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Forums - PC - i want to learn how to code....

Faxanadu on 09 July 2008
NJ5 said:
Faxanadu said:
@NJ5: Then lets start with Assembler...that way you learn it all bottom up the hard way.

Well, I recommend starting with C since it's abstract enough to give you an appreciation of what programming is about, without bothering you with the (in the grand scheme of things) useless details of most CPU's instruction sets. Assembly language tends to be pretty ugly (in most CPUs) so I don't think it helps your thinking to start there.

 

yeah, it was quite ugly, having to do that stuff in college.

 



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HappySqurriel on 09 July 2008
crymetyme said:
HappySqurriel said:
crymetyme said:
do you guys recommend i start big, and even though it will be hard, after that i can learn the other programming languages easier?

or do you recommend i start small, so that way i work my way up?

 

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "Big" or "Small" ...

In an accademic setting, I generally believe that it is best for a student to be taught C++ and Motorola 68000 assembly because it gives the best understanding of how a computer actually works. In a more recreational setting, Java or C# is a better place to begin because it eliminates a lot of complexity. If someone just wants to get the basic understanding of what programming is like, a high level language like Ruby is probably best.

 

by big, i mean complex. by small, i mean less algorithms, less syntax, etc

The algorithm isn't really a part of the code ... Beyond that, all languages will have similar ammounts of syntax but the higher level languages usually have more stuff "built in" which makes accomplishing simple tasks easier.

For what you would probably be doing, I would suggest Ruby and then you can move from there ... if you're looking for greater performance you can try C++ otherwise I would suggest C# or Java



crymetyme on 09 July 2008
Faxanadu said:
NJ5 said:
Faxanadu said:
@NJ5: Then lets start with Assembler...that way you learn it all bottom up the hard way.

Well, I recommend starting with C since it's abstract enough to give you an appreciation of what programming is about, without bothering you with the (in the grand scheme of things) useless details of most CPU's instruction sets. Assembly language tends to be pretty ugly (in most CPUs) so I don't think it helps your thinking to start there.

 

yeah, it was quite ugly, having to do that stuff in college.

 

 

so essitenally everyone agrees i should start with C. C it is then!



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NJ5 on 09 July 2008

HappySqurriel recommended Ruby, a language I've never used (but I've used some which are similar I believe). I guess it's not a bad choice either, depending on what is taught there.

No matter what language you choose, you have to get an introductory programming book for that language. Many books teaching a specific language assume you already know how to program in another language.

 



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HappySqurriel on 09 July 2008
theshoe23 said:
Wow, first off its Visual Basic there is no "s" at the end. Its not an ideal language to learn if you want to learn how to write games. I would recommend C also then C++, Java or C#. I recommend you learn about object oriented programming as soon as possible. Procedural thinking is bad these days ;)

Actually, there is nothing wrong with procedural thinking as long as the problem is well suited for a procedural solution ...

A lot of people get confused by this that since an object oriented methodology is newer than modular or procedural methodologies it must therefore be better ... The truth is that Aspect Oriented, Object Oriented, Modular and Procedural methodologies all have problems they're well suted to solve, and other problems where they are an awful choice.



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crymetyme on 09 July 2008
HappySqurriel said:
crymetyme said:
HappySqurriel said:
crymetyme said:
do you guys recommend i start big, and even though it will be hard, after that i can learn the other programming languages easier?

or do you recommend i start small, so that way i work my way up?

 

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "Big" or "Small" ...

In an accademic setting, I generally believe that it is best for a student to be taught C++ and Motorola 68000 assembly because it gives the best understanding of how a computer actually works. In a more recreational setting, Java or C# is a better place to begin because it eliminates a lot of complexity. If someone just wants to get the basic understanding of what programming is like, a high level language like Ruby is probably best.

 

by big, i mean complex. by small, i mean less algorithms, less syntax, etc

The algorithm isn't really a part of the code ... Beyond that, all languages will have similar ammounts of syntax but the higher level languages usually have more stuff "built in" which makes accomplishing simple tasks easier.

For what you would probably be doing, I would suggest Ruby and then you can move from there ... if you're looking for greater performance you can try C++ otherwise I would suggest C# or Java

how is ruby different from C?

Just curious to know....

 



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Venji on 09 July 2008

As Faxanadu mentioned Pascal is dead and yet Turbo Pascal is still the best language for learning how to program, it sits nicely between Basic and C in terms of complexity and it will also teach you good coding structure.

Once you know how to program in one language it's far easier to learn another. C is the next language to learn and then you can progress to languages that are in use today, such as C++, C# and VB.net which are all useful.


You can try jumping right into C++ but there is a higher chance that you will feel overwhelmed give up as it's a lot more complex.



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NJ5 on 09 July 2008

@Venji: I also learned Pascal before C, but honestly I don't see much advantage to doing it that way... C is more powerful, but not really more complex than Pascal for introductory programming.

Bottom line (my opinion): starting with Pascal is fine and good, and may even be a bit simpler than starting with C, but I don't think it's a good use of one's time since introductory C is almost as easy.



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crymetyme on 09 July 2008
NJ5 said:
@Venji: I also learned Pascal before C, but honestly I don't see much advantage to doing it that way... C is more powerful, but not really more complex than Pascal for introductory programming.

Bottom line (my opinion): starting with Pascal is fine and good, and may even be a bit simpler than starting with C, but I don't think it's a good use of one's time since introductory C is almost as easy.

 

alright. thanks. so i guess i have all the advice i need. so, i guess i'll go on amazon and buy a book, or 2, about C language programming.



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HappySqurriel on 09 July 2008
crymetyme said:

how is ruby different from C?

Just curious to know....

 

Ruby is considered a high level language so a lot of things like parsing strings, opening windows, and what not are handled for you ... you also don't have to worry about pointers and managing memory which tend to confuse most people starting to program.