I Want To Be A Programmer.

[God Ginrai]

I think that PHP might be a good place for you to start. It's an extremely easy scripting language, and it's syntax is similar to C. This will make the transition easier when you need to learn C. Also, I would suggest that you definitely learn C before learning C++. It will save you a lot of trouble.

-God Ginrai

 

[Sphinxter]

I'd recommend something like http://www.purebasic.com/ too.

Excellent for quickly seeing results while learning how programming works. Also has a good support forum.

Don't let people put you off basic, it is excellent when used for the right things.

Isn't it really hard to move from basic, onto more complex languages? At some point I have to move to something like C++....right?

Yes and horribly painful too as you'll have to un-learn everything craigx taught you so why not jump to the head of the class, start with C and save yourself some grief.

Balls. You're just going to put him on a learning curve so hard he will be put off, and when I moved from Basic to C it took me about 10mins to learn the difference. Once you can code in any major language it's piss easy to pick up another, so why not start with an easy one?

(and I can code in ASM, C, Perl, Basic, Pascal, Java etc. etc.)

What I found the most fun for a challenge was Z80 ASM, I used to love that (Gameboy, Arcade emu), but I think he should start with something like Basic and move on to other languages later.

Depending on what he wants to do, Basic might be all he needs.

If it's so similar it only takes 10 minutes then why waste any time with it in the first place? C is a great first language.

 

[beavith]

I sense tensions rising....


I think I'm going to start with Python. It seems really straight forward, and I'm allready getting a feel for it!

>>> print "Thanks!"

>>>Thanks!

 

[emil10001]

I sense tensions rising....


I think I'm going to start with Python. It seems really straight forward, and I'm allready getting a feel for it!

>>> print "Thanks!"

>>>Thanks!

This is a great free book to get started learning how to program, with a focus on Python:
http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html

It's a pretty quick read.

 

[neogramps]

I would definitely recommend Python; it's a breeze to learn, and easy to work with.

Excellent free python resource for complete beginners Byte of Python

Once your familiar with it, try PyGame Tutorial to take you through the basics of making games in python.

 

[bradleyb01]

I think that your choice of Python is a good one. I have had to code in VB, VB.NET, C#, JAVA and just about any and every web and scripting language out there. My first language was good ol' BASIC bak in the 80's. I am currently doing a fairly major project using nothing more than PHP and javascript tied into MySQL, these have there limitations, but the requirements are the requirements.

Python isn't too verbose and the code is pretty readable as I recall. The important thing is to learn the basic concepts and move on from there.

Good luck!

 

[Javacat]

I can't really say what language you'd be best to start in. I started in BBC BASIC, which is very straight forward:

10 PRINT "HELLO"
20 GOTO 10

It's not really too useful to start on that nowadays though (although it can be fun, copying the huge amounts of code out of old manuals to see the simple results ).

I think your best option would be to come up with an idea for something you want to make, then choose the most appropriate language to do it in. Once you've finished that project (or get bored of it), come up with another one. You might look at the new project and think "Well I could do it in the language I used for the first project, but another one might be more appropriate", so learn another one. It's a case of using the right tool for the job and it's how I've learned most of my languages (after a bit of a rocky start ).

eg,

• I'm working on a website, which needs a database backend and will need to use some special apps written to run on a server. The website and the apps will share some functionality, so I don't want to write the same functions twice, and there are some special API's I want to use. As a result I'm writing it all in VB.NET/ASP.NET with a MSSQL database.
• Another example, I'm working on a custom game mode for MTA:SA. The actual game mode is written in LUA (as that's the scripting language used by MTA:SA). I'm using a database to store all of the data/configuration (I've got an obsession with databases) and I'm wanting to make a website for viewing the data, along with integrating it into a forum. As such, I've chosen to use MySQL for the database and will be writing the website (and forum integration) using PHP.
• I've been planning another project for which I will be writing everything in Java, simply because that'll be the most appropriate language to use.
• If I was going to write something like an emulator I'd use C/C++ (I'm not too sure about the differences ), as I believe they would be the best language to use.

If you can't think of anything to do, maybe try looking at any games you might play to see whether they support some sort of scripting (eg, WoW, TF2, CS:S, MTA:SA). You could try writing something for one of them. It could be something really simple, like something that spams a chat window everytime somebody says your name in the game

 

[WizardStan]

There are two types of programmer, ones that are good at it and ones that can do it, the ones that are good at it are demented, the more demented they are the better they are
So you got to ask yourself, Am I Crazy enough to be a programmer?

I actually had a really good quote about that, a long long time ago. Too bad I can't find it or remember what exactly it was.
It takes a special kind of insanity to enjoy beating your head against an impossible problem.

 

[craigix]

(and I can code in ASM, C, Perl, Basic, Pascal, Java etc. etc.)

What did you think if objective C? And if you don't mind me asking,(not to be taken harshly), should I stop holding my breath for Wizzley Presto?

Funnily enough I'm just talking with Z about the iPad version. The iPhone one has been finished for ages, I just need to find the time to launch and promote it.

I hate that it's just sitting there waiting, but you know how busy I am...

 

[Gerix]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

 

[Exophase]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

I think we've basically gotten from this thread that a lot of people think that you should start with whatever language was helpful for them.

In reality what's going to matter most is the long term path that the person takes, not where they start. The key here is going to be the drive to shape their path to whatever best fits their style and goals.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

 

[Gerix]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

I think we've basically gotten from this thread that a lot of people think that you should start with whatever language was helpful for them.

In reality what's going to matter most is the long term path that the person takes, not where they start. The key here is going to be the drive to shape their path to whatever best fits their style and goals.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

I've never used Pascal, so I don't know. He said something about proper programming practices. I do know a lot of people at the university drop their knowledge of C++ as soon as they finish CS216.

 

[emil10001]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

I think we've basically gotten from this thread that a lot of people think that you should start with whatever language was helpful for them.

In reality what's going to matter most is the long term path that the person takes, not where they start. The key here is going to be the drive to shape their path to whatever best fits their style and goals.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

I agree, but I would add that if someone is trying to start out on their own, then starting with a language that is fairly easy and presents concepts and structures that are going to translate easily into lower-level languages will put them ahead of the curve. For my part, I really wish that my first language had been Python instead of C. Don't get me wrong, I like C, however there is simply too much information that needs to be understood to code well in C. I think that I would have really enjoyed that class (and learning to program) a lot more if we had just started out with the concepts of how to write code and think a problem through logically, as opposed to getting right into low-level memory management stuff. That stuff is necessary to know, but not necessarily the first thing, and for some people, it may put them off coding.

 

[sam fisher]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

And that is why he doesn't have control of the department .

 

[Exophase]

I agree, but I would add that if someone is trying to start out on their own, then starting with a language that is fairly easy and presents concepts and structures that are going to translate easily into lower-level languages will put them ahead of the curve. For my part, I really wish that my first language had been Python instead of C. Don't get me wrong, I like C, however there is simply too much information that needs to be understood to code well in C. I think that I would have really enjoyed that class (and learning to program) a lot more if we had just started out with the concepts of how to write code and think a problem through logically, as opposed to getting right into low-level memory management stuff. That stuff is necessary to know, but not necessarily the first thing, and for some people, it may put them off coding.

It depends on what you ultimately want to do. If you happen to be going for embedded (especially small embedded) then starting with C is probably a good idea.

 

[Gerix]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

And that is why he doesn't have control of the department .

LoL, probably. Cyborg M____ is probably more than a little obsolete. Anyway, my thoughts on the matter: learning C++ right off the bat would be hard without a good resource. Establishing contacts with experienced programmers who are willing to guide you around the pitfalls would make the process a lot easier.

 

[beavith]

Well, I've been loitering around PC shops, and the guys there think it's cool that I'm getting into it.

I'm moving through Python pretty quick, it's actually coming pretty easy to me.

>>>

 

[LineOf7s]

I'm moving through Python pretty quick, it's actually coming pretty easy to me.

Apparently that's what Python does, hence the many recommendations. Good to know it works.

Looking forward to your first version of Pong.

 

[foxblock]

I was talking to a professor at my university. He said if he had control over the department, he would make the introductory students start on Pascal instead of C++. Is it worth your time to learn? I don't know.

But I do have to say, making a university curriculum start with Pascal in this age would be pretty stupid. I can't imagine what this guy is thinking.

And that is why he doesn't have control of the department .

Yes, probably.
At my school we started with Object Pascal and later moved on to Delphi.
It's a good thing to be able to easily hack together some simple tools, as the IDE and Compiler are quite good and there are a lot of libraries with useful functions, which you had to do yourself in other languages. But then again, it's mostly Windows only, without proper Linux support and no OSX support.
Also the syntax is just plain horrible and the language was designed with the goal in mind to hide pointer functionality from the user when it actually uses it (just in disguise). So when you go from Pascal/Delphi to nearly any other major language (C++, C, Python, Java, whatever) you have to forget the syntax you learned (as for example = in Delphi is == in the other languages, whereas := in Delphi is =) and you have to lean anything about pointers nearly from scratch.

So, yeah, it's a good language to make easy tools, which integrate well into Windows, but I cannot recommend it all as a starting language,.