My code won't work (uhm total beginner here).

semaphore said:
I don't agree with you at all on that, but lets just leave it at that.

Okay Bar0n, You're right Bar0n. Can we move on now Bar0n?
Click to expand...

You were wrong and you know it. Trying to be absurd about it is not helping your case. From the discussion, I simply hope OP will be able to see who knows what he's talking about and who isn't.
 
Bar0n said:
You were wrong and you know it. Trying to be absurd about it is not helping your case. From the discussion, I simply hope OP will be able to see who knows what he's talking about and who isn't.
Click to expand...

Lol. How cute you scored an internet victory.

OP go buy one, follow everything Bar0n says.
 
Lots a great info but as always OP could end up with information overload and try to achieve too much.
If intention is to learn programming select environment that is easy to write code and most importantly to debug.
Nothing is more important then to be able to see what is going on in your code.
I'm not into c# or microsoft for that mater but download express studio and start from there. Most important is to learn principles and they are the same across various languages/platforms.
Stick to one course as base and use other resources to expand on it, very often people wonder off and just waste time.
When you are confident with one language and OO switching to another one is easy.
For those of you who prefer python, Express studio also has add on so you can debug python code.
RPi can be used for development but I would not recommend it, you could be frustrated with compile times and speed in general.
 
Bar0n said:
You seem completely misinformed (or uninformed) about what the Pi is, why it was created, and who the people behind it are.

It is a perfectly valid tool to learn how to program. In my opinion, it is one of the most perfect tools to learn how to program.
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How so?

Personally I found the most effective way is to start with the basics (as I've said before). From there if you want to drill the syntax in your head a bit then the best is probably a simple text editor and the compiler. That's what they made us do in uni at least. So for the 1st month or 2 we did all our java programs using notepad and compiled it through command prompt. I don't think it's essential to know every lil' syntax thing java has but I don't think it's good to completely rely on code completion either. So a good middle ground in other words. Code completion is there to make you more efficient, not to fill in ALL your code :)
 
S1ght said:
How so?
Click to expand...

Cheap, easy to reformat/replace, teaches you about Linux to some extent, and supports basically any programming language a normal PC does. Can also be used to learn about lower level stuff, i.e. interfacing with extra components via the GPIO pins.

I think all schools should acquire RasPis for their compsci classes. It's a hell of a lot cheaper and will get the job done just as well. Beginner-level programmers do not need powerful machines or powerful IDEs.

EDIT: For what it's worth (to add on to your text editor + command line compiler comment), I firmly believe every programmer should be capable of coding on paper with perfect syntax.
 
Last edited:
Bar0n said:
Cheap, easy to reformat/replace, teaches you about Linux to some extent, and supports basically any programming language a normal PC does. Can also be used to learn about lower level stuff, i.e. interfacing with extra components via the GPIO pins.
Click to expand...

He's struggling with basic syntax, so lets not overwhelm the poor guy :p
 
Don't buy a pi to learn to code C# that's the worst advice ever! Stick to Windows and Visual Studio. Also don't try Python yet until you're comfortable with the C# syntax.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
Don't buy a pi to learn to code C# that's the worst advice ever!
Click to expand...

If you read my posts, you'll notice that wasn't my suggestion. However, there's certainly no educational disadvantage to doing so.

Personally, I find Python to be a better language for beginners than C#. This is a great (and free) introduction to programming for newbies, with classes starting on 6 October: https://www.coursera.org/course/pythonlearn
 
Bar0n said:
If you read my posts, you'll notice that wasn't my suggestion. However, there's certainly no educational disadvantage to doing so.

Personally, I find Python to be a better language for beginners than C#. This is a great (and free) introduction to programming for newbies, with classes starting on 6 October: https://www.coursera.org/course/pythonlearn
Click to expand...

Python is awesome. I second this.
 
Bar0n said:
There's certainly no lack of educational Python resources.

Python is not some flash in the pan, it's here to stay:
http://blog.codeeval.com/codeevalblog/2014#.U-uL_vmSw9k
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But I don't think it's gonna revival MSDN, I'm not saying anything is wrong with Python as I've played around with it, it's just that the syntax is very 'weak' also C# can be used for web, mobile and other systems.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
But I don't think it's gonna revival MSDN, I'm not saying anything is wrong with Python as I've played around with it, it's just that the syntax is very 'weak' also C# can be used for web, mobile and other systems.
Click to expand...

C# is also a .net only language, where Python is cross platform, which is a great way to get into something other than only a .net based environment, which will count some good points in the long run.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
But I don't think it's gonna revival MSDN, I'm not saying anything is wrong with Python as I've played around with it, it's just that the syntax is very 'weak' also C# can be used for web, mobile and other systems.
Click to expand...

The strongly typed syntax of C# is often difficult for newbies to grasp; I have seen this firsthand. Hence why people like Prof. Severance on Coursera use Python for introductory programming courses.

I don't see what harm the Coursera offering could do to the OP. If he decides after 1 or 2 weeks that he doesn't like it, he can just drop it, without consequences. I strongly recommend he tries it.
 
Bar0n said:
The strongly typed syntax of C# is often difficult for newbies to grasp; I have seen this firsthand. Hence why people like Prof. Severance on Coursera use Python for introductory programming courses.

I don't see what harm the Coursera offering could do to the OP. If he decides after 1 or 2 weeks that he doesn't like it, he can just drop it, without consequences. I strongly recommend he tries it.
Click to expand...
There's even http://www.hyperiondev.com that's awesome for learning Python.
 
Bar0n said:
Cheap, easy to reformat/replace, teaches you about Linux to some extent, and supports basically any programming language a normal PC does. Can also be used to learn about lower level stuff, i.e. interfacing with extra components via the GPIO pins.

I think all schools should acquire RasPis for their compsci classes. It's a hell of a lot cheaper and will get the job done just as well. Beginner-level programmers do not need powerful machines or powerful IDEs.

EDIT: For what it's worth (to add on to your text editor + command line compiler comment), I firmly believe every programmer should be capable of coding on paper with perfect syntax.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response :)

So next question after reading the responses after this point :p I haven't really gone too much into Python before, how would you compare Python to the likes of Java as a beginner language? Strongly typed, cross platform and it gets you into Android development.
 
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