Programming for Beginners

Pandam0nium

Pandam0nium

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Hi guys, hopefully you could educate me more on this. In the past ive fiddled around with C and VB (not much though) with some tutorials but i dont really know how to get started as a programmer. if anyone would be so kind as to give me some advise on where to start and what language to chose, the basic steps, i would really appreciate it. ive heard about java, lazarus & sql but i have no idea what it really is and how to use it or to get hold of it. This would really help a lot of people, not just me, as some are willing to learn they just dont know where to start.
 
IMHO jumping straight into very high level languages is frequently a barrier and mistake to understanding.

Start with C, then C++ and then try the others such as C#, Java, and Python.

SQL is not really a language, but its quite easy to learn, but its basically only DB oriented, the only real programming I suppose is when we use stored procs.

I am currently teaching some students the basics on Saturday mornings.
 
Koosi said:
IMHO jumping straight into very high level languages is frequently a barrier and mistake to understanding.

Start with C, then C++ and then try the others such as C#, Java, and Python.

SQL is not really a language, but its quite easy to learn, but its basically only DB oriented, the only real programming I suppose is when we use stored procs.

I am currently teaching some students the basics on Saturday mornings.
Click to expand...

Hi koosi

where are you based? i also want to learn just started playing with python maybe i could join your class i am ready eager to learn programming
 
Threads like this make me wish Delphi was still a thing. C++ is just too damn clunky for me to recommend to a beginner even though I think everyone should learn to code in an unmanaged language so that they get the feel for cleaning up after themselves and giving some thought to lower level language details.

Since it isn't a thing I will go straight to suggesting starting with C#.

I will say that more important than learning to code is learning proper software development practices which are the foundation of anything you code.

Before writing a single line of code you need to understand interfaces, single responsibility, separation of concerns, basic object orientated design and memory management (It is a myth that you don't need to worry about this in .NET since some of the more commonly used libraries are still unmanaged. Basically if it implements IDisposable it is up to you to manage it.) .

These days with the .net help documentation and Stackoverflow anyone can copy paste code that kind of works but thst is only 20% of programming.

Now if I haven't scared you off go google SOLID right now.
 
Take a look at Java. It's pretty popular with beginners and there is a free choice of IDE (Dev environments) and notes on it.

C++ is trickier (and similar)
C# is Microsoft and is really a clone of Java designed to work on Windows.

Hackers like to play with Python. Delphi is out of the Ark, so leave that.
 
Guca said:
Hi koosi

where are you based? i also want to learn just started playing with python maybe i could join your class i am ready eager to learn programming
Click to expand...

I am based in JHB.
I teach 2-3 okes from work (yes you have to believe it, they have degrees and SOMEHOW they didn't get taught the basics)

I will say that more important than learning to code is learning proper software development practices which are the foundation of anything you code.
Click to expand...

What he said, read that at least 10 times!

What I would also like to add is we have one or two devs at work who tried to come with design patterns this and interfaces that.
I am honest, I couldn't care about design patterns, because as our resident professor put it, we all do it anyway, its just a fancy name for what we already know from being taught how to code effectively. Mr Design pattern is in my class on Saturday mornings, he wanted to go all the way back to C, because he is trying to do his MSc Honours and he cannot grasp C, let alone assembler.

Hackers like to play with Python
Click to expand...
Ahem.. not quite... yet. Its still C, C++ and now recently C#. The latter can be used to make a nice DoS tool, because of the way Microsoft implemented the sockets class.
 
Java is the most popular language at present, according to the TIOBE Index for June 2015.
 
Is it possible to join your class I am a complete newby I am also from joburg in the east rand, how much would you charge?
 
AntiGanda said:
Java is the most popular language at present, according to the TIOBE Index for June 2015.
Click to expand...

Yes it is, and I found it as easy as taking candy from a baby... Can do literally anything with it.
 
Mjc65 said:
Hi guys, hopefully you could educate me more on this. In the past ive fiddled around with C and VB (not much though) with some tutorials but i dont really know how to get started as a programmer. if anyone would be so kind as to give me some advise on where to start and what language to chose, the basic steps, i would really appreciate it. ive heard about java, lazarus & sql but i have no idea what it really is and how to use it or to get hold of it. This would really help a lot of people, not just me, as some are willing to learn they just dont know where to start.
Click to expand...

Best thing you could to is to take a step back from this and that language, this and that tech. What would be good is if you start to learn and understand programming concepts. Patterns would also be good, but more so the ability to ask yourself what you are looking at and what it is doing.

This is a lot better than simply googling something and using it without giving it a second thought or jumping head first into a language.

On the language part... well you need to start with something rather than just wondering about it. When you are well established in one then look at another one, try to see why things are done they way they are. Looking at the underlying implementation, what its trying to solve is a lot better then just learning tech to learn tech.

Of course you need to know what you are trying to accomplish with all of this and checking if what you are doing is pushing you towards it.
 
1.) KhanAcedemy offers free intro to programming courses. I'm busy with it now...once I'm done I'll move on to Codeacedemy:
2.) http://www.codecademy.com/

Cool thing with online courses like Khanacedemy is I can log in wherever I am and complete another module. But more often I find myself logging in to work on one of my programs, which, even tho they're really simple - I'll wonder if I can do this or that and load up something I was busy with and try to implement it.
 
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Koosi said:
I am based in JHB.
I teach 2-3 okes from work (yes you have to believe it, they have degrees and SOMEHOW they didn't get taught the basics)



What he said, read that at least 10 times!

What I would also like to add is we have one or two devs at work who tried to come with design patterns this and interfaces that.
I am honest, I couldn't care about design patterns, because as our resident professor put it, we all do it anyway, its just a fancy name for what we already know from being taught how to code effectively. Mr Design pattern is in my class on Saturday mornings, he wanted to go all the way back to C, because he is trying to do his MSc Honours and he cannot grasp C, let alone assembler.


Ahem.. not quite... yet. Its still C, C++ and now recently C#. The latter can be used to make a nice DoS tool, because of the way Microsoft implemented the sockets class.
Click to expand...

Hi is it possible to join your class I am based in joburg east rand how much do you charge?
 
Oh we're doing this again

/waits from Swa and semaphore

 
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-0

Firstly this website is amazing for just about any type of online course you want to do for interest, almost all have a free option.

This one is done using Python, there are others with C & Ruby on Rails that I've also done. They have an intro to Linux that I quite enjoyed.

Also a SQL one, but I was already pretty versed in SQL.
 
Koosi said:
Ahem.. not quite... yet. Its still C, C++ and now recently C#.
Click to expand...
Actually you're wrong. Python is very common among the hackathon communities and defcon. C# does not even appear there or if it does its one in a million.

Koosi said:
Ahem.. not quite... yet. Its still C, C++ and now recently C#. The latter can be used to make a nice DoS tool, because of the way Microsoft implemented the sockets class.
Click to expand...

Um. What are you even talking about here. What does a console application have to do with a socket class.:confused:
 
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