programming where to start?

[lil_tech]

Im just wondering if anyone could help me get started on programming my teacher is suppose to be teaching us but he gets off task to easy and im heading off to college soon and i would like to kinda have a head start for college so if anyone could help send me off in the right way i would deeply appreciate it! and im looking at C++ or java script

[Rootstonian]

Don't worry about...go to college, pay attention, study hard. You'll be fine

[ShyguyXPC]

if its like most colleges, they'll probably require you to take one or two basic introduction computer classes to familiarize you with the computer in general, tech terms, etc..

at least they were still doing this 6+ years ago, not sure how it is now.

but if you can even learning other languages & what not like BASIC of VisualBASIC, can help some when you start to dive into C++, its been about 10 years for me since I started it, but had to quit college due to some financial hardships back then, was out for a couple years & went back & just couldn't grasp things again with programming, despite learning very fast older programs like COBOL & some others, when it comes to programming the phrase "Use it or Lose it" really does apply, take too much time away & a lot of times, the knowledge seems to disappear, at least talking to several other classmates I had 10 years ago, other ones that also seemed to have lost their way learning C++. even my uncle who'd been doing programming since he was in the USAF, in his late mid 50's now, has even told me the same thing, along with my college instructor once in a while when I see him, got to keep practicing otherwise you can easily lose your touch.

not sure what others here can suggest, I'm sure Rootstonian above may have some suggestions, but I'd suggest reading up on some free online tutorials when you can...

doing just a quick google search comes up with quite a few...

but best advice that can be given is as suggested above...

Don't worry about...go to college, pay attention, study hard. You'll be fine

[Rootstonian]

Well, I'm willing to bet most colleges these days ARE NOT teaching COBOL. I know mine stopped and I don't know why. Believe it or not, there is a ton of COBOL still in use. I was just at a meeting Wednesday about converting my systems' last COBOL program off the mainframe (but other shops still have it out there).

If you want a head start, you can't beat Dietel and Dietel's C++ book. I'm willing to bet most colleges use it for their Intro to Computer Science class and probably a class or two after that. I'll also point out that there are a few types of programmers: business, scientific, web, game, applications (Windows stuff). I'm a business programmer, but can program in C/C++ and do Windows applications as well.

The business programmer of old was trained in COBOL and Assembler and RPG. Today, I code in SQR; it's a C-like language that allows embedded SQL...fun stuff

Pick up the Dietel book. Get a free C++ compiler and try some simple programs. If you get stuck, post here and we can help

BUT, don't try to go too far. You have got to learn the basics first...program logic, modularity, program flow statements, program structure, top-down programming etc. Once you master these, you can code in any language; you just have to learn the syntax of the language!

[ShyguyXPC]

Well Said.

Yeah I just brought up the COBOL, as it was one I learned back in 1995-1997 school years, couldn't grasp it at first, but after the first few weeks I suddenly was able to do a lot of it very quickly, even finishing the class & acing my final almost 2 weeks before it was over.

but your right I don't think too many offer it anymore, even though they should. I know the program at our community college only lasted another year or so before it was canned, as it was, I missed out by one year learning FORTRAN, they had actually canceled it that spring when I graduated from High school, so I missed out on that one.

had already had experience with BASIC from learning some in High school, but had already taken 2 or 3 classes during summer breaks over the years before that since 4th/5th grade on up to about 8th. Even got to play around a little using Mac Pascal in high school in the one computer class we had back then as well.

but been out of it so long, I only remember bits & parts of the different languages I learned or had started learning... down side of not keeping up with it.

[lil_tech]

hey thanks for the advice guys i guess college has got me a little antsy. And thanks so much for suggesting the books and free tutorials i will have to look into them.

[Rootstonian]

Good, you should be "antsy" about college. I didn't start till I was older, but was stiil apprehensive (ansty) when I went in. But I tell you this much; it was one of the most memorable times of my life.

By the time I went, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, the cousrework I wanted to take and the type of job I would end up at. Hard to do for most 18-year olds. Kudos to you that if you're at that age and you know what you want to do because I sure as hell didn't!

Don't get me wrong...it's hard...it's VERY hard. Most professors will tell you to expect to spend 2 hours out of class for every hour spent in class. Double or triple that for computer programming. It's not like writing a 5 page paper; it's like writing a 500 page paper!!

Watch how you schedule your classes too. You'll have to take probably 30 to 36 credit hours in General Studies classes; make sure to mix those in with the tough comp. sci. classes. And don't forget the math. Non business majors, that is, Computer Science students usually have to take Calc I and Calc II. Don't get scared; they're not that bad (ok, Calc II was kinda rough LOL).

Business majors will have much less programming and more database and management classes. That's not a bad career path either. Of course, I went Comp Sci...left the BA for the woosies ROFL

[Creatures]

i'm probably the only one who prefers java, i tried C and C++ at first but then started to learn java and i have to say i really love it, sure it is said to be slow but most of the time you dont need the speed that C and C++ give you (games are totally fine under Java, there is even a 3D mmorpg with python (which is even slower than java))

the good thing about java is, it's a lot easier to learn than C or C++ and after understanding java you can easily switch to C++ and use it OO as it was intended to be, because programming C++ OO is very hard without understanding the concept of OO programming

Creatures

OO = Object oriented

[lil_tech]

well any suggetion on finding help with java? so is there a ton of required classes that are required for programming, also did you go with a bachelors+ degree or did you get a technical degree?

[Rootstonian]

Sorry, can't help with JAVA, don't know it (but I could learn it ). Looks just like C++.

Degree? 2 times, A.A.B in Computer Programming and B.S. in Computer Science, both from college.

College IS NOT High School...it's a lot tougher. And it'll go a lot faster than you think

[theGlitch]

well any suggetion on finding help with java? so is there a ton of required classes that are required for programming, also did you go with a bachelors+ degree or did you get a technical degree?

I am currently a graduating senior in computer science at Umass Dartmouth. Our program (as I can assume with most college programs) focused mainly on theory. This is because if you learn 1 programming language you have the knowledge to learn any.

That being said, we first learned Java. When I had issue with it I bought O'Reilly's "Java in a Nutshell." O'Reilly makes real good computer books and you can pick them up at any Borders or Barnes & Noble. After we were taught Java they put us through C. This then gave us both Object Oriented and procedural programming. If you know these two types of programming, you can just about learn any language.

Since then my course load turned into a lot of theory based concepts (ie how the computer works, how to write better code, how to design a good application, etc).

So if you're looking to get a jump on College, don't just focus on a programming books. Get yourself a diagramming book too (most colleges focus on UML these days). Give your self little projects to do, this way you can test your knowledge and have examples you can bring back to this forum if you have trouble.

I wish you all the luck with your college carrier. Remember Engineering (computer science) is one of the hardest colleges to graduate from. A 'C' in an Engineering course is equivalent to a 'B' in a business course. The saying, "C's and D's get degrees" has helped me through getting my BS (but of course aim for those A's)

[DoubleK]

College IS NOT High School...it's a lot tougher. And it'll go a lot faster than you think

You guys are making me REAL jittery now.

I sucked @ math in high school (to busy w/girls and work) and that was 20 years ago

With that said I personally do not care if it takes me an extra year to get through college (have a six year old and another on the way) as the alternative is working for crappy wages forever and NEVER retiring.

I am heading over to the Local College ext this week and getting squared away. Talk about a fish out of water. But scared? Hardly.

Hows that for some perspective lil_tech? If you wait around long enough (like me) you can be in College with two kids, a wife, Golden Retriever and a mortgage

Rootstonian you hit the nail on the head with the advice on cobol. The Sys Admin where I worked for 16 years OWNED his job security in an environment were you worked cheap or they replaced you. Seems the C++ kids could not grasp cobol. He was just under the 6 digits that a database/cisco engineer commands.

[Rootstonian]

COBOL is a nsaty little language till you master it. It's a business oriented language designed to quickly process HUGE amounts of data at a fast rate. It's nothing like C/C++, JAVA, PASCAL etc.

I'm going to miss it...as I indicated in a previous post, I'm converting my system's last process from MVS COBOL to Client/Server. <sniff, sniff> Kind of sad,,,could be the last COBOL program I ever work on and I was primarily trained in that programming language.

[lil_tech]

so even though it seems COBOL isnt as popular is it still worth learning? or would it be just a total waste of time to learn or take time learning?

[Little-Burrito]

Programming is not so much about language as it as about a way of thinking. Once you learn how to think, there are usually only a few commands and workarounds that differ between the languages.
I don't know anything about COBOL, but I know that I started in GameMaker when it was in a very early stage, then went on to C. The way of thinking from GameMaker made C really easy to learn, and once you know C it's pretty much no difference changing to Java, PHP, Javascript, ASP or whatever.
You don't have to worry so much, just start learning something that seems fun. If you want to program games later on, GameMaker is very well structured for learning the procedure and structure of game programming.
Most importantly: It's much easier to learn if you enjoy it. That's why I suggest GameMaker if you're interested in games.

[Rootstonian]

COBOL is really nothing like C/C++, JAVA, PASCAL etc. And if you're lucky enough to get to play with programs 20 or more years old, you'll find the programmers of that day really loved their GOTO's and use of cryptic variable names. Try debugging 50,000 lines of that!

And entire SYSTEMS were written in COBOL: Payroll, HR, Budgets, Student Records etc. Some of these systems had 100's of COBOL and Easytrieve programs and JCL in them. Fun stuff!

If your college offers COBOL, take it. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to learn it though, but it doesn't hurt. A guy in my shop with 30 years tells me his DAD is still doing COBOL work for companies!!

I have to go in this morning and play with my COBOL Timecard program; I actually have to fix something before I start my conversion on it! ROFL

[busybeee]

Hi...While studying in college i too don't know about the C++ and Java. After that i went to center to study about that languages. Mostly in colleges they will cover only the syllabus. Apart from this we have to make ourselves. The main thing is the OOPS concept if you were clear in that. Then it will be easy for you to move further steps. If you are interested in Games try to collect some information such as how coding are written for the Games. Then workout the process.
Keep on work-outing the programs. This makes easier to know more. Study Online Materials and write online test for C++ and Java. tThis makes your idea clear.