Both systems have their pros and cons. Community college is much less expensive, and in many cases, short-term and low-unit courses and certificates can be attained in a year or less. The issue becomes finding a capable CC that has a solid curriculum for the major/area of study you’re interested in. Programming is pretty abundant in the CC system here in SoCal, and many of the colleges here have options for single courses, low-unit certificates, but again, it’s a matter of researching the colleges individually. Make some calls, email department/program heads, and do a couple of field trips to get an idea of what you’re investing in…after all, you’re talking a considerable amount of time and effort.