Help a noob? w
By TenmaMetsuki
@TenmaMetsuki (452)
Bahrain
October 22, 2008 2:40pm CST
Hey there, programmers!
As my headline shows, I'm a complete noob when it comes to programming, and I have zero knowledge of how and where to start. Can any of you the more experienced ones give me a few pointers as to what is the easiest for a newb and how to actually start up with it? Using a tool or somtin would be better since I know nothing w
3 responses
@noorsahyouni (10)
• United States
23 Oct 08
take a comp class at ur local community college
2 people like this
@mr_mlk (364)
•
24 Oct 08
I agree strongly with the suggestion above regarding taking a course at your local collage.
If that is not viable for what ever reason then:
Select a language, which does not matter much. Go to your local book store and pick up some books on the subject, read them a little in store to see if you get on with them.
Some pointers on languages:
C – Very low level. This can be used to your advantage if you select a basic platform to go with it (the Nintendo Gameboy). This will be a steep learning curve, but will give you a amazingly good "base" to build on.
C++ - Mid-level. It is both easer and hard than C, depending on what you do.
Java – High level language. Has some great online resources for newbies. http://www.greenfoot.org/
C# - High level again. It also has some good online resources - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/default.aspx
Visual Basic – High level, drag & drop.
Low-level vs High-level is basically how far away you are from the hardware (this is not completely a language thing – a good API can separate you as well). C targeting the Gameboy means you will be playing with memory – quite literally. If you want to make a line of pixel red, (as it uses memory mapped IO) you say "memory location X to Y which represents the pixels on the display x,y to x1,y1 set to FF0000".
But on a higher level language (like Java) you say "draw me a line from X to Y in red".
Both have advantages.
1 person likes this
@TenmaMetsuki (452)
• Bahrain
24 Oct 08
Thank you! This is a great response! Been waiting w
1 person likes this
@mr_mlk (364)
•
24 Oct 08
Glad I could help.
Java to hard for newbies? No not at all.
Did you try the Green foot stuff? It looks like quite a gentle introduction to programming?
Now before (or as, depending on your current skill set and motivation) you learn your first language I recommend know the basics of the command shell (how to change directories, list files in a folder, see and set environment variables at a min, some more advanced stuff will help a lot thou). I personally see knowing the basics of the shell as part of the base computer knowledge on which you will build on. If this is weak you will come across terms in documentation you don't know, and concepts you have never heard of but the documentation uses as if it was common knowledge. You will also fall into traps that anyone with some basic grounding in computing will skip over.
I also recommend you take some time as you learn your first language to learn the basic concepts in networking, computer maintenance and other general IT skills.
You can think of this as learning to drive without knowing what a road is, or the difference between a street and a motorway. Sure you might be able to pick up the skills to drive - you might ever be quite good at "driving", but to use them where it matters (on a road) you will have giant gaps in you knowledge base.
Good luck.
@Harley009 (1416)
• India
23 Oct 08
C++ can be considered as a basic step for you. You can get some help regarding that and try to do. You can use Visual C++ or Borland C++ or Anjuta.
If you are about to try graphical programming tools. You can try VB or .net
You can get some e-books from somewhere.
1 person likes this
