how do program?
- Thread starter Arsenu,
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- Oct 30, 2008
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started TryPython, pretty nice! but CodeAcademy is so much more fun just because of the whole "reward" system... kind of reminds me of playing MW2 to unlock new weapons 
thanks for all the help guys! i'm quite digging this whole thing! tough im really not sure yet which languages really are better to master at but i'd reckon java and python are a good start...
thanks for all the help guys! i'm quite digging this whole thing! tough im really not sure yet which languages really are better to master at but i'd reckon java and python are a good start...
azistenostora
Member
Start learning one. If you know one language, the others are pretty easy to pick up. The theory is the same with all of them, just different syntax.
Josh Burgess
Member
First, there is no such thing as a Mac programming language... lol. However, iOS uses Objective C (built on C, like C++, but different in a lot of ways). Learn that if you want to create apps for Macs.
I graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems in 2 weeks. CIS is basically Computer Science + Business. I took all the same courses a Computer Science major would, minus a few hardware classes (like Computer Architecture, Logic Design, etc.)
I will tell you this: Learning programming by beginning with C and C++ will make you a much stronger programmer than starting off with easier, more modern languages like Ruby/Python/Java/C#/etc.... It forces you to really understand the concepts. C especially will push you, because it's somewhat primitive and quite strict in comparison to many languages. This is good though. It will make learning other languages a lot easier.
For ease of use & my personal interests, I really like being involved with web development and using C#, ASP.NET, PHP, etc. I'm actually hoping to get an interview for an entry-level .NET Developer position within the next week or 2. The pay is great for someone fresh out of college... 45k-60k a year.... but it requires a Bachelor's degree.
I graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems in 2 weeks. CIS is basically Computer Science + Business. I took all the same courses a Computer Science major would, minus a few hardware classes (like Computer Architecture, Logic Design, etc.)
I will tell you this: Learning programming by beginning with C and C++ will make you a much stronger programmer than starting off with easier, more modern languages like Ruby/Python/Java/C#/etc.... It forces you to really understand the concepts. C especially will push you, because it's somewhat primitive and quite strict in comparison to many languages. This is good though. It will make learning other languages a lot easier.
For ease of use & my personal interests, I really like being involved with web development and using C#, ASP.NET, PHP, etc. I'm actually hoping to get an interview for an entry-level .NET Developer position within the next week or 2. The pay is great for someone fresh out of college... 45k-60k a year.... but it requires a Bachelor's degree.
Josh Burgess
Member
Hahaha. I feel your pain. My Operating Systems class used C only, and we did a lot of work on Unix machines. Some of those projects were by far some of the most difficult projects I had during my entire degree program, and yup... using pointers in C can become quite confusing & irritating if you are trying to do something challenging with them. It makes you learn a lot though!
P.S. Did they actually sit and watch you work on the Unix terminals and not let you work in Visual Studio or any other IDEs? If they didn't, you could have just worked in an IDE to edit your files and then simply upload those files to the unix server via PSFTP (counterpart to PuTTY) or WinSCP to update before compiling.
azistenostora
Member
Don't know what it's like in the states but in the UK you can expect a pay of about 20K (in pounds) for a junior position. Most places don't expect you to have a degree though. If you know your shit and are not totally socially retarded, you will get the job.
- Oct 30, 2008
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- 0
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i can relate to that. i'd reckon it's kind of like learning how to play fast solo parts legato instead of picking each note when you first start playing guitar...
never did it but i can imagine how that would fuck someone's playing style pretty hard (encountered a guy like that).
question is, do you know anything similar to codeacademy that's teaching C? (or one of it's siblings... objective, +, ++, #...)
again, not trying to program an app that will bring peace to the middle east, but it would probably be wiser to start off the hard way
Josh Burgess
Member
Honestly, I'm not too sure of what good tutorial websites might be out there. There probably are more than a few good ones out there. I'd just pick one and try it out. Don't forget that there are MANY books out there for any programming language you can think of...
I don't know Objective C. I know nothing about it. C# is very similar to Java. It's basically Microsoft's version of Java, but improved in a few ways... It wouldn't exist without Java though. Anyways, honestly, if you're just trying to get started, just get visual studio and pick C, C++, or C# and start learning the basic concepts.
As embedded systems SW designer I really do recommend learning C first, even if you won't use it that much later (but using it and programming real, embedded hardware is so much more fun and rewarding than coding those high level enterprise applications!)
TheDriller
Member
Tetris, in 73 lines of Python:
https://gist.github.com/2464035
As for this whole C/C++ racket,
I still maintain that neither of those are good 'n00b' languages. Sure, C is awesome for embedded systems but honestly, how many beginners are doing embedded micro-controller programming as their first hobby-projects?
None.
All the upsides of C/C++ are lost on the n00b programmer, and all they're left with are the thorny edge-cases and awkward syntax to struggle with.
I reckon every programmer worth a shit should know C/C++ pretty well, but not as a first language as it's so much more important to learn the general concepts rather than spend hours wrestling with the quirks, traps and heart-aches of low-level programming.
https://gist.github.com/2464035
As for this whole C/C++ racket,
I still maintain that neither of those are good 'n00b' languages. Sure, C is awesome for embedded systems but honestly, how many beginners are doing embedded micro-controller programming as their first hobby-projects?
None.
All the upsides of C/C++ are lost on the n00b programmer, and all they're left with are the thorny edge-cases and awkward syntax to struggle with.
I reckon every programmer worth a shit should know C/C++ pretty well, but not as a first language as it's so much more important to learn the general concepts rather than spend hours wrestling with the quirks, traps and heart-aches of low-level programming.
Chainsaw Calligraphy
Connoisseur of Sound
If you're going to start with Python you should check out A Byte of Python. It's a free ebook covering all the basics that's aimed at people who are new to programming.
Link:
http://www.swaroopch.org/notes/Python
Link:
http://www.swaroopch.org/notes/Python
I agree with this.
I started teaching myself C++, then learned Java as a first language at universidad. Then Fortran, but we won't talk about that
Anyway, I think I would have done better if I'd started with Python or Java rather than C++.Something like Python is great for learning general programming concepts, and it allows you to write properly useful programs quite quickly.
Java isn't too bad as a starting language I guess, if you want to get into mobile app development rapidly or something.
