Programming

tech-it-^ · 10-15-2006, 11:21 PM

Hey,

I know I'm still relativley new to this site and well I was wondering if anyone new of some real basic things that could help a noobie at programming. Like writing them etc.... Anyway, I could use the practice, in college studying to be a Computer Engineer and all. Again, total noob at programming. All help is needed. I know that I can turn to this forum because everyone's so understanding than most and you guy's help noobies like myself. Thanks again guys.

Skie · 10-15-2006, 11:46 PM

You'll get more responses if you post in the proper forum. I'm moving this thread to the Programming forum.

**Fr4665** · 10-16-2006, 03:32 AM

it really depends on what you need to probram for.

id say get something to start with like BASIC, microsofts QBasic is totaly free and it will get you started with programming.
From there on i would decided what i want todo with my skills or learn, VisualBasic is a good source for anything and also antoehr good start off base.

Thers different languages for different things, Like java is another good allround language, perl and python are script lanugage and c++ is the uberlanguage of all if you learn it right and understand it.

shuuhen · 10-16-2006, 10:46 AM

Usually I recommend people start with C, regardless of what language they will eventually be using. The college I'm attending uses C for teaching engineers (don't know all the languages that CS majors would use, but C would probably be included in the list). I know some engineering colleges use C++ and Java, so C skills would transfer nicely.

The advantage of learning C is that C++ is a superset, so you still have access to the same functions. C++ has many additions that will make it take a little while longer to learn, like the Standard Template Library which is usually abbreviated as STL (still have to learn these myself). C is also harder than Java and C#, but not quite as hard as assembly. Many Linux programs are programmed entirely in C (as is the kernel!). My friends that learned easier languaes like C# find it very difficult to use C and C++ while everyone I've met that has used C or C++ finds it very easy to learn C#. If you continue to do a lot of programming, you will probably find you learn at least one language every few years.

Java is a good language for quick network apps/web apps, but I'd recommend Java as a second language. I found that when I was learning C#, the way the language works and it's features helped fill in my knowledge of how C works. Knowing C also helped me understand how features of C# work (both previous statements should hold true for Java). They will Java and C# both use a newer design that hides a lot of details from the programmer. Some people like how the languages work, some despise it.

I'm not a big fan of BASIC languages (I'll occasionally use the actual BASIC language, but none of the others like VB). Most languages I've seen in use get their syntax mainly from C and take other features from C-style languages.

I can probably find some old bookmarks to good tutorials on several languages, whichever one you want to go with. There are also a few good books (widely known ones on C). I think I have some decent links that I posted in other threads around here.

tech-it-^ · 10-18-2006, 09:00 AM

that would be excellent if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks for all the detail to, it really helps me out. So, I am just getting into the programming, i mean I don't know any of the terminology or anything. Like I said I am brand new to this whole thing. I just know that I need to start doing it because I will soon have it here in college. So if you know of some REALLY basic tutorials or where I could get the stuff to learn it, that would be great. I really appreciate everything that you guys have done. Thanks again.

tech-it-^ · 10-19-2006, 07:57 AM

I don't even know what thing I need to write the programs either. A little help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

shuuhen · 10-20-2006, 12:26 PM

You could probably use Cygwin to have a Unix like environment. Installing Linux would be another option. There are compilers (what makes the machine code of your program from the source files (text basically) for Windows that may work, but you will probably want a Unix like environment for many of the free tutorials out there.

http://www.its.strath.ac.uk/courses/c/ - What I've gone over on this one seemed good. Great example of one you will want a Unix like environment for. I think you will be able to get by with Cygwin (haven't used Cygwin much since I have Linux installed on almost every computer I own).

Here's one that is designed for more Windows programming. One thing I don't like about the Windows tutorials I've seen is they usually add a little of the WinAPI programming, even for the simple "Hello World!" program. - http://in.geocities.com/pravinparatey/

tech-it-^ · 10-21-2006, 10:54 AM

Thanks man, If I have any questions (which i diffenitly WILL have) I'll sure to post here. Thanks again man. I appreciate everything.

MattBro · 11-10-2006, 07:50 PM

I would suggest you start with a lower-level, procedural language, such as C. As this will give you a great grounding for learning other languages. You could even start with assembly to get a feel for how everything works "in reality", but such a feat may be a bit over your head. It's all dependent on the person's intelligence, and their ability to comprehend concepts on various levels of abstraction.

10-15-2006, 11:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
tech-it-^ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 320 OS: XP Pro, Vista Business, Suse Linux, Win98 SE	Programming Hey, I know I'm still relativley new to this site and well I was wondering if anyone new of some real basic things that could help a noobie at programming. Like writing them etc.... Anyway, I could use the practice, in college studying to be a Computer Engineer and all. Again, total noob at programming. All help is needed. I know that I can turn to this forum because everyone's so understanding than most and you guy's help noobies like myself. Thanks again guys.

10-15-2006, 11:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
Skie Manager, Alternative Comp Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 2,194 OS: Gentoo Linux, CentOS, OS X My System	You'll get more responses if you post in the proper forum. I'm moving this thread to the Programming forum. __________________

10-16-2006, 03:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	it really depends on what you need to probram for. id say get something to start with like BASIC, microsofts QBasic is totaly free and it will get you started with programming. From there on i would decided what i want todo with my skills or learn, VisualBasic is a good source for anything and also antoehr good start off base. Thers different languages for different things, Like java is another good allround language, perl and python are script lanugage and c++ is the uberlanguage of all if you learn it right and understand it. __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

10-16-2006, 10:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 988 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	Usually I recommend people start with C, regardless of what language they will eventually be using. The college I'm attending uses C for teaching engineers (don't know all the languages that CS majors would use, but C would probably be included in the list). I know some engineering colleges use C++ and Java, so C skills would transfer nicely. The advantage of learning C is that C++ is a superset, so you still have access to the same functions. C++ has many additions that will make it take a little while longer to learn, like the Standard Template Library which is usually abbreviated as STL (still have to learn these myself). C is also harder than Java and C#, but not quite as hard as assembly. Many Linux programs are programmed entirely in C (as is the kernel!). My friends that learned easier languaes like C# find it very difficult to use C and C++ while everyone I've met that has used C or C++ finds it very easy to learn C#. If you continue to do a lot of programming, you will probably find you learn at least one language every few years. Java is a good language for quick network apps/web apps, but I'd recommend Java as a second language. I found that when I was learning C#, the way the language works and it's features helped fill in my knowledge of how C works. Knowing C also helped me understand how features of C# work (both previous statements should hold true for Java). They will Java and C# both use a newer design that hides a lot of details from the programmer. Some people like how the languages work, some despise it. I'm not a big fan of BASIC languages (I'll occasionally use the actual BASIC language, but none of the others like VB). Most languages I've seen in use get their syntax mainly from C and take other features from C-style languages. I can probably find some old bookmarks to good tutorials on several languages, whichever one you want to go with. There are also a few good books (widely known ones on C). I think I have some decent links that I posted in other threads around here.

10-18-2006, 09:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
tech-it-^ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 320 OS: XP Pro, Vista Business, Suse Linux, Win98 SE	that would be excellent if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks for all the detail to, it really helps me out. So, I am just getting into the programming, i mean I don't know any of the terminology or anything. Like I said I am brand new to this whole thing. I just know that I need to start doing it because I will soon have it here in college. So if you know of some REALLY basic tutorials or where I could get the stuff to learn it, that would be great. I really appreciate everything that you guys have done. Thanks again.

10-19-2006, 07:57 AM	#6 (permalink)
tech-it-^ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 320 OS: XP Pro, Vista Business, Suse Linux, Win98 SE	I don't even know what thing I need to write the programs either. A little help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

10-20-2006, 12:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 988 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	You could probably use Cygwin to have a Unix like environment. Installing Linux would be another option. There are compilers (what makes the machine code of your program from the source files (text basically) for Windows that may work, but you will probably want a Unix like environment for many of the free tutorials out there. http://www.its.strath.ac.uk/courses/c/ - What I've gone over on this one seemed good. Great example of one you will want a Unix like environment for. I think you will be able to get by with Cygwin (haven't used Cygwin much since I have Linux installed on almost every computer I own). Here's one that is designed for more Windows programming. One thing I don't like about the Windows tutorials I've seen is they usually add a little of the WinAPI programming, even for the simple "Hello World!" program. - http://in.geocities.com/pravinparatey/

10-21-2006, 10:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
tech-it-^ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 320 OS: XP Pro, Vista Business, Suse Linux, Win98 SE	Thanks man, If I have any questions (which i diffenitly WILL have) I'll sure to post here. Thanks again man. I appreciate everything.

11-10-2006, 07:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
MattBro Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 207 OS: WinXP-Home	I would suggest you start with a lower-level, procedural language, such as C. As this will give you a great grounding for learning other languages. You could even start with assembly to get a feel for how everything works "in reality", but such a feat may be a bit over your head. It's all dependent on the person's intelligence, and their ability to comprehend concepts on various levels of abstraction.