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Want to Learn a Programming Language

d3cod3d
By d3cod3d
in Programming
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Hi there everyone :)

 

I know the school year just started, but I want to learn a programming language. It has been something i've wanted to do for a while now, but never got around to it, and on the rare occasion that i did, something went wrong.

 

A few months ago, I got an ebook called Jumping Into C++. It seemed to be a very good book, until my hard drive managed to break, wiping every last bit of information stored on my old laptop. Now that I have a new one, I think its about time i finally did something about my desire to program.

 

First of all, I want to know if C++ is even the right language to start off with. I am in 8th grade and have never taken a class on programming. I have done my fair share of research and my collection of knowledge has led me to the conclusion that C++ is in fact a good language to start with. Is this true? If it is or isn't please tell me why.

 

Next, for whatever language you think i should learn, could you give me a good resource for actually learning it. It could be an ebook, online "course", or maybe even a hard copy of a book that i could get from a library. By the way, when i say online course i mean something like www.codecademy.com rather than an actual online class that requires me to enroll.

 

That is pretty much it :)

 

IF I FORGOT ANY IMPORTANT STEPS TO PICKING A LANGUAGE OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT, TELL ME AN I WILL QUICKLY EDIT THIS TO MAKE SURE I GET THE BEST ADVICE POSSIBLE!!!

 

Thanks,

 

d3cod3d

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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I would just use CodeAcademy. They're pretty good to get basics / how to do things.

 

I found learning HTML (which I hate more than anything tbh) was easier by practicing it like making a Tumblr theme.

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I would just use CodeAcademy. They're pretty good to get basics / how to do things.

 

I found learning HTML (which I hate more than anything tbh) was easier by practicing it like making a Tumblr theme.

 

Thanks for the response!

 

So HTML to start? Sounds good.

 

Once i learn that will it be easier to learn the others?

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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Thanks for the response!

 

So HTML to start? Sounds good.

 

Once i learn that will it be easier to learn the others?

Well you don't have to learn HTML to start.

 

I know people who started at Python, Java, and C. Java is hard to me, but could be easy to you. Python was fun to learn and the easiest I think. I don't think Ruby is really used in anything? I don't know many people who know this.

 

Also, I'm not a computer science major. I have friends who are, but I don't know anyone outside them who do programming so my knowledge is limited on languages.

Desktop: Intel i5-3570K (stock) | Asus Sabertooth Z77 | G.Skill RipJaw 16GB 1600MHz | Samsung 840 120GB | EVGA GTX 680 SC+ 2GB | Fractal Design R4 | Windows 8 Pro (soon to have dual boot Mac OS X)

Retina Macbook Pro : Intel i7-3840QM | 16GB 1600 MHz | 256GB SSD | Nvidia GT 650M 1GB | Mac OS X 10.8.5

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Well you don't have to learn HTML to start.

 

I know people who started at Python, Java, and C. Java is hard to me, but could be easy to you. Python was fun to learn and the easiest I think. I don't think Ruby is really used in anything? I don't know many people who know this.

 

Also, I'm not a computer science major. I have friends who are, but I don't know anyone outside them who do programming so my knowledge is limited on languages.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I think i might try JavaScript and see how it goes. If it doesn't go well then i will definitely do python. I have tried it and it is certainly the easiest

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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HTML is probably the easiest language, you get an idea of how code works.

 

I learnt HTML about 2 years ago, I hardly use it now, but I'm now at college doing IT, so I can learn more languages.

 

If you're teaching yourself, Start with HTML and CSS, then move onward.

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HTML is probably the easiest language, you get an idea of how code works.

 

I learnt HTML about 2 years ago, I hardly use it now, but I'm now at college doing IT, so I can learn more languages.

 

If you're teaching yourself, Start with HTML and CSS, then move onward.

Cool thanks for the advice!

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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If you want something that gets you good looking results fast, html and css are a good entry point, then do javascript to make the site more interactive and user friendly. Javascript might seem a bit harder than the others, but it's a proper programming language (sort of) and a good entry point to proper (compiled) languages such as C(++), which use the same syntax and most of the same built in stuff, but each language has its own quirks.

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Really sorry, but I just feel that so far that's terrible advice. HTML isn't a programming language, so it will teach you nothing in terms of calculations and actual programming. HTML will teach you how to format and control the layout of a web page, nothing more.

 

To start programming, Python would be your best place to start, as it has everything you need and is very easy to understand and pick up. Javascript is okay if you intend on following HTML/CSS and incorporating Javascript, but it is definitely not the easiest language to learn.

 

C++ is a very advanced language, and while that may make you think it's not to be touched for a while, it is definitely advantageous to pick up a decent understanding of the features of the language such as memory management and pointers, as it will allow you to understand languages like Python in ways that get you thinking about efficient ways to program, and not just a single way in which you can achieve something. Performance is key in larger languages such as Java and C++. Python does a lot to help you to begin with, which is why I suggest you start there.

 

Take a look at the programmers resources thread, they have plenty of decent resources for many languages there to get you started.

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Thenewboston youtube channel has tutorials on a lot of programming languages and he is very good at explaining it I think.

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I suggest starting with html/python, both are fairly good to jump in with, and with python you can code some games (text adventure and such for beginners) without too much headache. 

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thank you everyone for the advice it helps a lot :)

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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Install QBasic on your computer, That's what I started with, gets you familiar with strings, loops, if, then, else, statements. Also, Python is a good beginners language. 

 

 

Tip: Don't look at someone's code and scared because of how complex it looks. Any code will confusing if you don't understand the language. Also, there are many different ways to make a program in the same language. 

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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Install QBasic on your computer, That's what I started with, gets you familiar with strings, loops, if, then, else, statements. Also, Python is a good beginners language. 

 

 

Tip: Don't look at someone's code and scared because of how complex it looks. Any code will confusing if you don't understand the language. Also, there are many different ways to make a program in the same language. 

sounds good. I'll do that!

You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!

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