So How Did You Guys Learn To Dev & Where?

[jakshep2]

well, I was strolling through the forums before and I realised that nobody has discussed how they learned to dev. I learned basic stuff through books and guides on the web, which really are just shit on a stick, tbh <_< . Isn't there some sort of course I could go on to learn programming or something? I've searched the web and found nothing.

P.S:

please don't kill me :blink:

 

[fishybawb]

Read and then go and do. Practice makes perfect and all that.

 

[zacaj]

Read programming books, learned SDL

 

[Pickle]

google my friend!

 

[quasist]

How:Meditation
Where:Astral Plane

 

[PokeParadox]

It really is: read, do, repeat.

Incidentally, you can take formal studies which will teach you programming. I did Computer Games Technology BSc. Most people go for Computer Science, of course... but I thought I'd better focus on what I wanted to do.

 

[PoisonedV]

I learnt python online. I know some friends who took programming courses but it took forever to get anywhere, whereas if you use an online tutorial and have some friends for tips and advice and help, you can get to more or less the same position

 

[dockthepod]

I hacked around when young, got a CS degree later, and then really learned to program when I got my first programming job (doing games ). I swear, I learned more in that first month of work than I did in 4 years of CS classes.

 

[Sphinxter]

Got a copy of BDS C for Christmas.

 

[Capn_Fish]

Reading books is the way to go, IMO. I've obtained one for every language/API I've used, and they've been MUCH more helpful than online tutorials (which work well as a supplement).

I picked up the gist of C++ (nothing fancy, but the syntax and other basic stuff) in a couple of days, same with SDL and OpenGL. Of course, more advanced stuff takes more time (I'm still wrapping my head around some of the 3D/lighting stuff).

HTH

 

[PoisonedV]

Books don't seem to work, cause no matter what edition I get, the code never compiles... I wildly prefer sites like learncpp or wikibooks

 

[Klepto]

You guys are lucky, when I started there was no internet. My first program was written in BASIC on a Commodore PET.

 

[Hooka]

Gotta go with Klepto there, when I was 8 I did a little BASIC (coco 3), but I was kept away from anything else until I got my GP32, and started programming in C by examining the Wolf3D code and pestering people from here and #gp32dev Now I've got a little college and some books read to aide my way along, but I guarantee you I am still learning to dev

 

[ledow]

Spectrum at a young age. Read the BASIC manual that came with it one day. Wrote programs almost immediately. Went on through school, sixth form, university. Every time, I knew the language / methods they were trying to teach me before I even enrolled. Ended up doing 99% of my learning at home, in my spare time, on hobby programming projects, etc. Books helped but mainly as reference when you first learn a new language. Everything else was just playing about with what I knew or had read / seen elsewhere.

 

[plopperz]

I learnt python online. I know some friends who took programming courses but it took forever to get anywhere, whereas if you use an online tutorial and have some friends for tips and advice and help, you can get to more or less the same position

I remember you had suggested a specific site before, meant for kids or something, but I can't seem to find your post again. What was it?
I can't find a decent Python tutorial anywhere.

 

[sam fisher]

well, I was strolling through the forums before and I realised that nobody has discussed how they learned to dev. I learned basic stuff through books and guides on the web, which really are just shit on a stick, tbh <_< . Isn't there some sort of course I could go on to learn programming or something? I've searched the web and found nothing.

P.S:

please don't kill me :blink:

I first tried to learn C online when I was younger, I got bored. I did some Fenix tutorials but they were limited and what i made with them was crap. Then I got a book on C, read 50 pages and by that point I knew enough to go back to Fenix and make something worthwhile (Boomshine2x).

About courses, I am on a Computer Science course at the moment.

 

[skeezix]

I know I'm aging myself here, but our community is a lot more on the mid-30s side than many others so fine..

I started iwth BASIC on Vic-20 (thought I was hot shit), then found out about ASM and started on 6502 assembler there (thought I was hot shit, then realized I was not

Then moved to Atari ST and GFA Basic and Megamax C (then various C compilers and eventually even gcc!), and of course 68000 ASM. Later some Pascal on the PC, and of course intel x86 ASM, but mostly stuck to C. Then things really branched out, but thats the 1980 to 1990 era for me

Projects? Originally lamer games for the vic-20 of course, but on the ST I really cut my teeth; wrote a series of BBSes and BBS games and a FIDO-net system, and then proceeded to hack various games and work on demos and and utilities (I never released cracks, as I was more into the coding.. so it was demos, and character editors and patchers and exhanders and so on for games. Like making super characters in Breach games, and editors for RPGs and so on.) Wrote terminal application and all sorts of 'online' BBS type stuff.

(Which let me to writing MUDs as soon as I discovered unix and all that world in 1990 or so..)

jeff

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

At school one of the boys had a ZX81 computer and it fascinated me so much, I eventually bought a ZX Spectrum when it was released, I then learned Sinclair Basic by working through the manual, and eventually mucked about with Assembly.

But pretty much any language I know is because of Books, tutorials and getting in there and coding in it myself. There's no substitution for first hand experience

 

[azmodean]

I got a BS in Comp Sci, but my school was very MS-centric, so I've had to learn everything I know about UNIX/linux and embedded on my own, which has been interesting since my job is in embedded linux

The school was good for learning theory of CS though, algorithms, combinatorics, and how things work "under the hood". Although not as much as my EE and CE colleagues.

 

[Parkydr]

I started in 1979 when my school borrowed a Research Machines 380Z, then got an Apple ][. I got a book on basic and started from there. I then did biology/computer science at university and then got a job developing and I'm still developing 24 years later