Advice for the aspiring programer.

[Young_Man_Matt]

Hi, Im just getting started into programing (which is to say I know enough LUA to get me by). You guys have any tips on how I can become a better coder, work faster, have better results, learn new languages, ect. Thanks!

[GoodBytes]

-> Practice, making small project that fails is the best way to learn.

-> Start small and simple, and slowly go more advance.

-> Comment your code, and document

-> Plan ahead. Have a diagram that shows how things will work. This will allow you to see if you miss anything, or have planned for future features that you won't implement now due to time constraint or lack of knowledge

-> Functions should look simple as possible and clean. Each function can only do 1 thing. This will allow you to increase flexibility in developing your software, reduce repeated code (you don't want duplicated code, as this will make fixing bug difficult, as you'll forget what you did after a month or so), and also it will make easier for you to understand your code as you come back to it later on.

-> Dog Feed your project. This means no mater where you are at in the development of your software, use your software all the time. This will allow you to detect design flaws, bugs, and see what needs to be added to make it more enjoyable to use or more useful.

That is all I have in my mind. Hope this helps.

[Blade of Grass]

What languages are you learning.

One thing that you should know is that most languages have similar formatting and syntax.

[NeoZeon]

Two things that are important:

First, ALWAYS over COMMENT and then trim after the program is done to meet the bare essentials.

Second, ALWAYS break larger problems into smaller ones. IE, Do one thing at a time then build up. Never try to have a Function do too much. Make the program as modular as you can, within reason.

[Young_Man_Matt]

Thanks that helps a lot!

[rufidmonki]

I recommend learning a new language when you're comfortable with your first one. Basically; if you ever feel the need to ask someone what language to learn next, you should probably focus on what you're doing now. Just my personal opinion.

[christianhahn]

I recommend starting low. Modern PCs have far too many layers of abstraction to be able to comprehend off the bat. I recommend a C-based embedded platform. Personally, I started off with assembly on an 8051. They are cheap and C compilers are readily available.

Best of luck

-CH

[wpirobotbuilder]

Test Driven Development if you are using Java. It is relatively slow, but your code will be as simple as it needs to be. Program to an interface, not an implementation.

This book is good for learning software development patterns and good programming skills in general.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Flexible_Reliable_Software.html?id=VQaf_vOTDzMC

[MetalLobster]

Use all the great advice posted above and develop a great sense of PATIENCE! Programming can get frustrating.

[HewinFM]

Practice as much as you can. If you take long breaks (weeks) you'll probably forget what you learned. Start by making basic applications that do really obvious things so you can start learning how logic works. Also check out http://thenewboston.org/tutorials.php

[jakemp]

I think python is an excellent language to learn basic programming concepts, as well as more advanced OO and functional concepts. It also has a strong language design that enforces good habits, as well as a mature community and standard library.

If you want to go lower level than that, I recommend C. It is easier to go from C to C++ or C to Java or C++ to Java, mostly because C is a subset of C++, and mostly a subset of Java.

But no matter what language you learn, program often. I don't care for Javascript, but there are so many web frameworks that can let you do interesting things right away with Javascript.