I'm a very new programmer determined to learn everything I need to know. Are there any experienced programmers willing to help out someone starting in the field looking to make a career out of it? I'm learning through learnrubythehardway and probably focusing on learning ruby to get a programming job, and I'm learning objective-c on the side to develop apps independently. I'm making good progress in my learning as I'm actually very interested and intrigued by programming and how it all works. I've only started learning actual programming about a month ago so I have the very basics down (variables, classes, objects, etc.) but I haven't gone into actually developing a program (besides small command prompt scripts from the ruby tutorials, and small single function apps from the objective c tutorials). I work full time so I like to invest my free time into quality learning. I'm pretty much looking for any great tips, advice, pointers in the right direction, maybe a mentor/guide to show me techniques and anything I should know. I'm a fast learner and trying to learn the skills I need as quickly and efficiently as I can so I can quit this shitty janitor job and start my career as a programmer. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
My advice is to start out small and work your way up. Start with an easy language like visual basic, become fluent in that then continue to a harder one like java or c++. The worst thing you can do for yourself is try to learn multiple languages within a short period of time. Many people think it will be easy and they can ve programming 3d games within a week but this is far from the truth. All programming languages are very much alike. The only real differences are in the syntax of the language but structure wise they are pretty much the same. So like i said, start out with something like python or visual basic after you become fluent in one of those, the rest will be easy.
Code academy has everything you could ever think of to do with coding. Go there, do some hands on training. They have forums and people there to help you through it. I learned some of my coding skills from there and I work in the industry. Very rewarding feeling to know you built something from the ground up using coding. Like was said above me, start off with one and move from there. Most people start with Java and move from there. Although Java is suppose to be phased out it still has some core functionality to it. Visual Basic and Java are actually good starters. Good Luck.
Code academy is my shit! I only used it for a couple small languages because I'm not a programmer myself but it's amazing! AND FREE! Sent from my SM-N900V using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I was thrown into C++ at a young age and I don't regret starting in the so called "deep end", here are a couple of pointers: What you need to understand is programming is programming, there is no hard or easy, it's simply a matter of understanding the principles and wrapping your head around problems one step at a time. You should read up on the different programming paradigms; imperative, object-oriented, logical, functional etc., they all have their advantages and disadvantages. All programmers forget, don't try to remember it all! I would strongly suggest building your own library of knowledge and projects for future reference (Guard it with your life!). While it's normally wrong to steal I say go for it when it comes to programming, there's no need to keep reinventing the wheel, just make sure you understand the code! I would suggest setting yourself a goal, make up a small, but relatively complex problem that you find interesting and then make that your goal for the next ~year of programming- you'll get stuck (a lot), but when you do just put the project aside, identify your issue and then go study, do related problems of a smaller scale until you can build upon your project again. Then rinse and repeat! It goes without saying that mathematics and programming is closely related, so I would strongly suggest you start practicing maths too, not just any maths but some which are relevant to your interests. I personally have always wanted to do graphics and therefore linear algebra has been a huge interest for me and I can tell you while there are a lot of really good programmers out there who don't know much math it really is one of the things that make a good programmer great! Also, don't give up (ever), if you get tired of looking a the monitor for a while it's okay, you don't need to practice constantly, the knowledge will stay with you!
The greatest tips one can give you is: Read and inspect unknown code, figure out what it exactly does. If you have ideas, get hands on and start coding! If you don't know how to do something, a well constructed google query should help! I learned it through practice, and when in trouble I deepend myself into the theory. Starting out with a language like C is not a bad idea, if you know you're way around that, the other languages will be a piece of cake (some exceptions tho).. I wish you a great adventure in the world of coding, may the bug-gods be with you!
You should go to a college or university. Not only will you learn a shit load if interesting theory stuff but you will also learn the very way of life of people in IT. There is no way you can understand pain and stress other than being thrown face to face to a massive project and a real deadlines. You will also learn to fight computer workers worst demon, PROCRASTINATION. That's right, the worst battles you will fight will be against yourself and that ridiculous urge to waste time when you should be working.