Why are you learning programming?

I have learned quite a bit of C++ console programming in college (got my associates degree in it for CS). I am learning Windowz Visual programming now on my own. I have been playing around with a book written by Herbert Schildt called Windows 98 Programming from the Ground Up. I am using it to get my feet wet and will move on to better books later. (It was 7.99 at Borders with ~800 pages... can't beat that.)

Still, even with all of this work, I seriously doubt I am going to be a full time programmer. So why am I doing all of this? I am not really sure, but I like to know how things work, and in my quest for programming knowlege (Assembly, C++, VB) and webpage creation (HTML, Js), I have learned more about computers than I ever thought that I would.

So, maybe that is it. Maybe I learn programming to learn other things. Maybe part of knowing how things work is knowing why they work...

What about you...?

I just love the challenge......I'ts just a hobby as I work in business finance and thats what I'm trained in. Though I plan to deviate from my profession at some point and coding could be handy.

>>Herbert Schildt called Windows 98 Programming from the Ground Up

Yeah...cool book

>>Though I plan to deviate from my profession at some point and coding could be handy.

Yeah... I think it may. But the thing is, how much do you need to know to get a job in it? Is dabbling in it enough? Because some people spend all of their waking hours doing it and are extremely passionate. Competing with that would be tough I would think...

Why didn't you take up Petzold, fifth edition?

It wasn't $7.99 :)

Are you poor? It's worth the money!

>>Yeah... I think it may. But the thing is, how much do you need to know to get a job in it? Is dabbling in it enough? Because some people spend all of their waking hours doing it and are extremely passionate. Competing with that would be tough I would think...

First off...I would not be working for anyone except myself. This is my plan regardless of programming. I am already building up a small client base doing accounts and basic IT. When I have had a few more years, this will have grown, I will have got my full professional qualifications, and my coding skills (focusing on databases and web programming) will be a lot stronger. I am not so naive that I expect to walk into a company and start as a programmer…right now it wouldn’t interest me that much.

Schildt is a good book. Petzold is also a good book. I use both.

Yeah I am broke. That is why I live in Hawaii and have traveled the world. :) j/k I am just a sucker for a deal, and have too many $50 books I haven't read yet.

>>First off...I would not be working for anyone except myself. This is my plan regardless of programming.

that sounds like a pretty good idea. I would love to work for myself, but don't have the business background yet to know where to start.

I program... I dunno, it's sort of a hobby.

I originally began programming to make games (and I did make a few simple ones back in the win3.1 days). I put programming on the back shelf for a little while, and came back to it when I began programming game editors for other people's games. Now I'm doing neural networks, fuzzy logic, pattern recognition, and I am again working on a game, much larger in scope this time as I'm a much better programmer now.

I just enjoy it, I guess. I like the fact that people use my editors (I especially *love* the fact that a game designer for a major game company used MY editor to make his own custom mod to a game he originally helped make, because my tool worked better in the context of creating a mod that the company's tools).

It's my sworn duty to make fun of non Pretzold users....

I got into programming because i wanted to make an RPG idea of mine becmoe a reality, and because programming IS life.

Quote:

---

...a reality, and because programming IS life.

---

It's a disease....

Life is a disease, programming is life.

Disease is a program of life while programming life as a disease in programming.

it's all so clear now.

money really as i was fed up of outsourcing work whenever i needed some small program written. I thought learn to program, write it yourself and then get all the money plus i will be able to offer my clients more services. Though i actually found that i really enjoyed learning to program for its own sake - its like a form of artistic expression

>>it's all so clear now.

:)

>>i was fed up of outsourcing work whenever i needed some small program written


Yeah... I hear you. I have written several small programs to parse strings out of text files and regroup them as comma delimintated files so that they could easily be inserted into database programs.

Such a simple task probably would have cost me some major dollars if I had someone else do it.

I need to find more applications that I "have to" write to, because I actually had quite a bit of fun writting those programs and found the time to do it because they were needed.

yeah, it's fun writing little widget programs like that...

once i wrote a program that would actually write some arrays to a text file that could be compiled into a program that used them.. it was interesting.

I wanted to modify, sonic 2 for genesis. Thats why I began programming. I got a little fustrated when I discoverd this would take quite a bit, of monney.

on life

Lifes a game, I play to win.

a) I have to do it for college
b) I like doing it as a hobby
c) May do it one day as a career

It's fun to tell the computer exactly what to do, it's a great hobby, andone day I hope to make a carreer out of it.

Well, I like it because it is a good hobby. I will do this professionally some day, when I'm old enough, or something with computers at least..

and the added benefit is that it lets you become renown in a community such as this one as you get a ridiculous amount of posts and get disowned by your family because you're on it 25/7 (yes, that's right, 25/7, you were such an addict you added another hour onto the day, just to post 100 more times).

I initially got into programming because I wanted to make computer games. Specifically, I liked the creativity of designing paper-and-pen RPGs, but I found the medium inadequate for developing complex and organized systems (like those in computer RPGs) that I really wanted to make. So, I decided to try to learn to program.

I'm still doing game programming, but I discovered in high school that programming knowledge is also enormously useful in science. Since my career goals are mostly science-related, this was another major motivation for learning how to program, and the reason I moved from BASIC to C.

Basic is dead... start at PASCAL.

Perhaps you should have told me that 9 years ago. Anyway, QBASIC was preinstalled on all DOS computers back then, so it was in that sense an ideal learning tool: I could write the same programs at school as at home, and at friends' houses; no worry about nonstandard functions or graphics incompatibilities. The situation today may be different, but now that I know C/C++, who cares?

I chose other because all three options apply to me...

Oskilian

maybe they should have made an "all of the above" choice, but then again, i am against that usage of the word 'the'...

I just love to program...

--Garfield the Great

I don't quite know why i program either, but I'm only 14, and yet I already know BASIC, C/C++, Mainframe Assembler (and PC/370), JAVA, HTML, and COBOL.

>I don't quite know why i program either, but I'm only 14, and yet I already know BASIC, C/C++, Mainframe Assembler (and PC/370), JAVA, HTML, and COBOL.<

Ok, I am going to comit mass murder if another person younger then me knows everything. :p

*Does yippe it some one who can answer questions dance*

Okay sean where do you find the time to learn all this stuff. Im 14 turning 15 in a few months and im still strugaling with C++ (I've learned the language but DX is giving me trouble). I guess i could have started earlier though.

To be a programmer some day... better learn c++!!:D

All these young programmers!

Geez, I am twice their age and a half as competent!

Truly depressing.

I myself picked up programming because, believe it or not, I was just half-curious! Now what once seemed to be a boring nerdy endeavor has become my obsession! My family has even taken to calling me "The Hermit" because of it! But no matter. I love it.

As far as working for someone, I have little interest. After all, why write programs that others own?!! Yuck.

My dream is to start my own profitable software company.

i'm 15 and i know BASIC, PASCAL, and C++... that's it. I haven't wasted the time on java because it would be, just that, a waste of time.

Programming rules, end of story.

Okay, I'm 15 and I know (in no specific order) C, Visual Basic, VBScript, HTML (which everybody knows), BASIC. Of course, C is the only language that has given me a valiant challenge. And now I'm learning Windows programming (from petzold) and it is so hard it should be considered another language.

--Garfield the Great

>And now I'm learning Windows programming (from petzold) and it is so hard it should be considered another language. <

Really, it was a peice of cake for me, and I understood almost all off it.

Yeah, it is going well for me. I like it a lot.

I choosed C programming as a subject at uni (Naval Architecture). I've always enjoyed computers and my father is a programmer since I was ..... (I don't know how old I was, but our PC run at 4.7 MHz).

Even I haven't worked as a programmer, it has been helpful to have basic knowledge when I've been working at a Naval Architecture office. As soon as you use stability software (DOS) it's very helpful to know some programmimg.

If I ever have enough knowledge, I'd enjoy working as a programmer.

ok, I am 17, I know BASIC and VB, HTML, and C, If I do not know anymore is because I don't need it, and if I need it, I would learn in less than three weeks (in the worst case), I do not think that you are a better programmer if you know more languages, if you are an excellent BASIC programmer, for sure you could be an excellent C programmer, it is more interesting and intelligent to learn new algorithms, you can apply that knowledge in any platform, in any language, it is a better way of employing time, and it would be more useful if you get a real job.

take as an another post:

does computer science worth the try?
I really do not know if I really want to study that, is there a way to know that?, university is at hand, for sure in january of next year I will start, but I am not sure, what do you think?



Camilo
(last day of high school, he does not know if he is doing right)

>Lifes a game, I play to win.

well said...

>exactly what to do

same here...

>sonic 2 for genesis

that's my favorite console game... cool...

Camilo... look at the universities classes in CS. Talk to people studying CS at those uni's, and to people that have already finished.

I think that will certainly help you decide.

As for me. I'm definately studying CS. It's the only way i can possibly catch up with this genius 15 year olds that seem to be popping up everywhere!

AAHH! like someone said earlier in the thread: "depressing"

adios,
biterman.

Cause I fell like it....
I don't have a exact reason....
I started learning C at the end of 14....and still strugling.....
(Iknow a bit of html but, I don't consider that as knowing how to program in html)

I tried to learn java a couple of wees ago, but it was kinda confusing!
I don't know why though
may be that public main() thing...

oh yeah..forgot..I'm 15 now...

Quote:

---

I don't have a exact reason....

---

I was just about to ask if I was the only person here who doesnt program for any reason besides the pure intelectual challenge and creative release. I started with QBasic (as someone mentions, it used to come pre-installed with DOS) and just kept doing it. As long as theres something left to learn (and there always will be) then i'll still be doing this. I dont care if i ever get paid for it or not. Of course it would be a really nice bonus to get money for something that i'd be doing anyways. :)

Quote:

---

It's the only way i can possibly catch up with this genius 15 year olds

---

*mumble mumble* bloody *mumble mumble* fifteen *mumble* way to good *mumble mumble* feel like an old man *mumble*.

*waves cane in the air* Damn kids these days anyways! Think they're so smart... :p

WHY?
1. i'm a constrution worker of 20 years.
2. i've worked around the nastiest stuff on this planet (nerve
gas, nuclear devices, rocket fuel...)
3. today i worked at over 80 feet in the air (nice view but the
sudden stop at the bottom can get rather uncomfortable.
4. these silly computers are just plan fun to me
5. it's the wave of the future.

all of these reasons lead to one thing. a nice comfortable cubicle creating mysterious code for some guy that will really pay me to do it sounds like heaven to me.
M.R.

I'm 16.85 years old, and I know....

Very Well
Basic (VisualBasic, VBScript, QBasic)
C
C++
HTML (who doesn't, anyway)
Logo (this one's a classic)

Mildly
Assembler (Win32, some microcontroller)
ASP
Java and JavaScript
PERL
PHP3

Learning
Pascal
C#

Once tried, but they're very boring
Fortran
Cobol
Python
Oberon (Ever heard of this one?)
FoxPro (I think that this one is the most boring language EVER)

Oskilian

programming is my life, i am a loser:(
but not when I grow up! I'm gunna be a professional and make alot of money
but for now, I'm just a loser:(
actually, I've made over 200 dollars in school from my edited wolfenstein game! It was a big hit!:D

yes, just goes to show that there are people for who'll pay for any service that you don't sweat at... that you'd do anyway... pray tell they are always at my doorstep... :)

youngens!!! hasafraggin...

I'm in my 20's, and I TRY to learn C. Am I getting old too quickly?

Please guys, don't post making me think that there is an inverse relationship between age and programmimg: I can't go back!!!!

:eek:

all options are for me, plus it gives me something to brag about, and of course ive found that C programmers are very friendly. I quit with it for a while (I think i was getting addicted to model trains) but now im back, Yeah. I know some Basic for the BBC micro, and of course HTML and some javascript.

And i'm 14

I wanted to program since 1993 when I was 18.
This is the way a machine will work for me.
I have and had no other way to go..

Now I want to be a professional programmer. I'm doing job.. but I want more specific.

It's simple.
I was really bored... And then I got this Great idea:
I should get a hobby or something...
Mainly just for fun...

because I want to be like my hero doubleanti

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Sebastiani
All these young programmers!

Geez, I am twice their age and a half as competent! ...

---

I felt that inevitable sense of depression creeping into me when I was reading the posts and noticing that most of the people are more than half my age.

Here's my story. I was born to be stupid and taught to be nothing at all. That's usually what happens when you go to a school that doesn't recognize talent and intelligance. (I scored a 1560 on my SATs when I was a sophomore, back in the day when a 1600 was a perfect score. It's been revamped now and I don't know what the scores are like now.) The school didn't know what to do with me, so I lost interest because I got bored and did nothing but read, mostly sci-fi, fiction and history.

Like with any talent, if you don't use it, you lose it! Such is the case here, I feel half as competent as most others on board (and twice as old!). So to all you young'ens keep it up.

So as to why I chose programming/CS?

I already have a BS in Mortuary Science, am a licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer, but just becuase you have a degree and a license, doesn't mean you'll get paid! I made more as a clerk in an insurance company, so I quit. Thought of going into medicine, but I'm too anti-social for that, so I decided on CS because I didn't wand a Businees degree.

That's my story!

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Sebastiani
All these young programmers!

Geez, I am twice their age and a half as competent! ...

---

I felt that inevitable sense of depression creeping into me when I was reading the posts and noticing that most of the people are more than half my age.

Here's my story. I was born to be stupid and taught to be nothing at all. That's usually what happens when you go to a school that doesn't recognize talent and intelligance. (I scored a 1560 on my SATs when I was a sophomore, back in the day when a 1600 was a perfect score. It's been revamped now and I don't know what the scores are like now.) The school didn't know what to do with me, so I lost interest because I got bored and did nothing but read, mostly sci-fi, fiction and history.

Like with any talent, if you don't use it, you lose it! Such is the case here, I feel half as competent as most others on board (and twice as old!). So to all you young'ens keep it up.

So as to why I chose programming/CS?

I already have a BS in Mortuary Science, am a licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer, but just becuase you have a degree and a license, doesn't mean you'll get paid! I made more as a clerk in an insurance company, so I quit. Thought of going into medicine, but I'm too anti-social for that, so I decided on CS because I didn't wand a Businees degree.

That's my story!

[EDIT] Sorry about the double post, had forgotten to log in[/EDIT]

Quote:

---

because I want to be like my hero doubleanti

---

don't, if it was sarcasm, then at my expense fine, and don't.

Hey DrakkenKorin,
i don't know what you call old... i'm over forty and have a mechanical engineering back ground (do you know what 42 year old mech. engineers do? they baby sit). that my seem old to some of the folks on this board, but hey i can still out work and out think a large portion of the people half my age.
i do however have to hand it to them, they know a whole lot about this C++ thing. i hope i don't have to come up against them in the job market.

M.R.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by itld
i don't know what you call old ... but hey i can still out work and out think a large portion of the people half my age ... i hope i don't have to come up against them in the job market. M.R.

---

I hope I don't have to come up against them either. But what I'm aiming to do is not heavy on the programming, so I'm not worried in that sense.

Don't get me wrong, I can program, the hardest thing for me to do is to start a program/project. It'll take me days to figure out how I should start, but once I got it started, I just go from there. Thankfully, most of the people I know in school know this about me, and so when I ask them how the started their program they know what I'm asking and not trying to copy from them. My greatest attribute, debugging. I can find other peoples errors by looking at their code (as long as I know what the program is supposed to do). Too bad I can't do this with my code!

There's my $0.02 worth, feel free to leave change

>>It's my sworn duty to make fun of non Pretzold users.... (Troll King)

pRetzold-> What presidents choke on.

Some have a nice background / screensaver on thier computers.

I don't, but I look over my laptop to a beautiful view of the park.

Soon it will be the mountains / ocean at Kho Pee Pee in Thailand (where they made Dr No and The Beach) where my sister lives.

Could never get that freedom in my other jobs.

I would like one more option in the poll

-> Mental challenge

Quote:

---

Originally posted by doubleanti


don't, if it was sarcasm, then at my expense fine, and don't.

---

Jeeze settle down man. I was just being funny, you should bloody know that by now.

Beacuse i want to become an EVIL HAXXOR.
bruhahahahahabruhahahahahabruhahahahaha
then i am going to hack all the webpages and lottery sites and online games and become a millionaire
bruhahahahahabruhahahahaha bruhahahahaha

:p

and by the way i am just 2 years old and i am working on my next supercomputer which well help me in becoming an EVIL HAXXOR
bruhahahahahabruhahahahahabruhahahahaha

:p



Well, on a more serious note i loved programming in school. It was quite easy and i thought hell i'll be a programmer (remember the dotcom boom...) and earn millions. Now in college i am not that sure as the only thing i'm good at in computers is the MS Solitaire.

i suck at solitare....

but anyway, the reason i started was because i was raised on it. i tried creating games, but i gave up on all of them(partly because i'm a bad artist, partly cause i had no vision of the game itself).

from experience, if you want to program anything, you need a clear vision of the end product.

This post! Back from the dead I see. I really need to put expirations on my polls.

Because I was forced to. Also, because I want to make Windows - I've been programming in C for 2 weeks - I'm almost ready!

LOL. It is too late. I am already making windows and I have been programming for three weeks. I guess you are not l33t enough.

But I have all the books! Windows for Dummies, Office for Dummies, C for Dummies, even Massage for Dummies! This isn't even to mention my large collection of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to...", "How to do ... even if you can't walk and chew gum at the same time", and "... for Republicans" books!

Well then... I guess I must submit to your dummy knowlege. You really know your dummy stuff. Where can I get a dummy book, and how do I write a program that uses a pascal compiler in C or Java. I also want to know how to make a browser with javascript. Oh and I want it now dammit.

Like wizards of old that can conjur things at will, programming is the closest that we can get to it in our modern times, plus it pays the rent. Not to mention fun and challenging.

You know what is great about starting your own poll... you can delete it at will. This is a pretty old poll. For the sake of history, I am giving the mods a chance to close this thread...

If not, it is going bye bye.

I understand that the mods haven't come to a decision on closing old polls yet. Still, many people complain that there are way to many that get drudged up from the past, as well as way too many posted. Some of these polls are very good, but I feel that they need to fall into their resting place as time goes by. (Especially after they fall back several pages...)

These are my thoughts...

Please, at my sincerest request, close this thread and let it move into the hallowed halls of great polls in the past.

~Betazep