Ignacio E
|
| 3/7/2002 12:10:09 PM |
Not rated |
Me and my roommate have decided to teach ourselves programming. Or something. The equivalent of an introductory programming course, I would imagine, starting from the basic of the basics and working up. Any suggestions on books?
EDIT: Saw this guide (https://devhood.com/tutorials/tutorial_details.aspx?tutorial_id=268) of course after I posted, but is this sufficient or anyone have a better resource to suggest?
|
|
Frank DeRosa
|
| 3/7/2002 12:20:33 PM |
Not rated |
I'm of two minds about whether one can effectively train oneself in programming in a reasonable amount of time. When I was a kid, I taught myself BASIC on a Commodore PET. I later taught myself VB (back in the 3.0 days). However, I was taught C++ in a classroom setting, and I think I ended up getting more from the class. You can teach yourself a lot of bad habits, and end up under-utilizing the languages you learn.
What language are you interested in learning? That should probably be your first debate. THEN you can look for a book on that language, or better yet, a class.
|
|
Amit Jayakaran
|
| 3/7/2002 1:01:17 PM |
Not rated |
I have to agree with Frank but if I had to do it again I would do it Franks way... First play around and try and grasp things... it takes a while but soon you get the hang of it! Once you have a clearer idea you can attend a class. Classes tend not to form a very strong foundation. I beleive a strong foundation is formed by the way you approach a new thing. Build and interest and then improve on it by going to some sort of class...
It's a hybrid of The top-down and bottom-up approach!
|
|
Ben Martens
|
| 3/7/2002 3:49:18 PM |
Not rated |
I believe classes hold value in teaching programming theory like object oriented programming. I tried to learn OO a few times on my own and simply got bogged down in manuals. However, once I get the high level theories from class, I definitely prefer to search through manuals on my own rather than have a prof spout man pages at me. That's how I learned all those good ol languages like VB2.0. :) Also, once you know a few languages it can be quite easy to pick up new languages. For example, C# was a piece of cake because I already knew C++ and Java, and VBA is a simple step from VB.
|
|
Nick Mayer
|
| 3/7/2002 5:21:50 PM |
Not rated |
If you do decide to teach yourself from a book, make sure you get something that teaches you why as well as how. Too many books seem to just tell you the syntax, without explaning much of the workings and structure behind it. For example, the new operator makes very little sense if you don't have a well developed sense of how pointers/objects work, etc.
|
|
Jeff Nga.
|
| 3/7/2002 6:27:08 PM |
Not rated |
Hehehe, i remember learning basic myself when i was young. Mainly the usual trial and error is what got me through it as a kid. C++ was taught to me as in a classroom setting. I think it gave a good overall understanding and general knowledge but it wasn't until i actually started playing around with it myself that i really started to understand. This was outside of assignments and class work but more or less me playing around and trying to figure out what would happen if i did this. I suppose there is an integral balance between the two if you can get it.
|
|
Jeremy Kofoot
|
| 3/7/2002 8:26:26 PM |
Not rated |
I've actually tried those self programming books.. and to me i just can't get seem to get the concept behind them really.. I mean you have to have some sense of programming before even attempting it.. but anyway what do i know
|
|
Ignacio E
|
| 3/8/2002 1:21:58 AM |
Not rated |
I'm trying to get as little a grasp I can on the situation before I go and dive off on the deep end. Whoa, too many metaphors in one sentence, perhaps I should learn to frequent Devhood less often when it is late and I am not in the best state of mind?
Anywho, this seems to be a better approach: If you had to start out as a TOTAL noob, how would you have yourself learn the programming ways (or whatever you think constitutes the basic amount any layperson should know)?
|
|
Tim Ferguson
|
| 3/8/2002 2:01:21 AM |
Not rated |
I personally like the books. I think that classroom environments are better of course, but not everyone has a chance to get in a class. IF your not a student its not the eaisiest thing to get in. If I were you I would go to the local library and have a look at some books. Try to pick a book that is for noobs, but explains what is happening rather than just how to do it. ITs really important to know WHY you are doing things, not just how you are doing them. I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but if you want a really easy language to learn, try VB6. I think you can find some books with working copies of the environment on them. Work through that book and get a feel for the language. Then invent some projects for yourself that you think will help you get better at it. ONce you learn to program a bit you will learn that what languages you know is not that important. If you can grasp the fundamentals and learn to think like a programmer, that is half the battle.
|
|
Mirtcho Spassov
|
| 3/8/2002 11:08:25 PM |
Not rated |
I think that taking an introductory course in Computer Science can be much more valuable (for general understanding -- this doesn't necessarily mean from a financial standpoint) for a layperson than learning to program for the industry, which is what the majority of books in the market teach, because you get a general grasp of the major ideas instead of boggling yourself down to useless details of syntax and implementations in a specific language.
|
|