[PROGRAMMING] I need guidance

[MrTay]

I'm very interested in coding, to feed my curiosity, I need some guidance from the experts on where to start.


I'm planning on coding my first program. So if anyone here knows coding, please share your experience on how you started your journey. Any help are appreciated. Thank you.

 

[jMerliN]

I'm very interested in coding, to feed my curiosity, I need some guidance from the experts on where to start.


I'm planning on coding my first program. So if anyone here knows coding, please share your experience on how you started your journey. Any help are appreciated. Thank you.

MIT OpenCourseWare | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | 6.00 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, Fall 2008 | Video Lectures

 

[MrTay]

Thank you, I'll look into it. What language is it?

 

[jMerliN]

Thank you, I'll look into it. What language is it?

Python.

 

[MrTay]

My god. lol.
But im learning Java atm. I think I just programmed something o_o with void changeGear (gear() + 50){

 

[Negata]

Python.

My, my, has your attitude changed totally in a few months? You used to go about recommending Assembly and C as the first languages.

 

[jMerliN]

My, my, has your attitude changed totally in a few months? You used to go about recommending Assembly and C as the first languages.

If you don't learn assemby and C, you're never going to be a good programmer. But it's easier to watch videos taught by someone at a rather prestigious university than it is to try to find a good book then learn the language yourself or follow the many terrible tutorials that exist on the internet and are, in fact, the top results when searching in google.

In reality, this course is more of a "what you can do, and some cool things you can do right now" rather than a "what you should do."

 

[Negata]

Well, you know, lately I've started to believe that briefly starting out with something like python or visual basic even might not be such a bad idea. Whichever language feels the easiest to get anything at all done with. That's because some people simply are so bad at grasping the what that they can't afford the extra effort into the how of "more difficult" languages.

 

[MrTay]

Thanks Negata, and jMerlin, I've started out with Java, it's easy for me, and Im kind having a great time with the "coffee"

 

[holthelper]

my guess C++ would be good to start out in, again my guess.

 

[King Grub]

Never to late to start.

You'll also find that lots of people have non-traditional backgrounds in the IT/Programming/Computer world. One of the greatest programmers I knew was a Philosophy major. She was hard core logical and rational and reasonable when approaching the task at hand.

Your choice of languages fall into 3 main batches. This is an ultra simplistic explanation. There are hundreds of other languages and other types but these are the main ones:

Hard core low level languages like C, C++ and assembler; Modern, mainstream statically typed languages like Java and C#; Modern dynamically typed languages like Perl, Python and Ruby.

You are very right in assuming that the languages you learn will color your experiences going forward but you have to start somewhere. For that reason, I would learn one language fairly well and then branch out from there.

I would think that you will probably get further, faster by picking one of the languages in the last category. In particular Python or Ruby (Ruby is quite the hot up and coming thing although that's more for its web app framework called Rails than the language itself). Then I would pick up Java or C# to see how the other half lives.

Good luck

 

[MrTay]

Thank you. But i'm sticking with Java. I was lost before at where I should start to branch. Java is quite good.