Thread: I suck at programming

I've been trying learn C. Never done programming before. I was trying with this course from the havard website. cs50.net. I did the first 3 weeks but then it got harder and now I understand nothing.

I want to keep learning but I think tutors are expensive and I don't understand anything from the cs50 course right now.

This site has good tutorials C programming.com - Learn C and C++ Programming - Cprogramming.com

Also, If you need clarification, there are people on this forum who have an impressive knowledge of the language -

What is the furthest concept that you have covered in programming so far?

Have you ever tried another approach to learning programming?
IMHO watching videos isn't the best way to learn it. I'm probably old-fashioned but I prefer books more :-).

Why do you want to learn programming, i.e. what's your motivation? Perhaps your expectations are too high (wanting too much in too little time).

More specifically why do you want to learn C? Have you already considered starting with another (more beginners friendly) language. I know this is probably highly debatabel but I would recommend to a complete beginner to start with a scripting language like Python.

Another aspect is how much time can you invest? Perhaps the cs50.net is just too fast for you and you should slow down a little bit (e.g. spend two weeks on each one week block).

HTH, Andreas

Originally Posted by cfanatic

I read it while I'm eating breakfast, before bed, during my lunches.

Wow.. !.. you've got an OCD with this book.....which your username already hints !

It is rare for someone to not have issues like these, it's just par for the course. My suggestion would be to back up a lesson or two until you find your comfort level, build on it, and then move forward paying close attention to anything that seems difficult.

If you're trying to complete a program and don't understand, another thing you could try is to search for other peoples' code that does the same thing. You can then modify/study that code to learn more about the language.

For example, if I wanted to write my own strcpy function and didn't know C well, I might first find this code with Google (simplified):

Code:

void my_strcpy (char *dst, const char *src)
{
    while ((*dst++ = *src++))
        ;
}

I could add print statements before/after expressions I didn't understand. So maybe:

Code:

void my_strcpy (char *dst, const char *src)
{
    char *tmp_src = src;
    char *tmp_dst = dst;
    while ((*dst++ = *src++))
        printf("src = \"%s\" | dst = \"%s\"\n", tmp_src, tmp_dst);
}

Or, I could try to modify the while loop and check if the result is the same:

Code:

void my_strcpy (char *dst, const char *src)
{
    while (*src)
        *dst++ = *src++;
}

Or if I didn't understand the pointer syntax, I would Google it and find this link to help.


Then, without copying, I could write my own code.

Originally Posted by Dave Couture

I've been trying learn C. Never done programming before. I was trying with this course from the havard website. cs50.net. I did the first 3 weeks but then it got harder and now I understand nothing.

I don't think you should declare that you suck at programing, if you never been exposed to it before it's quite a lot to take in. Keep in mind that those who attend the course in the flesh, has all sorts of resources available if they are stuck to help them move ahead compared to someone who does it on their own. I would go back an repeat and experiment with the parts that you do understand. Then when you feel ready move on to the parts that you do not understand today, I think you will find that you then are able to take it in. Perhaps get a book as a compliment, and if you already have one, get another one. Sometimes it's helpful to see something explained in a different way.

Originally Posted by cfanatic

ALWAYS BE CODING SOMETHING, AT ALL TIMES

this is excellent advice. I constantly catch myself thinking in terms of how I would write code to simulate some real-life event, or to simplify some repetitive task. after a while, it just becomes automatic.

Originally Posted by cfanatic

ALWAYS BE CODING SOMETHING, AT ALL TIMES.

This is good advice, but remember, it doesn't have to be the same thing every time. Sometimes taking breaks from projects is very helpful when you're trying to solve bugs or add code.

Originally Posted by Elkvis

this is excellent advice. I constantly catch myself thinking in terms of how I would write code to simulate some real-life event, or to simplify some repetitive task. after a while, it just becomes automatic.

Sometimes when I'm playing games I start thinking how I'd code the game or something to solve the game :P