Tips for Starting Programming

[jaeminyou]

Hello geeks, nerds & gamers

Recently, I've thought about opening a new chapter in my life, which is programming. I've always been interested in technology since I was a kid, so this gave a huge impact on me. I'm a neophyte/beginner and don't know much about the fundamental languages needed for programming. I've accomplished in doing HTML and CSS; thus, they were pretty easy for me. So now, I want to step up and try various type of things. However, I do not know which language to start with and I do not know where to obtain resources from. I need you guys to help me out and recommend me which sites are reliable and simple for learning this language.

 

[Ps. I'm a high school student who is willing to major in computer science]

 

As always, Thank you LTT forum members!

[vorticalbox]

what would you like to create? Web sites, desktop apps, mobile? This will vastly change what we recommend you to learn. One tip I will give you is not to get caught up in "what language to learn" programming language are tools and you use the right one for the job.

 

Along with languages you should learn theory such as OOP, Dry, kiss and a number of others. This will take you from being a programmer to being a great one.

[jaeminyou]

1 minute ago, vorticalbox said:

what would you like to create? Web sites, desktop apps, mobile? This will vastly change what we recommend you to learn. One tip I will give you is not to get caught up in "what language to learn" programming language are tools and you use the right one for the job.

 

Along with languages you should learn theory such as OOP, Dry, kiss and a number of others. This will take you from being a programmer to being a great one.

I'd like to create desktop softwares

[vorticalbox]

2 minutes ago, jaeminyou said:

I'd like to create desktop softwares

then c#, java m, c++, c. Out of them all I would suggest c# as Microsoft has put a lot of effort into the universal windows platform.

 

 

[SCHISCHKA]

im gona throw this in here https://www.arduino.cc/

[hartantovictor]

3 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

then c#, java m, c++, c. Out of them all I would suggest c# as Microsoft has put a lot of effort into the universal windows platform.

 

 

Exactly.

[SCHISCHKA]

3 minutes ago, Nicholatian said:

I would strongly disadvise developing for the UWP

I advise against getting sucked into a platform while in high school. By the time you leave everything will have changed. Just stick to electronics and hardware which is why i mentioned arduino above. x86 programming is also neat to learn

[Clanscorpia]

If you arent good at math dont take comp science. Also if you can barely program right now why would you spend 30,000+ dollars learning theory?

[jaeminyou]

Just now, Clanscorpia said:

If you arent good at math dont take comp science. Also if you can barely program right now why would you spend 30,000+ dollars learning theory?

I'm not bad at math. I have interest in physics, math, and computer science.

[Clanscorpia]

1 minute ago, jaeminyou said:

I'm not bad at math. I have interest in physics, math, and computer science.

Why comp science if you have never programmed though? Do you full understand what comp science is?

[vorticalbox]

18 minutes ago, Nicholatian said:

I would strongly disadvise developing for the UWP. It is Microsoft’s ultimate walled garden (so to speak), and provides virtually zero interoperability with competing frameworks and platforms. Once you go UWP, it is exceedingly difficult to leave. Everything is proprietary, nothing works outside of their ecoystem, and as a result both you (the developer) and your users are stuck with a platform destined for data mining and eventually paid advertising.

 

People generally don’t like those things, and as developers we have the ultimate power to say no to such atrocities. We create the software people enjoy, and if we were to make something popular one day… would it really be all that grand for it to be exclusive to something like the UWP? The userbase has little choice outside of not using your app entirely.

 

Maybe so but Microsoft is the dominant desktop platform and they seem to want UWP as there default over x86. I wouldn't surprise me if they slowly start killing of x86 altogether.  There is always java

[jaeminyou]

8 minutes ago, Clanscorpia said:

Why comp science if you have never programmed though? Do you full understand what comp science is?

Why Computer Science? Well, our society is relied on the advancement of the technology. All thanks to computer science, we can perform certain type of tasks like communicating through the internet. And this piqued my curiosity of how things function ranging from electronic appliances to transports etc. In addition, since we reached the information era/digital era, the demand of computer scientist (depending on the field  in-depth) is high to further develop the technology. Not only the demand is high, but also it gives wide range of opportunities for me in the future. Therefore, I find it extremely important. And also, if I've never tried programming, when will I start it when I really want to? The answer is action, not just planning and procrastinating.

[Clanscorpia]

1 minute ago, jaeminyou said:

Why Computer Science? Well, our society is relied on the advancement of the technology. All thanks to computer science, we can perform certain type of tasks like communicating through the internet. And this piqued my curiosity of how things function ranging from electronic appliances to transports etc. In addition, since we reached the information era/digital era, the demand of computer scientist (depending on the field  in-depth) is high to further develop the technology. Not only the demand is high, but also it gives wide range of opportunities for me in the future. Therefore, I find it extremely important. 

Computer science is the study of the theory of computer programming. Meaning you would learn to make programming languages and do a crap ton of Lamda calculus the branch that comp science uses. You would also learn how to program extremely efficiently. Literally everything you are talking about there is what engineers do. Unless you specialize in one area in your comp science degree its not worth as much as people think. Computer engineering is where the jobs are at. Same with network engineering. I personally am going for Electrical Engineering with a specialty in processor architectures because I love electricity and microcircuits, and am so far very good at working with them. I should also mention you need very high math skills to complete comp science. If you cant do Calculus you're basically screwed. Its why Im starting when Im 13. I can already do basic Trigonometry and functions. Do a bit more research before you pick a uni course

[jaeminyou]

2 minutes ago, Clanscorpia said:

Computer science is the study of the theory of computer programming. Meaning you would learn to make programming languages and do a crap ton of Lamda calculus the branch that comp science uses. You would also learn how to program extremely efficiently. Literally everything you are talking about there is what engineers do. Unless you specialize in one area in your comp science degree its not worth as much as people think. Computer engineering is where the jobs are at. Same with network engineering. I personally am going for Electrical Engineering with a specialty in processor architectures because I love electricity and microcircuits, and am so far very good at working with them. I should also mention you need very high math skills to complete comp science. If you cant do Calculus you're basically screwed. Its why Im starting when Im 13. I can already do basic Trigonometry and functions. Do a bit more research before you pick a uni course

Well, my point was that we can communicate world-wide because of programmers who program social medias and forums. And yes, I'm willing to learn early, so that I can efficiently overcome problems when I start my courses. 

I too, started highschool math when I was 13 too, and it was pretty easy for me (since I had some strict Asian teachers). Currently, I'm in the top of the high math class and will start calculus very soon. Lastly, I have a lot of time before I enter university, so I have a lot of time to set plans and to set goals to attain in the future

[jaeminyou]

26 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

Maybe so but Microsoft is the dominant desktop platform and they seem to want UWP as there default over x86. I wouldn't surprise me if they slowly start killing of x86 altogether.  There is always java

So, to deduce this thread, should I start with Java?

[Clanscorpia]

2 minutes ago, jaeminyou said:

So, to deduce this thread, should I start with Java?

Start with Java, but dont stay with it, branch off. And dont take comp science unless you are a really good programmer first.

[vorticalbox]

5 minutes ago, jaeminyou said:

So, to deduce this thread, should I start with Java?

TBH it doesn't really matter and like I said languages are tools. Learning any OOP will get you a basic understanding to get you off the ground.

1 minute ago, Clanscorpia said:

Start with Java, but dont stay with it, branch off. And dont take comp science unless you are a really good programmer first.

I do agree that you should branch out. I wouldn't say "good at" more highly interested in the theory of software.

[Gachr]

If you want to make desktop apps, you can start with one of 3 languages:

Java - It's not a bad choice, you can create multiplatform software, there are its GUIs and Android uses Java. Sounds good, right? However, I'd choose C# over it...

C# - It's developed my Microsoft, so it's probably the language you can do most stuff with on Windows. However, there still are some GUI libraries which you can use to make apps that also work on Mac and Linux. Its huge advantage over Java is Xamarin - it's a framework/platform, with which you can create apps that run not just on Android, but also on iOS and WP without much hassle. It's also useful for many other things, for example Unity3D uses it as its main scripting language.

Both languages are used a lot in enterprise, so that might enable you to find a job, if you're interested in that. You should check which one is used more where you live - in some places companies prefer C#, and in some Java.

JavaScript - It's the third option, a bit different. Please note, that it has nothing to do with Java. Since you are familiar with HTML and CSS, JS would be the natural next choice. It's used to make websites interactive, but not only for that. There is something called Node - it enables you to do all kinds of stuff on computers, just like you could with any other language, including server-side web development. Yeah, I'm talking a lot about web, but you wanted apps... Well, there is something called Electron - a framework that enables you to build desktop apps with web technologies (HTML+CSS+JS), and it uses Node. There are also similar things for mobile, but I'm not familiar with them.

[jaeminyou]

1 hour ago, Gachr said:

If you want to make desktop apps, you can start with one of 3 languages:

Java - It's not a bad choice, you can create multiplatform software, there are its GUIs and Android uses Java. Sounds good, right? However, I'd choose C# over it...

C# - It's developed my Microsoft, so it's probably the language you can do most stuff with on Windows. However, there still are some GUI libraries which you can use to make apps that also work on Mac and Linux. Its huge advantage over Java is Xamarin - it's a framework/platform, with which you can create apps that run not just on Android, but also on iOS and WP without much hassle. It's also useful for many other things, for example Unity3D uses it as its main scripting language.

Both languages are used a lot in enterprise, so that might enable you to find a job, if you're interested in that. You should check which one is used more where you live - in some places companies prefer C#, and in some Java.

JavaScript - It's the third option, a bit different. Please note, that it has nothing to do with Java. Since you are familiar with HTML and CSS, JS would be the natural next choice. It's used to make websites interactive, but not only for that. There is something called Node - it enables you to do all kinds of stuff on computers, just like you could with any other language, including server-side web development. Yeah, I'm talking a lot about web, but you wanted apps... Well, there is something called Electron - a framework that enables you to build desktop apps with web technologies (HTML+CSS+JS), and it uses Node. There are also similar things for mobile, but I'm not familiar with them.

For few hours, I had some trouble loading up Java on my Mac. I don't really know how to install it because most of the tutorials are either really old or contains irrelevant content. Maybe I should use a book instead of browsing through online. Can you recommend me a really good book for either Java or C# please? 

[Gachr]

Just now, jaeminyou said:

For few hours, I had some trouble loading up Java on my Mac. I don't really know how to install it because most of the tutorials are either really old or contains irrelevant content. Maybe I should use a book instead of browsing through online. Can you recommend me a really good book for either Java or C# please? 

Unfortunately, I didn't read any; I don't have any Java experience, just some C#. However, one "programming guru" I know recommends "Head First Java".

Do you know Homebrew?

[jaeminyou]

9 minutes ago, Gachr said:

Unfortunately, I didn't read any; I don't have any Java experience, just some C#. However, one "programming guru" I know recommends "Head First Java".

Do you know Homebrew?

No, I've never heard of it. In fact, what is it?

[Gachr]

1 minute ago, jaeminyou said:

No, I've never heard of it. In fact, what is it?

It is a package manager for OSX, I can explain you some more in private messages, since I don't want step-by-step questions and tasks to take up the whole topic.

[Guest]

C++ is a multiplatform language. 

It MAY be a good step after Java if you ever feel the need to leave. Java was made with C++ developers in mind. Java is similar in syntax to C++. In my experience (which isn't much nor very valuable imo). for example, semi colon endings, curlie braces, classes. 

C# is a little similar to C++ but I'm not too sure. I'd refrain from proprietary languages as others said but as my other thread states. I'm slow, and not very experienced with programming. 

[jaeminyou]

8 hours ago, Gachr said:

It is a package manager for OSX, I can explain you some more in private messages, since I don't want step-by-step questions and tasks to take up the whole topic.

Yes please, private message me.

[Gachr]

22 hours ago, fpo said:

C++ is a multiplatform language. 

It MAY be a good step after Java if you ever feel the need to leave. Java was made with C++ developers in mind. Java is similar in syntax to C++. In my experience (which isn't much nor very valuable imo). for example, semi colon endings, curlie braces, classes. 

C# is a little similar to C++ but I'm not too sure. I'd refrain from proprietary languages as others said but as my other thread states. I'm slow, and not very experienced with programming. 

C++ itself is multiplatform, but things made with C++? Not so much.

Java uses the same style, but syntax is very different, since it's such an objectory language. It's very similar to C#.