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The title says it all, but I would like to know this so I can get a good start on programming so I won't waste time and money.
Of course C++ is the most popular language, but if you started with something else please let me know. I am just wondering how you got from Point A to Point B!
I don't think C++ is the most popular language.
Self taught. I started with REXX in 1984. Then assembler. Then I lose track.
in my oppinion (im a starter too and self taught as well) is that you start with c if u want to go to c++. search for good online tutorials or books about c because that will preety much give you what you need to move on to c++.
and also, dont hurry things because thats how usually people give up.
Could you tell me what you used to learn C?Quote:
Originally Posted by shiroaisu
Thanks, Adam.
In my opinion (I am beyond the beginner stage but I am partially self taught as well), you should start with C++ if you want to learn C++. On the other hand, you probably will want to learn C too, so the order is really your choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by shiroaisu
This messageboard has a forum dedicated to C and another dedicated to C++. There is a book recommendation sticky thread in each of them.
Eiffel (it's the best), Perl, Bash, sed, awk, C, C++, Java, Javascript and now I'm working with C# :-)
In my opinion start with English if you want to learn C or C++ ;)
You'll find most language surveys do not support that statement.Quote:
Originally Posted by RialnisMada
Guide to learning language (C or C++):
- Read good beginner's book.
- Do lots of exercises.
- Read good books of topics you want to specialize in.
- Attend some programming course (optional; but it makes you smart).
- Hang out on this board, read and answer newbie questions.
This is the ultimate guide to the ultimate programmers ;)
Now get to work!
I'm almost completely self taught. No books either. Just online tutorials, Google, and this forum.
I bought an incredibly thick book called Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours and read it one November a few years ago, then I went to college.
I bought an incredibly thick book called Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours and the next day, I was an expert programmer.
It was a misleading title indeed. But that's the level of quality on shelf at my local bookstore.
I learned to program in BASIC in the early 80's and moved to C++, skipping C, shortly thereafter. Later I learned assembler. I learned to program on my own but did take a BASIC course in high school. Myself and another fella were so far ahead of the class we were given special assignments just so we would not be bored. We essentially completed the actual course in about a week or so and then moved on to other projects to keep us busy. Good course but I wanted more and I had outgrown BASIC.
I learned C++ primarily on my own with the help of one or two books. Back then I didn't have the internet and had to stare at the old Borland Turbo C++ yellow text on blue background help screens to figure it out. It was quite intimidating but once I figured out the structure of a program (main, headers, declarations, definitions, etc) the rest was pretty much smooth sailing.
Various personal game projects presented many many challenges that required a wide range of skill sets that enabled me to research a vast range of computer science topics.
But in short, my drive and my passion and this board and its many brilliant members were instrumental in greatly accelerating my C++ skills.
Same. I started with QBASIC in 1999.Quote:
Originally Posted by cyberfish
Basically, I lived this guy's beginning in this millennium.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubba
I started with Visual Basic, until I started to see it's limitations. One I noticed the flaws of too high level, I started my search for the lowest level possible, spending a few months with C(I learned very little the first time I tried C. I was actually using a C++ compiler, but my code was still all C compatible because I had no grasp of OOP.), then finally finding asm. I learned asm, and it taught me the usefulness that C provides. A few more months with C taught me the intuitiveness of C++ and OOP in general.
My opinion: Start with what you can easily understand and have rapid progress. As you get better with a language, almost any language, you'll learn the basic concepts that are universal to programming. For example, I learned functional programming from VB, instead of all the code in one function, I learned it was better to separate the code into functions, a function for each purpose. In asm, I learn that asm is not best for big projects :). In C, I learned to use layers of abstraction. My search for better abstraction lead me to C++. I've learned everything I know about computers in the last year. You'll notice that I've had a reason for moving on to each new language. That's the best way to know that you've learned a language. You can see it's strengths and it's weaknesses and the remedies to it's weaknesses. I've learned everything I know about computers in the last year, to give you an example.
Edit: As to where, I just had questions, and people on forums, or Google, answered them.
I taught myself Basic & C around grade 9 or 10, then learned VB in school. When I started working I taught myself Visual Test, C++, Perl, Rexx, Groovy, Java, Bash...
I've been teaching myself for a while now. I started out learning C++, but after finding it difficult to understand some of the more "advanced" C++ ideas without any real coding experience I didn't actually grasp WHY I was doing some things. So I went back and learned Perl, which is completely different, but being able to actually write useful scripts quickly peaked my interest and got me to understand concepts enough to go back to C++.
The only thing C++ has taught me is how little I know about C++.
Started programming in Basic around age 11-12 and C / C++ around 13. Had a bunch of books, but this was the early '90s so don't really recall which ones they were. Wasn't till around '98 that I really started to get serious and became good at programming.
first youtube with thenewboston. He stops at tutorial #15 so after that it was just random places all over the web.
Seems like a bit of a bragging thread.
What matters is what you're doing now, not when you started. I work with some incredible programmers who were herding cows until they were 26 (no kidding). I started way, way before that, but we're peers.
At any rate, started in 1985 on a C64, bumped up to a PC, then assembly language, then C and C++ followed sometime around 1993. I went through a period of about 8 years where I wanted to be a Buddhist priest, then somehow came back to programming and here I am. At any rate, don't worry about it.
I'm currently seriously contemplating leaving professional programming life for good. I'm honestly tired of it. And I never did really enjoyed it much since after a few years into the business, sometime around the mid 90s.Quote:
Originally Posted by brewbuck
When I pursued my lifelong dream of owning my own family-friendly bookstore and that crashed not long after 1 year later, I got back to this life -- renewed; trying to get into the high spirits of my early days. But it's clear to me now that I just can't cope with the corporate environment or the assembly-line type of programming that the industry turned itself into.
I love programming though. That will always stay with me and will always do it in a personal capacity, if I can and while I can. Who knows, maybe I'm not entirely an has-been. I feel I have a lot more to give outside this crappy environment we currently work on. I strongly feel retirement or a quieter and more modest life as a lighthouse keeper, or a librarian, will make me a happier and more productive person.
Hearing you, reminds me of this.
As for the thread, I started in the mid 80s on a ZX Spectrum and ever since I want out.
EDIT:
I'm also very interested in child or elderly care (I love both children and the elderly). Last time I checked, though, nursing courses put you on one of the highest unemployments lists in the country :(
All started when in senior high school i asked my teacher how could i make a program.
Here in Greece a translated "language" is taught, for educational purposes ( It's identical to Pascal ) . She showed me the way and from that moment i became "in love" with programming!!
Started with "Just Basic", after that i looked a little into "Pascal". But since i started "C++" i couldn't think of anything else. I downloaded tons of tutorials, e-books, exercises and even some very advansed tutorials on efficiency and algorithm construction, later of course.
Its been only 2,5 years since i started programming, but i feel like i don't even need to get to a college for this! But i will in a few weeks, because i can understand that you never know enough...
Of course, this forums has helped me A LOT in the process!! So thank you guys!!!
I'm currently learning assembly, MASM and FASM, and trying to understand the exe formats!
I too don't see the point. It's like asking "Where and How did you learn to program?". Programming is only a very small piece of solving problems, and solving them well.
Lets see, how did I learn programming...
I guess I did it like I most other things that interested me... Climb in, start blundering around, do a lot of reading and (hopefully) come out the other end just a little bit smarter than when I went in...
Been at this a long time... Started in Basic, moved on to Pascal, now C... Still haven't found the nerve (or a good reason) to try OOP based coding.
I learned how to program in college. However, the professor had little to do with my knowledge. To be honest, getting good comes from a lot of practice and hours of trial and error. You will need a C programming textbook for reference, but ones you get past remembering the different code, it all comes down to logic and trial and error, or if your good.... trial WITHOUT error;)Quote:
Originally Posted by RialnisMada
Good luck.
You need a C programming textbook for reference? In 1950 perhaps, but not today.
All you need is Internet and a proper reference manual for your language of choice. C will not get you very far in the modern world.
I wish this thread would RIP.
O_oQuote:
I wish this thread would RIP.
And now it never will...
Soma