When did you get into programming?

[bzurk]

Just would like to hear stories on when and how did you get into computer programming.

 

Not sure If I'm trying to start to late (24 Years old), And if I should go into college learning computer programming or go for something else.

 

Can't wait to hear some stories! Thanks everyone!

 

[McHox]

2 minutes ago, bzurk said:

Just would like to hear stories on when and how did you get into computer programming.

 

Not sure If I'm trying to start to late (24 Years old), And if I should go into college learning computer programming or go for something else.

 

Can't wait to hear some stories! Thanks everyone!

 

just started with python,you should check out Codecademy

[vorticalbox]

started learning HTML as I was just about to head into college. In college we had a visual basic unit were we had to build a score board for a team sport. 

From there i went on to learning PHP and building rubbish but kinda fun text based games. Now i'm a computer Science graduate thta still codes in lots of languages though recently i have focued on web based technogolise like angularJS and bootstrap. 

[minibois]

When I applied for a software programming study, 2 and a half years ago.

I did have interest in creating websites, games and other applications before that, but never actually wrote a single line of code.

 

It's definitely not too late for you to start. If you have any interest in creating software (whether that be games, PC software or mobile apps), you should go for it. If you like math, you should also go for it. If you like solving problems and coming up with solutions, you should go for it. If you are still reading this, you should go for it.

 

The way I would suggest is you pick a language/engine to start out with (if you want to know what to choose, just quote me and tell me what you want to make), look up a  tutorial or two and really understand what you are doing. After that you should think of a project you want to make and just go for it. Google your way to solutions as to how to make this stuff, ask stuff on forums (like this one) and generally try to have a positive mentality towards making the program. You learn a LOT more than you would think.

 

You could also apply for a school of some sorts to learn programming.

[Lucaz97]

I got into computer programming during my exchange year last year, they put me in Computer Science I class and I was so excited! I was supposed to stay there for a semester, my teacher got me really well and said I had the potentiality to become a good programmer and he managed to make me complete the entire programme of the year in one semester, thanks to him though, I got a scholarship for the second semester and during that time he left me in the back of the class studying the Oracle courses Java Foundamentals and Java Programming... That had been the best time I've have had so far in my 19 years of life... 

Then when I got back to Italy I continued and I am still learning by myself, I have my final exams in two weeks and then I'm already into college for Computer Science engeneering... 

[ChrisCross]

never. i will be stupid forever  

[bzurk]

2 minutes ago, Minibois said:

When I applied for a software programming study, 2 and a half years ago.

I did have interest in creating websites, games and other applications before that, but never actually wrote a single line of code.

 

It's definitely not too late for you to start. If you have any interest in creating software (whether that be games, PC software or mobile apps), you should go for it. If you like math, you should also go for it. If you like solving problems and coming up with solutions, you should go for it. If you are still reading this, you should go for it.

 

The way I would suggest is you pick a language/engine to start out with (if you want to know what to choose, just quote me and tell me what you want to make), look up a  tutorial or two and really understand what you are doing. After that you should think of a project you want to make and just go for it. Google your way to solutions as to how to make this stuff, ask stuff on forums (like this one) and generally try to have a positive mentality towards making the program. You learn a LOT more than you would think.

 

You could also apply for a school of some sorts to learn programming.

That was epic! haha!

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

What I mainly want to get into is Mobile Development since I kind of think that the mobile world has, if not already, overtaken the desktop world, usage wise.

As far as all the information I've read, I keep seeing "Learn JavaScript", "JavaScript is the language you have to know", "The world needs more JavaScript programmers".

 

Then I ended up reading so much that it basically turned my brain into a overthinking war, because I'm now not sure If I came in at the right time, Or what if some programming language comes up that is so new. I might as well get into that since I wouldn't be at such a extreme disadvantage to the "Programming Gods", Or those who have been programming since childhood or the like.

 

I don't know if it's the fear within just trying to hold me down, or I could have the fear of feeling like I'm doing it all for nothing If I can't do anything with what I learn compared to others.

[trag1c]

I started when I was around the age of 14. I was fascinates by tools like OllyDBG and Cheat Engine. To further my interest I picked up a very terrible C++ for dummies book. Once I got going with C++ I was spending every free moment coding hacks for the game Combat Arms. Before I knew it I was programming things like color detection based aim bots, chams, no clip, invincibility from simply injecting my own C++ code into the application. Now I am no longer hacking as I've gotten into low level game engine development as well as robotics in which I have the pleasure of working with things like Tegra k1 and x1 development boards. These I have used for vision processing for targeting objects as well as adjusting robot positing so that it can shoot objects at the target. 

 

And its never to late to start. Beyond programming its teaching your self logical problem solving and reasoning which is valuable regardless of education or career.

[minibois]

5 minutes ago, bzurk said:

That was epic! haha!

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

What I mainly want to get into is Mobile Development since I kind of think that the mobile world has, if not already, overtaken the desktop world, usage wise.

As far as all the information I've read, I keep seeing "Learn JavaScript", "JavaScript is the language you have to know", "The world needs more JavaScript programmers".

 

Then I ended up reading so much that it basically turned my brain into a overthinking war, because I'm now not sure If I came in at the right time, Or what if some programming language comes up that is so new. I might as well get into that since I wouldn't be at such a extreme disadvantage to the "Programming Gods", Or those who have been programming since childhood or the like.

 

I don't know if it's the fear within just trying to hold me down, or I could have the fear of feeling like I'm doing it all for nothing If I can't do anything with what I learn compared to others.

People will mention Javascript as a great place to start, because it's a language based of C, which most languages are based of. It's a fairly 'simple' way of learning programming, as there are multiple different applications for it (mainly for website development). If you know how to program in Javascript, you will know the basics of programming in most other languages too (many languages are very similar to Javascript, how you use functions, if statements, etc.)

 

Mobile programming mainly consists of two languages: Java (not to be confused with Javascript, they are different) and Objective-C.

Java is what is used on Android and Objective-C is used on iOS. I believe Windows phone uses C#, but I don't know too much about development for that platform.

You unfortunately can only program for iOS on OSX, but you can program for Android on Windows, OSX and Linux I believe.

 

Google and Apple both have some good tutorials on getting started with Android Studio (the program you will use for Android development) and XCode (the program for iOS development).

I would also suggest you take a look at HTML5, as that has a big future too, both in terms of desktop and mobile development. It will likely take over Flash in the next couple of years and is generally just awesome.

[Sauron]

Mainly in university, but I had dabbled a little way before that. I suppose the first time would be when I was 8 and my dad taught me a few things in smallbasic.

[madknight3]

15 minutes ago, bzurk said:

What I mainly want to get into is Mobile Development since I kind of think that the mobile world has, if not already, overtaken the desktop world, usage wise.

As far as all the information I've read, I keep seeing "Learn JavaScript", "JavaScript is the language you have to know", "The world needs more JavaScript programmers".

For Android, Java (not JavaScript) is the place to start. For iOS, Swift is the place to start. For Windows Phone, C# is the place to start.

 

There are also frameworks out there that let you write in one language and build for all of them. For example, Xamarin lets you build Android and iOS apps with C# and Phonegap lets you build them using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I'd recommend you learn how to build at least basic apps natively before deciding if you want to play around with these types of frameworks.

 

Some web development experience can also be useful as many mobile apps communicate with web services. You don't have to worry about that in the beginning though, just build mobile apps for now if that's what you're into.

 

21 minutes ago, bzurk said:

Then I ended up reading so much that it basically turned my brain into a overthinking war, because I'm now not sure If I came in at the right time, Or what if some programming language comes up that is so new.

New stuff pops up all the time, some of it becomes popular, some of it doesn't. Programming languages that have been around for decades are among the most used languages and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Plenty of people still have great careers with them.

 

25 minutes ago, bzurk said:

I might as well get into that since I wouldn't be at such a extreme disadvantage to the "Programming Gods", Or those who have been programming since childhood or the like.

 

I don't know if it's the fear within just trying to hold me down, or I could have the fear of feeling like I'm doing it all for nothing If I can't do anything with what I learn compared to others.

Many people start programming in college and do just fine making a career out of it. You also don't have to be the best out there to have a good career. Just focus on making yourself as good as you can be.

 

[Gachr]

So, I'll try to keep it short. I had my first experiences with programming at about 12, I did a little bit with it back then. I really started doing it lots quite recently, around a year ago, at 16. I don't think it's too late to start... Colonel Sanders started KFC when he was sixty-something.

In terms of self-learning, it all depends what you want to do. You mentioned mobile development, which I will explain below.

Ah, and stay away from codecademy, it's terrible.

35 minutes ago, bzurk said:

As far as all the information I've read, I keep seeing "Learn JavaScript", "JavaScript is the language you have to know", "The world needs more JavaScript programmers".

That's true, but you probably also heard that JavaScript is a terrible language I think it is, but it's also extremely useful.

27 minutes ago, Minibois said:

Mobile programming mainly consists of two languages: Java (not to be confused with Javascript, they are different) and Objective-C.

Java is what is used on Android and Objective-C is used on iOS. I believe Windows phone uses C#, but I don't know too much about development for that platform.

You unfortunately can only program for iOS on OSX, but you can program for Android on Windows, OSX and Linux I believe.

That's some incorrect info right there.

Android uses JVM, which is mainly Java, but other JVM languages could also be used, though Java is mainly used. I know you can also program for Android with C++, but I'm not sure how comfortable it is.

As for iOS, Objective-C can indeed be used, but it's getting replaced by Swift. You unfortunately need OSX, but not a Mac, there are workarounds, but they aren't easy.

Windows Phone uses C# natively.

However, you don't need those native languages mentioned above.

You can program mobile apps with HTML, CSS and JS using the Ionic framework. It exports to iOS and Android, the good thing about the former is that you don't need OSX to do it.

There is also Xamarin (standalone or integrated with Visual Studio), in which you program for all 3 main platforms using C#.

[WiiManic]

I got into it a bit in sixth-form, which is like 16-18 in the UK, but it wasn't really much it was just a bit of Visual Basic and I wasn't exactly doing anything I'd consider good, it was just sloppy logic that worked for the simple tasks I needed it for.

 

Properly? Mainly when I started Uni, with Python/C++/Java. So I've only been doing it properly for about 3 years now, and yet I've done a full dissertation based around Deep Learning which was submitted like 2 weeks ago. If you stick at it, and look into it properly you can learn it quite quickly.

 

If you are considering Comp Sci or similar for College, just make sure as well as practising programming, you do maths. An awful lot of Maths. Can't talk about other countries etc, but it seems the same, Unis want very strong maths skills first and foremost. An interest and experience programming might help you get on the course if you otherwise would struggle, but the maths skills are the most important to be honest. They'll teach you the programming skills, so knowing it is less of an issue. In some cases, doing it yourself and picking up bad habits could make it harder! Its mainly maths so they need to know you can do it.

If College is worth it depends on the sort of person you are. I would say they help an awful lot, but I mean just as much this is very much a sector where you can go "Oh here look at my github I've done this and this and this" and it (along with knowing about some basic stuff like OO programming or that sort of stuff) you can at least get through to an interview for a job. But that means you need to be doing a lot of work yourself and to a decent standard since you'll be under more scrutiny due to not having gone to college.

[Dat Guy]

Shortly after having bought my first Windows computer in 1996, I started fiddling with the DOS (Batch) part. A couple of languages followed.

[Cruorzy]

I used to setup all kind of server when i was 15/16 and found out programming was not really my thing back then since i was way to bounded to game in my free time,

But i did make a promise to myself to try to create some simple website's from scratch later on.

 

These days i can watch lynda courses, 6 hours straight and get notepad next to it and write stuff down like what you have to be carefull of when working with forms that will echo the data or put it into a database.

 

Then actually create stuff with the things you have learned see how it works see if you can get it cleaner.

For example i used to copy and paste ALOT, now i can actually write PHP HTML CSS soon JS when i have some time, then probably go Pyton but i would love to work in Golang since i have used some apps and they are crazy fast and smooth.

 

Im far from a programmer but i'd like to think im going the right way.

[FedeWar]

I started with BASIC 6.0 almost 8 years ago, then I moved to C++, Java, Python and others.

[straight_stewie]

Way back when I was like 12 my stepbrother found this website called freewebs (now defunct) that allowed you to build websites and would host them freely. There are alot of similar sites now. Him and I had always been competitive, so I started learning HTML in an attempt to build a better website than him. The most useful thing I ever did with HTML was build a "website" with embedded links to my favorite flash games. I carried this around on a usb stick, and whenever we were in a computer lab in middle school or highschool, I would use it to play my favorite flash games without having to try to use a proxy. After I got out of highschool I gave it up for a few years. Around the time I turned 20 I was starting to get bored and interested in math, so I decided to sink my teeth into a powerful language. Realizing that my dad has been a .NET web developer since the advent of the .NET framework, I decided that C# would be the language to go with as I have an amazing support and mentorship structure for that language built right into my family. 

[rm -rf]

On 07/06/2016 at 3:32 AM, bzurk said:

Just would like to hear stories on when and how did you get into computer programming.

 

Not sure If I'm trying to start to late (24 Years old), And if I should go into college learning computer programming or go for something else.

 

Can't wait to hear some stories! Thanks everyone!

 

My timeline of early coding was:

Scratch when I was 6.

HTML when I was 8.

CSS when I was 9.

QB64 when I was 11.

Python when I was 12.

C++ when I was 13.

 

I'd recommend you get into something like Python first, https://groklearning.com/ is a great website for that.

Also, if you're a student you can get a free version of Visual Studio if you then go onto C++.

You're never too old to learn how to code.