Easiest Way To Learn Programming

**af3** · 08-06-2008, 06:28 AM

I think I will start with Visual Basic... What is the easiest way to learn? I intend to modify game engine code and create various enhancements to existing source code. Is there a set of videos on YouTube perhaps? I'd hate to do a search and be mislead by the initial search results... Any suggestions?

darrensmith016 · 08-06-2008, 06:37 AM

i have a very basic nolegde of programming i started with a book call "build a program now" it was a good read you get to makes web browsers etc

id say thats the best place to start

**jamiemac2005** · 08-06-2008, 07:32 AM

hmm, if you're set on VB then we need to know what version? VB6? VB.NET?

I'm not sure there are many online tutorials for VB (when i was learning VB.Net it was hard to find any), Your best bet is a good book...

If you'd concider other languages there are much better/easier ones to learn (Java/C/C++ are easier to develop and there are many online resources for them)...

As always google is your friend "vb tutorial" doesn't come up with as many hits as i'd expected...

As for the method of learning i'd steer you away from youtube video's etc, because you can usually barely see the code and it's usually a necessity (even if the video is well narrated) to be able to see the code that's being written.

Cheers,
Jamey

**af3** · 08-06-2008, 08:02 AM

I have been reading articles on http://www.cprogramming.com
I guess I would have to learn the language of the code I will be making modifications too.

I believe the Source engine's game binary is in C++ language. I would also like to port variations of the Quake II engine to Pocket PC/Windows Mobile 6 for the Intel XScale processor.

**jamiemac2005** · 08-06-2008, 08:25 AM

Ah, great, i always suggest cprogramming.com yeah, to modify the code you'd have to learn the language it's written in (in most cases)...

As for porting variations of the Quake II engine i haven't a clue where you'd start, i'm sure you'd be able to find something on porting to pocketPC but i'm also sure it's a very specialist subject so the languages needed would be quite specific.

Cheers,
Jamey

**af3** · 08-06-2008, 08:49 AM

Yes, I suspect I will have to do quite a bit of memory tweaking and maybe even impliment a swap file depending on the device. It will be difficult, I hope I can figure it out.

shuuhen · 08-07-2008, 06:56 AM

I've never looked through the tutorials on cprogramming.com, but I've heard they're some of the better online ones. I know there's a few threads in this forum where I went over my recommendations on books. The general rule is the same: Look through the books carefully and decide if you think it's a good one. Deitel & Deitel's are worth checking out. A few publishers have books targeted at beginners, so check out various publishers like Oreilly, Apress and Wrox (don't limit yourself to those though). Usually these publishers do a decent job with their books (although there are many good books they aren't the publisher for).

As for the porting, I've never looked at the Intel XScale, so I don't know how powerful it is. Also, I've never even used a Windows Mobile device or programmed for one, so I can't really say how much less they'll be able to do than a desktop. I wouldn't be surprised if you had to do some graphics programming just to decrease how demanding the graphics would be. Maybe see if you can understand the Quake 2 and/or Doom source code (probably need to go through the book/tutorials first).

08-06-2008, 06:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 1,173 OS: XP32, the gaming OS. My System	Easiest Way To Learn Programming I think I will start with Visual Basic... What is the easiest way to learn? I intend to modify game engine code and create various enhancements to existing source code. Is there a set of videos on YouTube perhaps? I'd hate to do a search and be mislead by the initial search results... Any suggestions?

08-06-2008, 06:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
darrensmith016 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Nottingham Posts: 149 OS: Dos, 3.11, Win95, 98, 2000 + Server, XP Home and Pro, Vista and Server 2003 SP2 and 2008 My System	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming i have a very basic nolegde of programming i started with a book call "build a program now" it was a good read you get to makes web browsers etc id say thats the best place to start

08-06-2008, 07:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
jamiemac2005 Design Team Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Coventry, UK Posts: 1,880 OS: Vista, various linux distros	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming hmm, if you're set on VB then we need to know what version? VB6? VB.NET? I'm not sure there are many online tutorials for VB (when i was learning VB.Net it was hard to find any), Your best bet is a good book... If you'd concider other languages there are much better/easier ones to learn (Java/C/C++ are easier to develop and there are many online resources for them)... As always google is your friend "vb tutorial" doesn't come up with as many hits as i'd expected... As for the method of learning i'd steer you away from youtube video's etc, because you can usually barely see the code and it's usually a necessity (even if the video is well narrated) to be able to see the code that's being written. Cheers, Jamey __________________ Myspace

08-06-2008, 08:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 1,173 OS: XP32, the gaming OS. My System	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming I have been reading articles on http://www.cprogramming.com I guess I would have to learn the language of the code I will be making modifications too. I believe the Source engine's game binary is in C++ language. I would also like to port variations of the Quake II engine to Pocket PC/Windows Mobile 6 for the Intel XScale processor.

08-06-2008, 08:25 AM	#5 (permalink)
jamiemac2005 Design Team Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Coventry, UK Posts: 1,880 OS: Vista, various linux distros	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming Ah, great, i always suggest cprogramming.com yeah, to modify the code you'd have to learn the language it's written in (in most cases)... As for porting variations of the Quake II engine i haven't a clue where you'd start, i'm sure you'd be able to find something on porting to pocketPC but i'm also sure it's a very specialist subject so the languages needed would be quite specific. Cheers, Jamey __________________ Myspace

08-06-2008, 08:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 1,173 OS: XP32, the gaming OS. My System	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming Yes, I suspect I will have to do quite a bit of memory tweaking and maybe even impliment a swap file depending on the device. It will be difficult, I hope I can figure it out.

08-07-2008, 06:56 AM	#7 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 986 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	Re: Easiest Way To Learn Programming I've never looked through the tutorials on cprogramming.com, but I've heard they're some of the better online ones. I know there's a few threads in this forum where I went over my recommendations on books. The general rule is the same: Look through the books carefully and decide if you think it's a good one. Deitel & Deitel's are worth checking out. A few publishers have books targeted at beginners, so check out various publishers like Oreilly, Apress and Wrox (don't limit yourself to those though). Usually these publishers do a decent job with their books (although there are many good books they aren't the publisher for). As for the porting, I've never looked at the Intel XScale, so I don't know how powerful it is. Also, I've never even used a Windows Mobile device or programmed for one, so I can't really say how much less they'll be able to do than a desktop. I wouldn't be surprised if you had to do some graphics programming just to decrease how demanding the graphics would be. Maybe see if you can understand the Quake 2 and/or Doom source code (probably need to go through the book/tutorials first). __________________ Has it been a few days since I replied to your thread? Don't panic! I'm a busy college student and may forget a post if I'm extra busy (or it might just take me a while to be able to do a decent reply). If you still need help and are awaiting my reply after a few days, PM me about it. When posting what errors you get, please give the full message. It makes helping you much easier.