I'd like to learn some programming, I already have an idea about how it works, and may will have to learn it next year anyway. But I wonder if you can do some stuff in programmation, like, from time to time ? Can you practice it not regularly, and still be able to do some stuff when you have an idea ? Or do you have to work this as a job or an important hobby ?
Learn it for what exactly? Most programmational products of worth consume time in gulps and swigs.
KOREA
koreo
Programming isn't hard; you can do kinds of interesting things if you know how to do a little research. So there's nothing wrong with dabbling in it.
Just don't expect to make the next Half-Life.
Programmation! Fighting crime!
What the hell is programmation?
Visual Basic is probably the best for beginners. Just deal with Windows for a bit until you gain experience and knowledge and then move on to more advanced and effective languages. Programming is a long journey, just dont give up.
>>6
I, having started programming with Visual Basic, would advise beginners to stay the FUCK away from it. Picking up any other language after having started with VB was much harder than neccesary. This might have changed with vb.net, but anyways, I'd suggest a language that is a little more like basically all important languages. But anyways: http://4-ch.net/code/kareha.pl/1109963434
Learning things based around UI (VB and such) is pretty pointless if you do it before you've learned to code in general.
I started with QBASIC and moved to Visual Basic like >>9, but had no serious problems moving to c++, and then c.
I started with C, then learned assembly as well and now i laugh at most languages.
>>11
You're using an electronic computer? Noob.
Posting from an abacus via IP over avian carrier.
I think that you will do fine learning C++ first. That is what i learned in Middle School. It is fairly easy to learn.
You can get a free compiler from microsoft. They have Visual Studio C++ express for free download.
If you are like most programmers that visit boards like these, i would assume that you are learning to program games.
So a good resource would be www.gamedev.net
It is a great place for people to start, because they have tutorials for beginners.
It is under resources on the left hand corner, as the label "for beginners"
I hope you have fun.
Dev C++ or other lighter things are nicer than VC++e.
They don't create multi-directory project folders with 5 different debug reports just to compile a 'Hello World' app.
> I think that you will do fine learning C++ first... It is fairly easy to learn.
I disagree. Compare a basic program (e.g. Hello World) in C++ to the equivalent dynamically-typed one. Easier is better for a beginner.
It's also better when you want to get more done in less developer time, much like appears to be the case with >>1.
C_FLAGS || GTFO
From my experience, programming is quite time consuming if you want to make anything bigger than a simple hello-world program.
Programming is not too difficult.
There are some basic concepts that carry pretty well from a programming language to another (variables, functions, flow control).
So just start with the easier one.
I think Visual Basic would not be bad and you could do little easy games to practice.
good luck! ^__^
>>1
Don't start out in BASIC. Doing that is like breaking your leg and getting it reset improperly. Yeah, you can get used to it, and you can still do some pretty cool stuff with it, but if you get it reset properly, it's going to be extremely hard to adjust.
Don't make the mistake I did. Start out in C/C++ or even Java. But stay far away from BASIC or any of it's derivatives.
I keep hearing people say that starting with BASIC is a mistake.
Why? Because of GOTO?
I'd say starting with Visual Basic could be a mistake, if it's approached poorly -- but then I suppose the same could be said for any language (or implementation thereof).
As for BASIC, I don't see any problem starting with it, or even using it for serious (if the tool works, use it!).
Also I dislike all this RAH RAH GOTO IS EVIL crap everywhere. Seems like 90% of people spouting that particular one these days are just repeating the party line and haven't actually been bitten by any perceived problem themselves. Besides, I've seen some terrible "structured" code too -- it's not inherently any better solely for not using GOTOs.
Maybe if more people had firsthand experience with GOTO tangles while they were beginning, they'd be able to produce more elegant code later -- because they really understand why they're doing what they doing, and aren't just parroting what they were told by someone else.
tl;dw
I decided to bite the bullet completely, so i started out with m68k assembly (my personal computer at the time was an Atari Falcon which uses the m68k CPU); latern on I became quite the Fortran guru. More recently I taught myself perl.
It's all in the mindset. I disagree with the people saying starting out with BASIC is a bad idea - if you put your mind to it you can learn any language after any other. But the best decision is to start out like I did - don't choose a language based on it being a "good starter" - just find a language that you'd like to learn and start learning that language.