10 replies to this topic

[Liam616]

Right. I have absolutely no experience of programming.

Now thats out the way, Hi!

Ive tried on many occasions to learn programming languages, (C++ is the main one thats put me back) but whenever I try to learn easier languages, I still cant get my head it.

Now I'm not an idiot (I hope) but is there an easier way to get introduced to the world of programming? Is there something Im missing? Is there any 'first steps' I should know about?

Thanks

[Irfan_A]

Hi Liam, Welcome to CodeCall.
I started programming with Fortran in my college, and i teach myself with Just BASIC (free version) and i upgrade my knowledge to Liberty BASIC (paid version). This is easy programming language because my background is not from Computer Science, i am hobbyist programmer. You can try this language if you like.
Maybe, easier programming language has no good enough capability that more complex one have, such as speed, compactness, and so on. This is your choice.

[l@mbd@]

Go to the book store, grab a bunch of beginning programming books, and start glancing over them. find one that sparks your interest and suits your learning style. buy it. read it. get to understand some basic concepts first, then decide what your goal is: video games, web development, etc. at that point, choose a language that will help you achieve your goal.

cheers

[Alexander]

Although no one is the same all people start somewhere. I'd recommend starting out with BASIC to get used to the ideas of variables and stuff. I'd not recommend to learn too much, just what you need.

Next you may want to start with a high level language such as Python. High level means the language takes care of a lot of common issues programmers are confronted with in more complex language, Python can do many things. It has many modules, can be run on a web server etc. It's a commonly popular language for people starting out wanting to do things other than designing large programs.

From there I'd say challange yourself, Make a program that can write input to a file and read it properly. Design a simple text game with some slightly complex IF statements (incorporates logic) and make a save function for it. Just a few ideas, hope it helps!

Books are a great learning source, sometimes better than tutorials.

[WingedPanther]

A language family I'm fond of is Delphi/Lazarus/Pascal. You can download Lazarus for free, and most Delphi books (such as these Free Delphi Books, Download Free Delphi eBooks, Free Delphi online books, Delphi tutorial) can be easily adapted to it.

One thing that will not change, regardless of the language, is you will have to get a handle on flow control and variable manipulation. If that is your source of difficulty, flipping between languages won't help you any. All major languages have variables, variable assignment, for loops, while loops, if statements, etc. Changing the language only changes the syntax used to represent these concepts. The other issue that you have to address, regardless of the language, is speaking to an object that is very literal and very stupid. I like to describe programming as being like giving directions to an idiot-savant. The computer will do exactly what you tell it to do, not what you mean for it to do. It's frustrating, but also rewarding.

[Liam616]

Thanks guys, Ill give BASIC and the delphi family a look. Hope I can conquer it this time haha!

[farzher]

youtube.com is good, even though the people on there are retarded it's a good starting point because video tutorials are always easy to understand.

[While(!EOF)]

I personally think that Ruby would be a pretty cool start. If you knew nothing about programming then try out the Ruby Scripting language. They have an interpreter on their website which really helps you learn fast. Try it out: Ruby Programming Language

[-Hurricane-]

Extreme Beginner!! Lol, hey do you know html? if no, i suggest you begin with html and css first, then javascript and php.
that work for me. you find the other languages easier.It worked for me. just give it a try.

[AstralX]

if you are really beginner you shoud try program Raptor. It teaches you how to think when programming.