programming.
  • HTML and CSS.
  • SQL Fundamentals.
• You must have Java programming experience before you attend other Java courses. That includes Advanced Java, Spring, JEE, Web Services or EJB.
• You must attend the Spring Core Development course before you attend the Spring MVC and Spring Boot course.
• You must have C programming experience before you attend the C++ programming course. Any C or C++ you did at university is not enough for our C++ course.
• You must have experience in the language before you attend the advanced course.
• You need to know HTML before you attend the JavaScript course.
• You need to know JavaScript before you attend the Angular or React courses.

What do we mean by experience in a language? You should know the concepts and syntax, and have at least 6 months work experience using it. If you attended a few classes at university or college, you are not ready.

Am I ready for a course?

If you are not sure if you you meet the requirements for a course, please contact us. One of our lecturers will talk to you, or we will arrange an assessment.