Thread: A "How To Ask Questions" No-No

  1. #1
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    A "How To Ask Questions" No-No

    The question is, do you know of good resources to learn how to write programs? - good programs. I know the syntax, i know the rules, i know the conventions, but i'll be damned if i can write a program over 50 lines long. Yes there's psuedo code and flow charts, but there seems to be a step missing between program idea and flowcharts...I can make 50 different floats charts...but when i put them all together--...well, they don't go together.

    I guess i'm looking for something that teaches programming as an art and not a science.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.
    i seem to have GCC 3.3.4
    But how do i start it?
    I dont have a menu for it or anything.

  2. #2
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    >I guess i'm looking for something that teaches programming as an art and not a science.
    Nobody is taught art. You can be taught the techniques and the tools, but in the end the only way to learn is to study examples and try to emulate them. You need to do the same thing. Read and study good code, then try to emulate the good code that you read. Eventually you'll develop your own style, but because you used good examples as a foundation, your own code will become good too.
    My best code is written with the delete key.

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    Jsp ?

    [google] Jackson Structured Programming [/google]
    Last edited by dagdarian; 12-16-2004 at 11:48 AM.
    Microsoft is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Prelude
    Nobody is taught art.
    Then tell me, why are there schools of art?
    i seem to have GCC 3.3.4
    But how do i start it?
    I dont have a menu for it or anything.

  5. #5
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    >Then tell me, why are there schools of art?
    There are schools of art because people stop reading too soon:
    Nobody is taught art. You can be taught the techniques and the tools, but in the end the only way to learn is...
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  6. #6
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    Your also taught to express it, art isn't about drawing or painting etc. they are just mediums used to express art.
    Microsoft is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one.

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    ha ha...
    then why aren't they called Schools Of Techniques And Tools?
    i seem to have GCC 3.3.4
    But how do i start it?
    I dont have a menu for it or anything.

  8. #8
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misplaced
    ha ha...
    then why aren't they called Schools Of Techniques And Tools?
    because that might be just a tad to general, dont ya think?

  9. #9
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    >then why aren't they called Schools Of Techniques And Tools?
    Because the teachers stopped reading too soon also.
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  10. #10
    & the hat of GPL slaying Thantos's Avatar
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    then why aren't they called Schools Of Techniques And Tools?
    42 .

  11. #11
    The C-er
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    Misplaced, it sounds like you've got the hang of coding, so perhaps you need to look at software engineering techniques to further yourself.

    A flow chart is an example of this, so is the aforementioned JSP.
    You could look up data-flow diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, object oriented design, fuctional programming etc.

    Very often you will see one of these presented as a panacea to solve all your programming needs. I was taught JSP once, and was left with the idea that I could write anything just by applying JSP to the problem. This one size-fits-all approach never seems to work, but is commonly used to justify training courses.

    Look at these techniques as tools, and with experience you'll know which to apply to a given problem. The more tools you have at your disposal, the easier a task is likely to be.

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    why are there schools of art?
    Because the average high school student is wayy too gullible.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jez
    Misplaced, it sounds like you've got the hang of coding, so perhaps you need to look at software engineering techniques to further yourself.

    A flow chart is an example of this, so is the aforementioned JSP.
    You could look up data-flow diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, object oriented design, fuctional programming etc.

    i'm familliar with all those except for OOD....but i guess i'm just not that good at creating dfd's and erd's because i learned them in the context of system design rather than program design...i suppose a program is a system, but it's just seems different and i run into problems when i try (can't remember what at this point in time)
    Last edited by misplaced; 12-20-2004 at 04:11 PM.
    i seem to have GCC 3.3.4
    But how do i start it?
    I dont have a menu for it or anything.

  14. #14
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    I'm studying design patterns. Which I think will help my object oriented design principals.

    Checkout the book. Design Patterns Explained A New Perspective in Object-Oriented design by Allan Shalloway and James R. Trott

  15. #15
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    ha ha curlious...your 359th post was in reply to my 359th post (well,if this was the last thing your posted)

    thanks for the tip. i'll look into it
    i seem to have GCC 3.3.4
    But how do i start it?
    I dont have a menu for it or anything.

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