I have to learn programming next year at university. Because I'm doing physical sciences and everything is done on computers.
I'm sort of looking forward to it.
I'm sort of looking forward to it.
Learning my first programming language :-D what should I learn?
- Thread starter Annoying Turd
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I would say start with C or C++. Sure pointers are annoying as hell when you first start out, but they do get better and you'll most likely end up a better programmer for the experience. I started with C++ and I feel as though it made learning other languages significantly easier. In my mind it's like going from Latin to one of the Romance languages, except in this case Latin is still widely used.
Okay, listen to me. For a person completely new to programming and for a person who needs to learn the basics, you typically learn to start with DELPHI because it's very easy to learn and it's sole purpose in life is to teach people the foundations of programming.
That's what I learned to start with and it didn't give ME any trouble at all.
Seriously, Delphi is for the BEGINNERS, and that's what you are, a beginner.
With it, you can write basic programs such as a program that calculates how many packets of sherbet you owe someone for $8.00 if Sherbet costs $3.50
Just a basic one, but again delphi is DESIGNED for teaching programming to beginners. That's the PURPOSE and that's what most programmers start with and has been for years.
But then again, why listen to me? Why not listen to one of the other hundreds of replies? What do I know about programming?
Hmmmmph.
That's what I learned to start with and it didn't give ME any trouble at all.
Seriously, Delphi is for the BEGINNERS, and that's what you are, a beginner.
With it, you can write basic programs such as a program that calculates how many packets of sherbet you owe someone for $8.00 if Sherbet costs $3.50
Just a basic one, but again delphi is DESIGNED for teaching programming to beginners. That's the PURPOSE and that's what most programmers start with and has been for years.
But then again, why listen to me? Why not listen to one of the other hundreds of replies? What do I know about programming?
Hmmmmph.
Brainfuck [http://4mhz.de/bfdev.html] is an amazing programming language to start with! It has everything you'll ever need, namely text!
Seriously, though, I'd go with Java. This guy [thenewboston.com] has a bunch of free tutorials on the subject, so I'd recommend them.
Seriously, though, I'd go with Java. This guy [thenewboston.com] has a bunch of free tutorials on the subject, so I'd recommend them.
start with pascal! it works really well and is similar to many other languages... or if you're going down the visual basic path, at least try learning to QBASIC first!
I would personally recommend C# and C++, the two are practically interchangeable, are widely used in the industry and will show results quickly using Visual Studio. You can then move into Java which really isn't so different. I'm learning C++ at the moment, going through it slowly in preparation for the course I'm going on in September. If it's for games (I say this because we're on a games forum) then C++ for definite, that's the staple of the industry. If you're going into app development for mobile platforms then Java and XML for Android & C# for iPhone.
PS - Girls won't like you for how leet you are at coding, only the awesome ones do, and they're usually taken by guys who aren't sad enough to post on the Escapist forums. Harsh, but true.
PS - Girls won't like you for how leet you are at coding, only the awesome ones do, and they're usually taken by guys who aren't sad enough to post on the Escapist forums. Harsh, but true.
I won't deny some self-taught programmers are excellent, I also won't deny that I had to teach myself a vast amount of things in the course of my degree.The_root_of_all_evil said:
However, there is a strong and hard difference between someone who undersatnds Big-O notation and how to write efficient algorithms and someone who doesn't. Most of the self-taught people I see know little of algorithms and generally write inefficient code. There is a difference between someone who knows when a problem is NP-Complete and how to prove it is and someone who can't. There is a difference between someone who has written their own context switching simulator to understand what happens in a context switch and someone who just uses monitors for haphazard threading because a tutorial told them to.
They are programmers in that they know how to make a program work but they are not computer scientists because they seem to care so little for the actual theory of programming. Hell, there are people at my work who have been programming for 20 years and have no fucking idea what i'm talking about when I mention stack vs. heap memory allocation in C++; all they know is if you use a new use a delete. What they don't understand is how and when is the best time to use this and what using those keywords actually does at a hardware level.
Actually yes start with Visual Basic, not those fancy built up versions, just the basic language, I was going to suggest something that is far easier to use(Ruby) but that language is so flexible you may be too confused with others.
Some tips:
- really learn to understand the basic things (variables, types, functions, classes,...)
- more tutorials are always better, everyone takes things a different route and usually doesn't cover everything
- always reinforce what you learned right away, write some useful code of your own to see how things work, then change and combine it a little to see how things react
- put a couple of reliable tutorials in your bookmarks (you wont remember everything first time around)
- programming skill sadly does not impress girls, maybe the money you make off it will, but not the skill itself
Some tips:
- really learn to understand the basic things (variables, types, functions, classes,...)
- more tutorials are always better, everyone takes things a different route and usually doesn't cover everything
- always reinforce what you learned right away, write some useful code of your own to see how things work, then change and combine it a little to see how things react
- put a couple of reliable tutorials in your bookmarks (you wont remember everything first time around)
- programming skill sadly does not impress girls, maybe the money you make off it will, but not the skill itself
If you want an easy introduction, start out with either Visual Basic, or Lingo. Both will basically do anything if you ask them nicely enough.
When you have a little more confidence Java is generally accepted to be one of the more useful languages to learn...
However if you wanna use this to pick up chicks, might i suggest learning the Guitar insted?
Captcha: oratorical dintiou
When you have a little more confidence Java is generally accepted to be one of the more useful languages to learn...
However if you wanna use this to pick up chicks, might i suggest learning the Guitar insted?
Captcha: oratorical dintiou
As many others have already said, the C-based languages are commonly used and often required for higher-level comp-sci classes.
Here is a nice tutorial for C Sharp: http://www.csharp-station.com/Tutorial.aspx
Once you've downloaded an integrated development environment (Microsoft's free express version can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/visual-csharp-express), you're ready to start experimenting with code. That's the real beauty of computer science: the lab is your computer. Don't be afraid to comment out lines or add new ones. As a matter of fact, do so often to gain an understanding of what you are saying to the compiler.
Other tips:
1. Don't gloss over "boring" information in a tutorial. If it's included, then it is probably important.
2. Don't opt for the easy way out. Sure, vectors are nice, but you ought to be able to use arrays (essentially vectors with restrictions) as well.
3. Challenge yourself. You'll likely find that you learn the most from what you struggle to do. Always picking easy projects will set you up for failure when you are tasked with anything even mildly outside your artificial boundaries.
4. Become a part of the community. Need help? There's more than likely a forum for that. And once you've learned how to do something, share that knowledge, however limited, with others who seek it. You'll retain the information better.
5. Study consistently. As with anything, practice is essential. Failure to work with and build upon information will make progress slow and difficult at best.
6. Don't forget the semicolon...okay, you're going to forget the semicolon and you're going to hate yourself for spending hours trying to "fix" functional code. It's painful, but we all learn eventually.
Cheers!
Here is a nice tutorial for C Sharp: http://www.csharp-station.com/Tutorial.aspx
Once you've downloaded an integrated development environment (Microsoft's free express version can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/visual-csharp-express), you're ready to start experimenting with code. That's the real beauty of computer science: the lab is your computer. Don't be afraid to comment out lines or add new ones. As a matter of fact, do so often to gain an understanding of what you are saying to the compiler.
Other tips:
1. Don't gloss over "boring" information in a tutorial. If it's included, then it is probably important.
2. Don't opt for the easy way out. Sure, vectors are nice, but you ought to be able to use arrays (essentially vectors with restrictions) as well.
3. Challenge yourself. You'll likely find that you learn the most from what you struggle to do. Always picking easy projects will set you up for failure when you are tasked with anything even mildly outside your artificial boundaries.
4. Become a part of the community. Need help? There's more than likely a forum for that. And once you've learned how to do something, share that knowledge, however limited, with others who seek it. You'll retain the information better.
5. Study consistently. As with anything, practice is essential. Failure to work with and build upon information will make progress slow and difficult at best.
6. Don't forget the semicolon...okay, you're going to forget the semicolon and you're going to hate yourself for spending hours trying to "fix" functional code. It's painful, but we all learn eventually.
Cheers!
Python -> Java -> C++ (Or C)
Following that progression would gradually expose you to more and more programming features. Ones to the left take care of more stuff for you so you can focus on the basics. Plus you don't tear your hair out due to accidental segfaults.
Following that progression would gradually expose you to more and more programming features. Ones to the left take care of more stuff for you so you can focus on the basics. Plus you don't tear your hair out due to accidental segfaults.
C really is not advisable for a complete newbie trying to learn on his own, if he does we may find him hanging from the ceiling in a couple of days.CyberSkull said:
Once someone firmly understand programing concepts C is a must as is Assembler, but until then he needs an easy entry point.
I would say python.
Easy to learn, easy(ish) to make complex things.
You get to see results immediately, and can change small things very easily to see what they do.
Very basic syntax, so a good introduction to programming in general.
Making interfaces can be quite infuriating, but some additional modules will help with that.
It's also completely multi-platform, if that's important to you.
The most annoying thing about python is that it's variables are interchangeable. This makes incredibly accurate typing very important.
That, and a pathetically small recursion depth (less than 1000).
What to keep in mind?
Don't start someone you have no intention of finishing. If you do, then when something difficult comes up, you'll bypass it and learn nothing.
Make sure you're enjoying yourself. If you finally fix a complex algorithm and don't feel a spurt of happiness, then something is wrong.
Comment everything. It's not very pleasant to come back to a project and forget how it all works, and there a no comments to tell you how it did stuff.
Easy to learn, easy(ish) to make complex things.
You get to see results immediately, and can change small things very easily to see what they do.
Very basic syntax, so a good introduction to programming in general.
Making interfaces can be quite infuriating, but some additional modules will help with that.
It's also completely multi-platform, if that's important to you.
The most annoying thing about python is that it's variables are interchangeable. This makes incredibly accurate typing very important.
That, and a pathetically small recursion depth (less than 1000).
What to keep in mind?
Don't start someone you have no intention of finishing. If you do, then when something difficult comes up, you'll bypass it and learn nothing.
Make sure you're enjoying yourself. If you finally fix a complex algorithm and don't feel a spurt of happiness, then something is wrong.
Comment everything. It's not very pleasant to come back to a project and forget how it all works, and there a no comments to tell you how it did stuff.