Thread: Newb to everything programming. Help!

  1. #1
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    Newb to everything programming. Help!

    Ok well..basically the title says it all I am a newb to everything programing. Why I am here is, I have the whole summer to do something..and not just play video games, I would like to do something useful that may help me in the future. Currently I am 16 and spend a lot of time on the computer just playing CSS or looking for stuff to do >.>(usually to improve my computer or computer skills). Lets get to the point eh..well I have been looking at a lot of websites trying to find out a language to start out with, I have found python and have read that it is supposed to be, "kind to the nubs", like myself. I would like some feedback from you guys on what to start with and maybe, if you could, point me in the right direction.

    I do know C and C++ are pretty "adv". ( I chose to post this here because it seems like a pretty active forum.)

    Thanks for the all the feedback <<email snipped>>
    -Thanks, Logan
    Last edited by LoganPingel; 06-29-2007 at 09:35 PM.

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    Registered User Joelito's Avatar
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    You can start with plain C++, visit the sites forums and read the easy tutos...if you need help, just ask..

    Welcome!
    * PC: Intel Core 2 DUO E6550 @ 2.33 GHz with 2 GB RAM: Archlinux-i686 with xfce4.
    * Laptop: Intel Core 2 DUO T6600 @ 2.20 GHz with 4 GB RAM: Archlinux-x86-64 with xfce4.

  3. #3
    Deathray Engineer MacGyver's Avatar
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    I agree with the preceeding post. I would suggest learning either C or C++ and learning that first and formost. If you try to learn Windows programming or anything advanced before learning a simple language, you'll probably end up confusing yourself.

    If you're on Linux, you probably already have GCC installed, but since you play CSS, I imagine you probably are running either Windows XP or Vista. I would recommend downloading MinGW or some other free compiler, and going through some online tutorials.

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    Thanks for the posts! I am running Windows XP and am downloading MinGW right now, tomorrow morning I am going to look at c and c++. Thanks again for the posts.

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    While trying to install MinGW, following some guide off of their website, I am told to do this:

    Congratulations, if you're seeing a shell window, then you've got the underlying MSYS working.

    Now, within the MSYS shell

    1. type cd /mingw to set your cwd to the mingw directory
    2. copy all the above .tar.gz files into this directory
    3. type the command: for i in `ls *.tar.gz`; do tar xfz $i; done


    I do step one and everything is fine..now i get to the copying the .tar.gz files..currently these are on my desktop and open with winRAR. It really doesn't tell me how to put them there so i just copied them how they were saved to my desktop. Next I type the command and get this error:

    Logan@LOGANPC /mingw
    $ for i in 'ls *.tar.gz'; do tar xfz $i; done
    tar (child): ls: Cannot open: No such file or directory
    tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
    tar: Child returned status 2
    tar: *.tar.gz: Not found in archive
    tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors

    I have tried starting over from the beginning, extracting the files to the folder and retyped the command over and over and over..nothing seems to be working. Any input would help, right now my whole family is over celebrating my bros birthday party so i better get down there.

    Thanks again - Logan

  6. #6
    Registered User Joelito's Avatar
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    I recommend Code::blocks comes with the IDE and the compiler.
    * PC: Intel Core 2 DUO E6550 @ 2.33 GHz with 2 GB RAM: Archlinux-i686 with xfce4.
    * Laptop: Intel Core 2 DUO T6600 @ 2.20 GHz with 4 GB RAM: Archlinux-x86-64 with xfce4.

  7. #7
    Deathray Engineer MacGyver's Avatar
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    Are you sure the tar.gz files are in the same directory as you are typing the command? From what you said about copying it to your desktop, I doubt it.

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    Well I moved the files to C:\mingw if thats the directory they are talking about..and btw in step one what is "cwd"?

  9. #9
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    > 3. type the command: for i in `ls *.tar.gz`; do tar xfz $i; done
    compare with
    > for i in 'ls *.tar.gz'; do tar xfz $i; done
    Different kinds of quotes.

    `command` means run the command between the back quotes, and replace it with the output of that command.
    In this case, it means produce a list of all tar.gz files, and then proceed to extract each one.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

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    cwd is the current working directory. It's where the path says in the prompt when you're running a command prompt.

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    Hey, I'm 15 and was in your position a while back. It took me a long time to get used to C++ and it is an advanced language, unfortunately I disagree with the earlier posts, being in your shoes, I wouldn't start with C++ or C. I started myself with Blitz Basic learning from a book I found, I'll send you the pages.
    Bottom Line, even with prior experience in Basic and reading 3+ books on C++ it was very very difficult to learn. I really suggest looking at these sites/books.

    http://blitzbasic.com/

    http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Te...3773260&sr=8-1
    My Favorite Programming Line:
    Code:
    #define true ((rand() % 2) ? true : false)

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