Learning Programming.

[saffakanera]

Hi guys, ive been trying for a while now to get into programming, I however didnt do maths in school, and would really like to *but struggle to* grasp the fundamentals etc of programming, ive checked out this site http://www.htdp.org/2003-09-26/Companion/drscheme-Z-H-6.html#node_sec_2.1

Also trying to figure out a book called Designing Programs, its heeectic, are there any resources out there aimed at 5 year olds with learning disabilities? Because thats where I feel I stand.

I really have the enthusiasm, just cant wrap my head around this stuff!

Please help.

Regards.

Saff.

 

[Veroland]

Have you tried to do some searches for stuff like "Introduction to programming".

I have some ebooks I leeched from a training company a little while ago

 

[Eyenstyn]

Hi saffakanera, I know what your going through. I have studied Multimedia and have done C++, Java, ActionScript and whole lot more programming langauges. I suggest finding one that suits you, so that once you understand the basics you will be able to create a host of advanced applications combining the basic skills and techniques.

I am starting to believe that computer books may not be that insightful, i normally get tutorials from the internet and use the examples to learn from them.

I suggest downloading the stumbleupon toolbar(free registration required) for firefox and search for programming(any language) tutorials. You will find a lot of good programming sites. The one i usually go to is www.kirupa.com for actionscripting. I also visit http://www.sagamedev.com/for discussions on how to develop games and so on.

Also try to get yourself a good IDE(Integrated development environment) - its an application like eclipse or visual studio, to help programmers to program faster by containing predictive text and debugging features.

You could try Visual Basic Scripting language. Its a bit like C but with Object Oriented features. You can also download visual studio express edition for free from www.dreamspark.com

 

[saffakanera]

Thanks man, appreciate the suggestions, but what about the concept of programming? What if my logic is so far behind that I cant grasp or understand things like Loops, Arrays etc?

My problem really isnt with the languages, its with the concepts behind it all!

 

[Eyenstyn]

No your problem is that you are too afraid to program. The concepts come once you play around with the program languages.

 

[saffakanera]

I feel like Luke Skywalker trying to lift a rock using the force Just hate sitting there in front of the screen for 30 minutes staring at Loops and trying to figure out what the hell its trying to mean!

 

[Agutator]

Forget about the concepts for now. Just learn and master a language like any .NET language, Java or Delphi. The concepts you'll learn later after you have mastered a language.

 

[Kaufies]

My problem really isnt with the languages, its with the concepts behind it all!

There's something called Alice. I've never used it or anything but apparently it teaches the fundamentals of programming without any/much code. It's a big download iirc so first check if I'm right.

I think you basically create animations/games and that teaches you the logic without getting bogged down on syntax.

From: http://www.alice.org/:

Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.

Like I said, I've never used it so can't really comment on how good it is.

Good luck!

 

[Acid0]

Loops are quite easy.

It is actually doing exactly as you state a statement in broken english. ie.

While loop = while this variable or statement is true or equal to the value it will loop.

For loop = for the following statement it will loop.

If statement if this is true or false it will do a function (if is not a loop but fall under the same category)

Try to speak broken english and remember that most prog lang is sequential thus the computer will run your program line for line unless you tell it to go somewhere else.

As everyone say play around get the basics done first.
I think most of the peoples problem is they want to program like a senior the first day. Sit back and take it one step at a time there is a reason for the "Hello World" line

 

[czc]

I tried pascal a few years ago. Its knowing when to use the loop to do what you want that gets me.

I think maybe I'll try learn something again. Would PHP be a valid language?

 

[saffakanera]

You see its not the language itself, but I understand what you guys are saying, pick a language, and apply the concepts of loops, statements etc etc. I have a CBT nugget video on C#, VB and Java, ill check it out.

 

[Nod]

I tried pascal a few years ago. Its knowing when to use the loop to do what you want that gets me.

I think maybe I'll try learn something again. Would PHP be a valid language?

PHP is very easy, and you should be able to a lot with it. There are also a lot of examples at the online manual.

 

[booya30]

Forget about the concepts for now. Just learn and master a language like any .NET language, Java or Delphi. The concepts you'll learn later after you have mastered a language.

I'm also a beginner to programming and Delphi has really helped me understand loops, case statements, if then elses etc. It's pretty simple and everthing can be explained very easily. Logic is also an important skill.

Like Acid0 said, get the basics first.

 

[greggpb]

Pen and Paper is the best way to learn concepts write out what you wanna do as a story..
then write out all the steps in point form(verbose)
then use programing construct to combine steps or eliminate them.
Eventually you will have a short set of instructions in english..
then try and convert those tot he laguage of your choice.

 

[Nod]

Pen and Paper is the best way to learn concepts write out what you wanna do as a story..
then write out all the steps in point form(verbose)
then use programing construct to combine steps or eliminate them.
Eventually you will have a short set of instructions in english..
then try and convert those tot he laguage of your choice.

Flow diagrams helps too. Every decision block is a potential loop

 

[Wino]

Hi guys, ive been trying for a while now to get into programming, I however didnt do maths in school, and would really like to *but struggle to* grasp the fundamentals etc of programming, ive checked out this site http://www.htdp.org/2003-09-26/Companion/drscheme-Z-H-6.html#node_sec_2.1

Also trying to figure out a book called Designing Programs, its heeectic, are there any resources out there aimed at 5 year olds with learning disabilities? Because thats where I feel I stand.

I really have the enthusiasm, just cant wrap my head around this stuff!

Please help.

Regards.

Saff.

How can you not do Maths in school? Isnt it mandatory anymore?

 

[greggpb]

only manditory till std 7 or grade 9 was like that when i was at school in the dark ages

 

[Kaufies]

Java was my first language. I learned it on my own using the Sun tutorial. It's very well set out, available for download and easy to follow.

Another good thing about Java is it's easy to move onto other languages (C++, C#) once you know it quite well.

As for an IDE, I'd have to recommend JGrasp. It's fantastic for beginners as it can generate CSDs (control structure diagrams) which visually show how your code will execute. It's very useful when it comes to loops etc.

Once you've got the basics, move onto something more advance such as Netbeans/Eclipse/Whatever

 

[sn3rd]

You don't need maths to do introductory programming.

At most, you need a concept of what an integer and a real number are. Oh, and you need to be able to count (still maths, but more arithmetic), which if you've lived to this age, I'm sure you can do.

From there, it just takes a bit of reading (which I'm also sure you can do; don't think you've made over 2000 nonsensical posts ).

For the kind of introductory programming you're doing, just pick a language and stick with it for now. Swapping between languages the whole time when you're just learning is detrimental to your cause.

And expect to have a lot of people answer your language-specific questions with "oh, just use Java" or "oh, in C# you don't need to do that". It'll tempt you to circumvent problems you encounter by just switching languages, and if you ever have to do something in a specific language, you'll get stuck.

Of course, if you run into issues, posting on the forum is always a good idea; lots of comprehensive answers to be found here.

 

[saffakanera]

You don't need maths to do introductory programming.

At most, you need a concept of what an integer and a real number are. Oh, and you need to be able to count (still maths, but more arithmetic), which if you've lived to this age, I'm sure you can do.

From there, it just takes a bit of reading (which I'm also sure you can do; don't think you've made over 2000 nonsensical posts ).

For the kind of introductory programming you're doing, just pick a language and stick with it for now. Swapping between languages the whole time when you're just learning is detrimental to your cause.

And expect to have a lot of people answer your language-specific questions with "oh, just use Java" or "oh, in C# you don't need to do that". It'll tempt you to circumvent problems you encounter by just switching languages, and if you ever have to do something in a specific language, you'll get stuck.

Of course, if you run into issues, posting on the forum is always a good idea; lots of comprehensive answers to be found here.

Thanks man, really helpful comment