Programming

[mopar man]

If I were going to start learning how to create different programs, how would I start? Should I start by reading, downloading a program, or what? I tend to suck at learning through reading, so I'd prefer to go through a program teaching me how to program with different "languages"(I guess that'd be what you call them).

Thanks.

 

[DelJo63]

Look for something like ITT Tech, DeVry or a community college course
on programming.

 

[mopar man]

Well, I'm planning on doing that, but considering I'm a freshman in high school I doubt any colleges/ Technical Colleges will let me in right now...lol.

I would like to start kind of early so I can start now and will be even better when I do get into college.

Sorry for not saying something about that at first.

 

[Grafficks]

Apply for the Computer Science course at your high school.

I chose all computer-related courses at my high school. However, the high-school computer classes move very slowly and teach very basic concepts. I find all of those classes boring.


In my opinion you'd be much better off learning on your own by using the power of the internet. Most teenagers (myself included) who are interested learn about computers by self-educating. Personally, I learned most of the stuff I know through Google and Forums (like this one).

Good Luck!

 

[mopar man]

Thank you.

Now my only question is that because there are so many things that I need to learn, is it possible to tell me where to start?

 

[Shaw23]

I suggest going to Amazon and searching for books on the language you want to learn first. As most books come with softare for the language it teaches, it is pretty simple to read and do what the book says on the computer. I have found that programming was probabalythe easiest thing I have learned about computers, and I did it pretty much all on my own through books and practicing the examples. Then if there is something you dont understand... then research that on the internet.

But to answer your question, it would probably be best to first learn the different programming languages that are more widely used today and the basics as to what kinds of things programs of that language are used for. Then decide which language you would like to learn first. Then what a compiler is and what it does, what source code is and how it works with the compiler to make a program. Next you would start the nitty gritty of learing the actual language, syntaxt, and programming techniques (which I would reccomend come from a book). I think that would be a good start, and there are some programming message boards kinda like this one that target programming topics which would help you on specialized topics you have a hard time understanding.

 

[ajmac88]

I would probably start with Java, not to be confused with javascript. Perhaps vb.net but i'd still probably go with java

 

[DelJo63]

Starting from zero, programming is a big subject -- JAVA is BIG TOO -- let me explain.

First you need some concepts of programming;

*:- instruction sequencing
*:- decision branching
*:- interation controls, do while, do until, for x=0; x <100
*:- subroutines
*:- memory management
*:- i/o management
*:- task / thread management

These concepts apply to ALL languages.

A given language is either Procedural, Object Oriented(OO) and is compiled or interpretive.

As a beginner, you should attempt to understand the list of concepts above
before you attempt to tackle any OO programming, as there are extra concepts
just as Objects, Data elements, and Methods which are significantly different.

 

[Phantasm66]

Probably best to learn C first, as quite a few languages use its syntax, i.e. c++, perl, shell, java, etc.

But then again, its probably best to go straight into OO, so maybe Java is a good start. Get an intro book on it, download the SDK, and then start to write code.

You could also download the eclipse IDE to help you program in Java ( www.eclipse.org )

 

[mopar man]

Well, I have already learnt a little about C++, but not much because I didn't have enough time. Should I learn C first? Or does it really matter?

 

[agi_shi]

Well, I have already learnt a little about C++, but not much because I didn't have enough time. Should I learn C first? Or does it really matter?

I suggest you go with C++...

And I REALLY suggest you get "Beginner C++ Game Programming". Don't judge a book by its cover (or title), and I mean that literally. It's what got me into advanced C++. It covers from basics, all the way to inheritance, classes, multiple-inheritance, polymorphism (sp)?, heap (de)allocation and so on. REALLY good book... And make sure you do all those console "games" it shows you. Tic-tac-toe may seems small, but if you can't do tic-tac-toe then you SURELY can't do the Next-Gen-Super-Cool-MMORPG-Slash-FPS-Kewl-Game. What I'm saying is, don't get thrown off just because all the whole book is is console-based.

Join www.gamedev.net. BEST. GAME. DEVELOPMENT. SITE. EV.A.R.

...

Once you finish the book and understand EVERYTHING within it... go get SDL and get started on some basic 2D stuff...

Then, you can either integrate opengl/d3d into SDL (or just use opengl with win32 on it's own [or the linux equivalent]) for 3D stuff, or use a 3D engine. I went with using a full-blown 3D engine called "ogre". And the results can be found here:

Good luck, young programmer... May the code be with you!

 

[ravisunny2]

First you need some concepts of programming;

*:- instruction sequencing
*:- decision branching
*:- interation controls, do while, do until, for x=0; x <100
*:- subroutines
*:- memory management
*:- i/o management
*:- task / thread management

These concepts apply to ALL languages.

Take heed of what jobeard says.

Forget the fancy languages, for now.

One of the easiest languages is BASIC.

Once you get the feel of it, you can migrate to the other languages.

 

[mopar man]

Well, I figure I can start with BASIC, and work my way toward C++.

The only problem is, I can't buy any books because we're pretty much broke. Do you know of any sites that has a BASIC tutorial?

Thanks for all the input!

 

[ravisunny2]

Check the school library.

Or you can try a Used Book Store.

Shouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks.