Learning to program/code

Stoned Bob

Stoned Bob

New member
I wanna try to learn how to program/code but I really have zero knowledge, so what would be the best language to start with, I read c++ is good but difficult to start with.
Can you guys recommend anything, any sites that are good to start with.
Or should I just buy/rent a book in Dutch and try it with that.
But well it might be better to just start with a English book seeing as most things about programming online are in English.

Any good programs I should try?
Maybe I should just search better but seeing as there's tons of information online I'm not sure what I should believe.

I got a lot of free time and I'm wasting it all with games so I'm really starting to feel dumb :p(mind u I hardly smoke these days, maybe 2 or 3 times a month :) ) .
Thanks :)
 
Give Pascal and/or plain C a try. Pascal is IMHO a bit "noob-friendlier" than C; but most "serious" programming is done in C and C-like languages. If you go with
C then I recommend the book "The C Programming Language" by K&R, is is IMHO
the best book about C.
Don't spend too much time reading; you learn much more by taking other peoples' code and modifying it.
 
Actually I disagree with mlau and think the best place to start is using more current technology. Programming with VB.NET is a good place to start. You can download the express version of the development environment for free. This is all you need to get going:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/default.aspx

Go to the link above and download the VB.NET 2008 version of Visual Studio Express. Then get yourself a book on learning VB.NET using Visual Studio and you are off and running! Microsoft also has a lot of resources you can use for learning:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vbasic/ms789086.aspx

Almost nobody programs using C anymore. C++ or C# maybe. But straight C programming died 10 years ago. You don't want to be stuck learning technology that is out of date. Start out with the latest is better because the development tools are mature and the source material you can from learn from is abundant.
 
Hmm makes sense I should learn a updated language, I was searching for pascal books and I found one from 1992 :bleh:

I'm gonna try VB out tommorow when I got the whole day free :)

Thanks
 
SD-[Inc] said:
Actually I disagree with mlau and think the best place to start is using more current technology. Programming with VB.NET is a good place to start.
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VB is not a programming environment, it's a tool for mental self mutilation. Seriously.

If all you ever want to achieve are a few forms with widgets, then by all means stick to VB.

Almost nobody programs using C anymore. C++ or C# maybe. But straight C programming died 10 years ago.
Click to expand...

That's one of the most ridiculous statements I've heard in years.
How do you define the modernty of a programming language?
Its age? By how much buzz is generated about it?

Smalltalk is dead, Ada is more or less dead (outside military projects), but C is _THE_ language to do portable stuff in. Java and all the other fancy new, buzzword-ridden languages don't count in my book (if you need a garbage
collector to keep track of your memories then you don't know what you're doing
and are therefore _not_ a programmer =D )
 
Like I said. I disagree. I have programmed using every language you mentioned for more than 25 years. I've worked and managed development teams of up to 25 programmers. I've build commercial software products that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. I don't fear technology or change. All technologies have their advantages and the last 10 years have shown some great strides in IDE development, object oriented techniques, interoperation of software and components. It is your choice if you wish to stick with technology of the 1980s.
 
I'd say VB.NET or C#. VB.NET might be a little easier (maybe - for me it wasn't). C# is in many ways similar to other popular languages such as C++ and Java and should you want to switch the change would be easier.
 
monkeydust said:
:arrow_up: Agreed. Plus, C# is what we look for in any candidates we interview these days.
Click to expand...

I have to agree that there is a larger demand for C# in the workplace today. With .NET VB and C# are very nearly equivilent in functionality. If you learn how to program with .NET using either you can switch very quickly to the other. So, I recommend learning both. But if you are new to programming, there is probably more resources for the very beginner programmer based on VB as compared to C#.
 
seeker010 said:
Java. It forces pretty strict OOP on you. which is why I hate it.
Click to expand...


Sinner! OOP should be mandatory for everyone. I do understand why many shun it though. You can't truly appreciate it until you do it right. Regardless, hackers that ignore OOP are missing out on building some very efficient, readable, and reuseable solutions.
 
SD-[Inc] said:
Sinner! OOP should be mandatory for everyone. I do understand why many shun it though. You can't truly appreciate it until you do it right. Regardless, hackers that ignore OOP are missing out on building some very efficient, readable, and reuseable solutions.
Click to expand...

reusable just means you get paid less for not having to do something over again. :bleh:
 
seeker010 said:
reusable just means you get paid less for not having to do something over again. :bleh:
Click to expand...

Many companies today still consider lines of code as a metric of productivity. IMO, they are stupid and are setting themselves up for long term failure. Employees come and go. What they leave behind is critical to the long term success of a software product. The days of writing job security code are gone. Effective teams build and document re-useable components using OOP. I measure my teams productivity by the quality of their design. The less code the better!
 
Well, there is such a thing as going overboard on OOP too. When you have a lot of code that is heavy OOP and have a lot of classes inheriting and overriding other classes, it can be a pain in the neck to try to follow what is actually going on in the code.
 
It's quite possible that its more efficient to rewrite the code then to understand it :lol:
Especially badly commented code! God how I hate that :mad:
 
monkeydust said:
Well, there is such a thing as going overboard on OOP too. When you have a lot of code that is heavy OOP and have a lot of classes inheriting and overriding other classes, it can be a pain in the neck to try to follow what is actually going on in the code.
Click to expand...

Just like any tool, OOP in the wrong hands, can create just as big a mess as any other technique out there. The key to preventing this is to really understand the rules of encapsulation and inheritance and to stick to them. OOP is more than just another device to employ when you want to try and make re-useable code. It is a totally different way to look at your design. Objects in your system should reflect real world entities. They are not just convenient programming constructs. Inheritance is a means of specialization. It is NOT just another way to re-use code. If you do it right, your design can be so intuitive it almost doesn't need to be documented.
 
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