Where to begin ?

[Edgerobber]

A simple enough question - what is a good way to get into programming ?

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I AM the Edgerobber -
That's nice isn't it
2nd order OC knight

[Snoop Dogg]

Same here and good question!

To help us out a little more which language to start out with and what books and websites.

[KiD_BaroN]

Visual Basic, would probably be the best place to start, but you have to add what kind of programing you have in mind? anything with the www, or just programming like windows apps. Visual Basic 6.0 and a good dummies book is a very good place to start if you are intrested in the latter

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[homerj31]

If you are not in college yet and you want to get a BS in computer science or engineering I will start learning Java, and or C. I think Java is a good languege to start working on, it is easy to find a compiler and you can make applets that anybody on the web can view. With C you will have to "buy" a compiler. If you learn java, you will have to problem learning C because they are both object-orianted programming langauges.

I disagree with the getting dummies for anything, especially for programming. I have teach yourself VB in 24 hours (from SAMS) and i don't like it. I learned java in college, and i did enjoy the books. The books i used DID NOT teach you a language, but told me the basics of programming using JAVA(which makes you learn java), which is the best way to go.

I consider myself a knowledable Java programmer, so any more question let me know

trying to help
homerj31
yes i know i can't speeell http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

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[Snoop Dogg]

See I knew it Visual Basic 6 must rule cuz I was thinking that was the easiest to start out with and also the one I am most hyped up to learn.

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Edgerobber:
A simple enough question - what is a good way to get into programming ?


Visual Basic if you have ABSOLUTELY NO programming experience. If you have even the slightest bit, I'd go for Java. It will give you a good introduction into object oriented design.

I don't know too much about the dummies books but they are okay if you want simple examples . If you want something more advanced, Deitel And Deitel books are probably the best. It's what they use in college and they are very thorough.

Some good java sites:
http://javaboutique.internet.com/ http://java.sun.org


Good Luck!

[Snoop Dogg]

Woohoo just downloaded Microsoft Visual Basic 6 today....only 387MB file...opps I mean bought http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Edgerobber]

Well I've done a bit of HTML and Jscript and I'm in my 3rd year of a Chemistry course, so I think the message I'm getting is "start with Java"

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I AM the Edgerobber -
That's nice isn't it
2nd order OC knight

[Snoop Dogg]

1 more question...is it true you need math skills to become a good programmer?

[cheapy]

Originally posted by Snoop Dogg:
1 more question...is it true you need math skills to become a good programmer?

IMHO I wouldn't have said so, although I am good at Maths, so I may find things easy that people who hadn't done maths wouldn't.

A

[Snoop Dogg]

Okay cool thanx...BTW with all these new internet slangs what does IMHO mean?

[Angelus]

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

[Pinky]

I'd say that if you plan on getting into a lot of programming, especially if you want to do something like games, good math skills are a must. Math and computer science go hand in hand, that's why schools usually require certain math classes for CS majors. In fact, becoming a CS major will often lead to a minor in math, intentionally or not.

[This message has been edited by Pinky (edited January 01, 2001).]

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Snoop Dogg:
1 more question...is it true you need math skills to become a good programmer?


I don't think that you need good math skills to be a programmer. While it helps, it's not absolutely necessary.
Programming takes a certain mindset. You have to think logically and , sometimes, put yourself in the computer's ...shoes. It takes a bit to get used to it, but it does come eventually.

[Snoop Dogg]

K thanx man still learning or trying to learn all the internet acronyms http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

I don't see how Math skills could help or be involved since I am not a programmer...yet. But I am willing to spend hours on writing code that is what I have had wet dreams about for almost 2 years now! I can hardly wait since I now got Microsoft Visual Basic 6 compiler I am just itching to find a book to kick me off in the right direction.

[Snoop Dogg]

Ohh yeah can someone please tell me what kind of stuff Visual Basic can do?

I thought all programming languages do the same thing only diff is easy to use and more powerful. But I guess I was wrong they only do certain things.

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Snoop Dogg:
Ohh yeah can someone please tell me what kind of stuff Visual Basic can do?

I thought all programming languages do the same thing only diff is easy to use and more powerful. But I guess I was wrong they only do certain things.

Visual basic is kinda like a melding of flash and well basic.
you can create object in a GUI environment (like draw a "OK" button in
a window) and then you assign actions to that button . "On "buttonDown" do
x + y and display result in textBox". It also
has really easy access into some of Microsoft's other products
like Access and excel. It also has a little installer creator so you
can create a kinda of setup.exe that will place all the dll's that
the application is dependant on. All in all, it's good for simpler personal projects (like
maybe an mp3 organizer or a basic time organizer) but I would stay away from
more complex projects with it. It's not very robust and it's kinda bloated.

Honestly, though, I find it fun to program with. You just have to learn it limitations.
And you will once you work with it.

[Edgerobber]

What I really want to do is to program soem decent Chemistry software (Most of it has rather poor UI's and some are just awful)
But that's a long term aim, in the short term I need skills for web applications.

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I AM the Edgerobber -
That's nice isn't it
2nd order OC knight

[Snoop Dogg]

Thanks man I just ordered a Visual Basic 6 book from Amazon.com last night so hopefully I can create some cool stuff.

Do you by chance know the diff. when they upgrade from like Version 5 to 6? I mean what could they upgrade?

[Klashe]

Originally posted by Snoop Dogg:
Thanks man I just ordered a Visual Basic 6 book from Amazon.com last night so hopefully I can create some cool stuff.

Do you by chance know the diff. when they upgrade from like Version 5 to 6? I mean what could they upgrade?




The main differences between 5 and 6 is that in six it has the ability to interface with Oracle and SQL server. It used to be only able to interface with Access.
It also has a new thing called WebClasses which i guess interface easy with web pages.
Honestly, I'd cancel your amazon order. You can find tons of resources on the internet. And many times, one book just won't suffice so you'll be doing it anyways.



[This message has been edited by Klashe (edited January 02, 2001).]

[turp182]

Visual Basic is just that, it's basic. But it's also powerful (under MS OSes) since it has full access to the Win32 API (that's getting complicated though).

VB is also the scripting language for all of MS Office. That includes Word, Excel, and Access macros and functions. This cross-software language portability is very powerful.

Anyway, I teach a VB class for math students at a local college, and the book I used this year was great. It had all the basics, but it also covered the more advanced topics.

The title is: Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 6 Online in Web Time (I know, it's chessy, web time???).

Here's a link to Amazon if you would like more info: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067231665X/o/qid=978612619/sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_3/107-7965545-3646145

Let me know if you have any questions.

Peter




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