I'm really getting frustrated.

[ShellBox]

Hello everyone.

 

I have been trying to learn how to program in multiple programming languages (Python, Ruby, PHP, Visual Basic, C++, JAVA, C#, C.) but I have picked up none of these languages. I have been looking for books for quite a long time, I've been trying hands-on books, I've been trying For Dummies books, Heads First, etc, but I haven't gotten further than writing Hello World.

 

What my major issue is that I do not understand any of the technical terms, even after Googling them. What happens is that I get a book on C# for example and I pick it up for a little bit, then something that I don't understand comes up and I'm practically forced to give up.

I'm an IT student and I would like to have some programming experience before next year. I am really interested in C#, C++, C and JAVA but I have not found anyone or anything that can help me, even after taking a course in Visual Basic (Which I miserably failed).

 

Could anybody show the ropes to an absolute idiot? I'm just looking for definitions on all the technical stuff which is in English, not in technical terms.

 

Thank you so much.

 

ShellBox.

[vhane]

To be honest there's no way you'll be able to learn programming from a forum. There's certainly no point in going into the nitty gritty. That's what a structured learning resource is for. So, as a general set of tips, here's what worked for me:

 

Pick a language, or have one picked for you. Maybe start with the one that your school will be using. Mine came with the computer I had as a kid: BASIC. It's a language that no one uses anymore. It's certainly a language that I can't use professionally, or even productively for my own projects. However, it doesn't matter much which language you start with. You will learn many more later on, and it gets easier to pick up new languages after the first.

 

Get some learning resources. Books. Lecture videos from online courses. There are plenty of free ones too.

 

Practise by writing code. Code examples in the book? Type it in. Code exercise at the end of a chapter? Do it.

 

Practise by writing code. Pick a small project and have at it. You will be more motivated to keep at it if you're working on something that has an end goal other than simply "learn programming".

 

I repeat: write code! You can't learn programming by reading 10 books from cover to cover. I once tried to learn data structures by sitting in a university library, reading my textbook, and writing out pseudocode using a pencil. What a total waste of time that was. I almost failed that class. No one told me that you can't learn programming that way. To learn programming you need to be sitting in front of your keyboard, typing in code, and running it to see what happens. You cannot learn programming in a non-interactive environment. Programming is all about iteration. You bash code in, no matter how crude, you run it to see what happens, and change your code. You mold the program like you mold clay to make a vase. Pseudocode can help to *plan* a program, but you do not use it to help you derive the logic for the program. Because it's way faster to work in an environment where you can see the results of your commands. That means writing out code and running it.

 

Keep at it. Spent the last hour trying to figure out a concept? I've spent days struggling with new concepts. The eureka moment will eventually happen. It comes faster if you play with the concepts by... writing code. Test things out. Break things, put them back together.

 

Keep at it. Spent the last hour trying to fix a bug in your code? I've spent days trying to fix a bug. Eventually you'll figure it out. You will. There's nothing that you can't solve if you apply yourself. And once you've figured how to fix something, you'll never be bogged down by the same issue again. Because you would have been so scarred by the previous encounter that it'll have been burned into your brain. This is what we call experience. Experienced programmers aren't better than novice ones because they are smarter. It's because they have made, and fixed more errors than the novice programmer.

 

I believe that it's not being better at logical thinking that allows some people to learn programming while others fail. It's perseverance. It takes a certain type of person to persevere for days on the same problem, and to see it through. This is what it takes to become a programmer. Sheer doggedness.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I'm sure many of us would be more than happy to help where possible, but I think we're going to need a bit more information; namely the specific technical terms that you would like us to explain. Otherwise we may as well just point you towards a book, which isn't very helpful. ;)

For example, do you know what a variable is? What about a string, or conncatonation? We need to get an idea of what level of advice/help you need. :)

[ka-la]

Well the easy way would be to find an book in language you speak (if its not English).

 

I sort of know what you feel from my own experience and I can truly say that the breaking moment for me was finding the goal - find an idea that you want to create (which would not be too complicated) and learn towards it. Start with simple things/hacks, copy code from web, mix them together, see what happens... its the best practice.

 

By the way I think Python is quite good for beginners since it allows some things ohter programming langauges doesnt. The syntax is simple enough to understand and so on

[ashpowell]

Have you tried Codeacademy? It goes through everything step by step describing each thing.. I've learnt really quickly using it. And it's free!

[Praetor]

Hello,

if i were you i would start reading a few sites for very basic, pseudo code, logical programs. Forget the language: you need to start thinking in a very logical way to start develop the very basic code and pseudo language is the ideal way so you can understand what are the requirements and the logical paths you must develop to reach for a solution for a given problem.

After those steps then get your hands dirt by using a simple language to start programming, i think java can be a good one to start (java and eclipse but there are much simpler ones out there, is just java has a lot of documents and info on the web).

 

See a problem, question what is required and start writing (not coding!) your way to reach for a solution. think of all the possibilities and scenarios you can get and when you are happy with the outcome, start coding. you are going to fail alot, that's expected; the dificult part in here is to develop the logical set of mind and that takes time.

[Praetor]

I'm an IT student and I would like to have some programming experience before next year. I am really interested in C#, C++, C and JAVA but I have not found anyone or anything that can help me, even after taking a course in Visual Basic (Which I miserably failed).

 

that's one of the most important things: if you have the possibilities go for a course of basic programming: it's worth if the tutor is good enough for explaining the very basics of it and you get to have your most important questions answered quickly.

[riahc3]

Hello,

First off, why do you want to learn to program if next year you are going to learn? To me its obvious that programming is not a area that calls your attention.

The course you failed: Was it Visual Basic or Visual Basic .NET?

Me for example hated to program. I didnt even look how to program. In my degree (software engineering) we (obviously) had to program. We (I) learned. And guess what? 4-5 years after than and 2+ years as a software programmer (both desktop and web) and I still think its a piece of **** profession which I hate.

Having said all that rant :p

Besides thinking logically with pseudocode (you understand this term?), Id make a choice: Web, desktop or mobile? Easiest of the three is desktop. After that language. In this area there are infinite but several stand out: C, C++, C#, VB .NET, and Java. Those are the main ones. C/C++ is the most powerful but logically the most difficult. The other three are pretty easy with VB .NET being the easiest but the least powerful. Java is crap so go with C#; Generally OK language, easy and pretty powerful once you learn to use it. The problem with C# you really dont learn how to save yourself in real life situations because of Visual Studio.

But I still would ask myself if I was you: Do I like to program?

[game_over]

https://tutsplus.com

http://teamtreehouse.com

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

My primary advice to you would be to only learn one programming language initially.Take something like Python  and run with it. Once you've got one language under your belt, additional languages become exponentially easier to learn because in many cases.

 

If you've got any questions, don't be afraid to ask us here, regardless of how stupid you might think the questions are. We were all there once, and most of us still probably are to an extent. It's typically stated that it takes 20 hours of work to understand the basic concept of something, but 10,000 hours to master it. Just take it at your own pace and I think you'll be surprised how quickly you'll pick it up if you genuinely find it interesting.

 

Also, ask yourself this: truthfully, when was the last time you didn't get frustrated when trying to learn a new skill? I get plenty frustrated programming, even today, but the same was also true for learning to drive, learning to type, learning to click my fingers, learning to tie my shoelaces and learning to ride my bike. Just remember that even if you don't get it now, you probably will later. If you don't understand something entirely, move on, and come back to it later :)

[DrainTheSw4mp]

Also, ask yourself this: truthfully, when was the last time you didn't get frustrated when trying to learn a new skill? I get plenty frustrated programming, even today, but the same was also true for learning to drive, learning to type, learning to click my fingers, learning to tie my shoelaces and learning to ride my bike. Just remember that even if you don't get it now, you probably will later. If you don't understand something entirely, move on, and come back to it later :)

 

So true!

[ShellBox]

Have you tried Codeacademy? It goes through everything step by step describing each thing.. I've learnt really quickly using it. And it's free!

 

I have used CodeCademy but Python isn't really for me. I want a language which I can code my own programs with and in which I can go much further. Thanks though.

[+virtorio MVC]

Pick one, focus on it, don't assume that you can buy a book and that's all you'll need, you really need to sit and figure out what's going on yourself, otherwise you'll never really understand it. Post questions here.

[ShellBox]

Hello,

First off, why do you want to learn to program if next year you are going to learn? To me its obvious that programming is not a area that calls your attention.

The course you failed: Was it Visual Basic or Visual Basic .NET?

Me for example hated to program. I didnt even look how to program. In my degree (software engineering) we (obviously) had to program. We (I) learned. And guess what? 4-5 years after than and 2+ years as a software programmer (both desktop and web) and I still think its a piece of **** profession which I hate.

Having said all that rant :p

Besides thinking logically with pseudocode (you understand this term?), Id make a choice: Web, desktop or mobile? Easiest of the three is desktop. After that language. In this area there are infinite but several stand out: C, C++, C#, VB .NET, and Java. Those are the main ones. C/C++ is the most powerful but logically the most difficult. The other three are pretty easy with VB .NET being the easiest but the least powerful. Java is crap so go with C#; Generally OK language, easy and pretty powerful once you learn to use it. The problem with C# you really dont learn how to save yourself in real life situations because of Visual Studio.

But I still would ask myself if I was you: Do I like to program?

 

I have always been very interested in programming because it's something that I would have created. I want to become a video game developer or a pentester but I'd still love to do coding on the side as a hobby. Ever since I started learning about programming (I was about 14 when I first heard about it) I was in love. It all seems so fantastic and wonderful to me. Unfortunately because I have autism and a learning disorder things can be extremely difficult for me to learn. 

 

It's always been a very interesting topic to me but I seem to not be able to learn. I know a little bit of Python and JavaScript and a very small amount of Visual Basic (I think it was VB.NET I learned at the time) but they just don't appeal to me. I find VB chaotic and it makes things a lot harder. 

I do know that pseudocode is basically the code written down in a more English way but I still don't really understand anything of it.

 

Do you have anything you can recommend to someone who needs things explained in a very simple way?

 

Thank you so much for this reply.

 

My primary advice to you would be to only learn one programming language initially.Take something like Python  and run with it. Once you've got one language under your belt, additional languages become exponentially easier to learn because in many cases.

 

If you've got any questions, don't be afraid to ask us here, regardless of how stupid you might think the questions are. We were all there once, and most of us still probably are to an extent. It's typically stated that it takes 20 hours of work to understand the basic concept of something, but 10,000 hours to master it. Just take it at your own pace and I think you'll be surprised how quickly you'll pick it up if you genuinely find it interesting.

 

Also, ask yourself this: truthfully, when was the last time you didn't get frustrated when trying to learn a new skill? I get plenty frustrated programming, even today, but the same was also true for learning to drive, learning to type, learning to click my fingers, learning to tie my shoelaces and learning to ride my bike. Just remember that even if you don't get it now, you probably will later. If you don't understand something entirely, move on, and come back to it later :)

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

The problem is that I don't like Python very much even though it is quite easy to pick up. I just don't like it very much so I get bored of it quickly and move onto something else.

It is very true that new things can frustrate someone very much but it just really gets to me when I don't pick something up as quick as other people. I have had a friend who learned C# when he was 16 and now he's writing a full game which he almost completed. I just feel very stupid compared to most programmers because they find it so easy to pick these things up.

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll start working on my Python again and I'll start looking into pseudocode.

 

Thank you everybody for all the replies :)

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Well it doesn't have to by Python. Any language will do (C# if you want to pick up programming without the low level baggage, C or C++ if you want to play at managing your own memory), just try to stick to one language. If you keep to one syntax, picking up the concepts should come quickly. Imagine trying to learn French, German, English, Spanish, Greek, Russian and Arabic all at the same time ;)

[soil]

I would say just learn the very basics of programming if you can't even get past a hello world app.

 

Even just looking into how to create, set and call variables. Then once you can do all that look at if statements, while loops etc.

This is standard for learning any language.

 

 

Just pick one language and stick to it learn that for a few months then experiment with others. Not setting out to learn every language straight away - takes years to become good at them!

 

I've only modified python scripts never created from scratch but python isn't the easiest to use out of all the languages you've listed!

 

I would recommend a very simple language like PHP to get your teeth into as this doesn't care about variable types etc. Then to get you into variable types look at languages like JAVA. 

 

 

Remember that learning to debug is just as important as learning to code.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

it's simple, really. You're learning a new language(s) just like learning any other language on the planet. Sure, you can memorize a few terms or words, but you dont really understand what youre saying until you immerse yourself in it. I tried to learn programming years ago by taking simple college courses and reading books, but it just doesnt work. You need projects and really need to understand the philosophy behind programming.

 

And, for this reason, i hate programming.

[firey]

As with the others, start with a very basic language.  Unfortunately if you find VB chaotic, I am worried about what you will think about other languages.  Start small, don't go full on into it.  I have been programming for over 10 years (VB6, Turing, C++,C#,Java,VB.NET,PHP,HTML, and a bunch of others) and there are still times where I get confused, or am not sure what to do.  I have just recently begun learning game development, and I will say it is much much harder than standard programming. 

The thing with programming, is you can't learn everything.  It's like learning a new language, yes you get the words, learn tricks, can speak it fluently.. but there will always be something new, or a different way of doing it.

 

Guaranteed that you could write a piece of software, go off and work on something else, come back 6 months later and look at your code, and see 1000 ways you could clean it up, make it more efficient, and expand it in less code than you had originally. 

[riahc3]

Hello,

I have always been very interested in programming because it's something that I would have created. I want to become a video game developer or a pentester but I'd still love to do coding on the side as a hobby. Ever since I started learning about programming (I was about 14 when I first heard about it) I was in love. It all seems so fantastic and wonderful to me. Unfortunately because I have autism and a learning disorder things can be extremely difficult for me to learn.

Well, Im glad you like it. I just thought you were not sure. I apoligize.

I also apoligize if I misunderstand it but with a learning disorder, it is going to be difficult to program. Programming, like some have said, is a once learn forever know type of thing; once on one language, you can most likey very easily move to another language with a pretty easy transition (even though I still hate Java and Javascript :p )

The problem comes adpating those languages to your needs and software needs. For example, C requires in some cases reserving memory address and releasing them while in Java this is almost done automatic. You need to know when, how and why you are doing anything and everything and thats not a programming language barrier, its a thinking barrier. I dont mean to insult you but I am not sure how much capacity you have to be able to do this.  

 

It's always been a very interesting topic to me but I seem to not be able to learn. I know a little bit of Python and JavaScript and a very small amount of Visual Basic (I think it was VB.NET I learned at the time) but they just don't appeal to me. I find VB chaotic and it makes things a lot harder.

VB .NET is the easiest language to learn. It has its "non standard things" (every language ends statements with ; except VB .NET) but it is very very easy.

 

I do know that pseudocode is basically the code written down in a more English way but I still don't really understand anything of it.

If you cannot understand pseudocode, then I am worried.

BTW, it doesnt have to be in english; you can write it in your native language too.

 

The problem is that I don't like Python very much even though it is quite easy to pick up. I just don't like it very much so I get bored of it quickly and move onto something else.

It is very true that new things can frustrate someone very much but it just really gets to me when I don't pick something up as quick as other people. I have had a friend who learned C# when he was 16 and now he's writing a full game which he almost completed. I just feel very stupid compared to most programmers because they find it so easy to pick these things up.

Python is orientated towards more of a scripting language than a complied language. You dont need to know these terms right now but I highly suggest you (or anyone else) start with something else.

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll start working on my Python again and I'll start looking into pseudocode.

 

Thank you everybody for all the replies :)

Personally, for you, I would recommend VB .NET

Something that may or may not help you is you can tell us a small simple program you would like to see/test/etc and most of us can write it here in a mere minutes. We can comment the code and if you have any further question, help you or explain.

[riahc3]

Hello,

it's simple, really. You're learning a new language(s) just like learning any other language on the planet. Sure, you can memorize a few terms or words, but you dont really understand what youre saying until you immerse yourself in it. I tried to learn programming years ago by taking simple college courses and reading books, but it just doesnt work. You need projects and really need to understand the philosophy behind programming.

 

And, for this reason, i hate programming.

Did I tell you I love you? :p

[Som]

not trying to be insulting but some people just aren't cut out for programming, your brain has to be wired that way :P.  It's like some people are good at theory and others at practical...

 

personally i'm useless at everything ;)

 

 

 

Hello everyone.

 

I have been trying to learn how to program in multiple programming languages (Python, Ruby, PHP, Visual Basic, C++, JAVA, C#, C.) but I have picked up none of these languages. I have been looking for books for quite a long time, I've been trying hands-on books, I've been trying For Dummies books, Heads First, etc, but I haven't gotten further than writing Hello World.

 

What my major issue is that I do not understand any of the technical terms, even after Googling them. What happens is that I get a book on C# for example and I pick it up for a little bit, then something that I don't understand comes up and I'm practically forced to give up.

I'm an IT student and I would like to have some programming experience before next year. I am really interested in C#, C++, C and JAVA but I have not found anyone or anything that can help me, even after taking a course in Visual Basic (Which I miserably failed).

 

Could anybody show the ropes to an absolute idiot? I'm just looking for definitions on all the technical stuff which is in English, not in technical terms.

 

Thank you so much.

 

ShellBox.

[riahc3]

Hello,

not trying to be insulting but some people just aren't cut out for programming, your brain has to be wired that way :p.  It's like some people are good at theory and others at practical...

 

personally i'm useless at everything ;)

Well its the truth; I would like to be good at everything in the world and have a unlimited salary from marketing but its impossible because it is not in my ability nor can I or have the intrest in learning.

There are millions of fields in IT, so dont worry.

Also, do you know anything about SQL, OP?

[Zidane]

As with the others, start with a very basic language.  Unfortunately if you find VB chaotic, I am worried about what you will think about other languages.  Start small, don't go full on into it.  I have been programming for over 10 years (VB6, Turing, C++,C#,Java,VB.NET,PHP,HTML, and a bunch of others) and there are still times where I get confused, or am not sure what to do.  I have just recently begun learning game development, and I will say it is much much harder than standard programming. 

The thing with programming, is you can't learn everything.  It's like learning a new language, yes you get the words, learn tricks, can speak it fluently.. but there will always be something new, or a different way of doing it.

 

Guaranteed that you could write a piece of software, go off and work on something else, come back 6 months later and look at your code, and see 1000 ways you could clean it up, make it more efficient, and expand it in less code than you had originally. 

 

That last line is gold and is the most thrilling part of code: improving and redeveloping your concepts. Professionally I do business applications but my real thrill and passion is game development. Let me know firey if you would like to see some OS examples of frameworks for client/servers for games (Minecraft is something I've worked a lot on).

 

As to the OP, here is basically the reality of things. Programming is a career you are born to do, not grow into. I know others will quote and debate me on this but I stick to what I've said. Some people just don't have the mindset required to grasp programming concepts and write quality software just as some people don't have the know how to work on a car or the precision to be a surgeon or the charisma of a salesman. While the OP may end up getting basic concepts, it may simply be one of those things that he just isn't meant to be good at. Its not a bad thing, we all have our own talents.

 

Something that may help the OP grasp the concepts further is putting it down for a while and coming back to it. I've did that many times and am able to proceed forward.

[firey]

That last line is gold and is the most thrilling part of code: improving and redeveloping your concepts. Professionally I do business applications but my real thrill and passion is game development. Let me know firey if you would like to see some OS examples of frameworks for client/servers for games (Minecraft is something I've worked a lot on).

 

As to the OP, here is basically the reality of things. Programming is a career you are born to do, not grow into. I know others will quote and debate me on this but I stick to what I've said. Some people just don't have the mindset required to grasp programming concepts and write quality software just as some people don't have the know how to work on a car or the precision to be a surgeon or the charisma of a salesman. While the OP may end up getting basic concepts, it may simply be one of those things that he just isn't meant to be good at. Its not a bad thing, we all have our own talents.

 

Something that may help the OP grasp the concepts further is putting it down for a while and coming back to it. I've did that many times and am able to proceed forward.

I completely agree. Like every career, profession, etc you can train and learn the basics of the job, but without the ability to grasp more than just the basics.. you will never truly succeed.   Programming is not as easy as just writing down code.  It is a LOT of problem solving, and the use of skills you wouldn't think you would need.

Programming is made up of basic logic solving, thinking of use cases, designing interfaces that are easy to use, working with a whole bunch of conditions.  Depending on the area of programming lots and lots of math is involved.

 

I am in the same boat as Zidane, I work as an applications (for businesses) programmer as my profession, though my main passion is to start writing videogames.  I have got an idea started, and have lots of examples from books I've read, test code I've written, and some self-discovered things.  Currently going openGL (2d) on Android... which brings up another point.   You may learn to program in VB.NET for Windows.. but you need to learn to program on different OS's, platforms, different libraries, etc.

 

As for the code Zidane, if I do get stuck I'll be sure to let you know! Thanks

 

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member]

As to the OP, here is basically the reality of things. Programming is a career you are born to do, not grow into. I know others will quote and debate me on this but I stick to what I've said. Some people just don't have the mindset required to grasp programming concepts and write quality software just as some people don't have the know how to work on a car or the precision to be a surgeon or the charisma of a salesman. While the OP may end up getting basic concepts, it may simply be one of those things that he just isn't meant to be good at. Its not a bad thing, we all have our own talents.

You can mostly pickup any skill if you if you stick with it for years.

 

As for the OP: At the end the day, programming isn't about the language. The mark of understanding programming is being able to pickup and use mostly any language quickly. If you conceptually understand programming (and perhaps more generally so OS concepts), it's simple to do. You really shouldn't be worrying about whether the language is python or C# .net or XYZ. As non-expert, you need to stick to one at a time otherwise you are just going to struggle on the differences, syntax, and semantics instead of the important things.

[riahc3]

Hello,

Programming is a career you are born to do, not grow into.

Lets get someone straight here: A programmer is a code monkey; He gets told what to do and does it.

Programmer analysts is a entire different story and usually doesnt even code.

In a career, (a real carrer job), almost everyone can be a programmer. You are told to do this and that and usually you do it with more or less ease. Now a analysts; Those are the ones that think it all up and write a huge pseudocode down.

In real life, most of use do both jobs as some businesses cannot afford or do not want two seperete deparments.

I think he can make a good programmer if he wants to but a analyst? Doubt it.