xxkbxx Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Hello everybody,I have the intent on learning programming (to learn a new and useful skill and/or to narrow down a potential for a college major) I have never worked with any coding, with the exception of simple HTML, so I need to know what type of coding I need to learn and what the best way to learn it is.Thanks in advance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 To be more specific - what are some good books that I could read to begin learning programming? (such as the For Dummies series) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Congrats for diving into the wide, mysterious world of programming, xx! You have my admiration! I have seen Dummies books on programming and I highly recommend this series--I love my XP for Dummies and my Windows98 for Dummies--they are written in "plain English" and are humorous enough to keep you interested--and I still reference them!Another option is if you live near a college, look in the college bookstore for Programming Textbooks. Son took a "C class" this past semester, he liked his textbook (unfortunately, he returned it and I forgot what it was called, it was light bluegreen ) but it included the "Microsoft Basic Visual C++ 6.0" CD (I don't know what that means, but I bet you do)And my top recommendation--use your library! Our library is part of a cooperative and has a website. We can "order" books from libraries all over Michigan and the books arrive at our dinky little library in just a couple of days. I'd be willing to bet the library at least has the DummyBooks, probably a lot more.Good luck and who knows, I might be posting to a future "next big program inventor" Then we can say, "we knew you when..."Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Good luck and who knows, I might be posting to a future "next big program inventor" Then we can say, "we knew you when..."LizI'm not sure about the next big thing, but I think I can pick it up quickly if it's like anything else. My boss (at a computer repair/build store encouraged me to start learning coding)Microsoft Visual Basic, as far as I know, is the progam that converts the coding into a .exe program so its actually useful Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fubz Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I hear python is a good place to start. I personally started in Java, doesnt matter that much, but just pick something and stick through it the whole way. Its a long tedious progress. And dont think you will be able to program anything useufl after a month... or 2... or 3... or 5... i've been with java for over a year now and im still a super noob. You will want to give up a lot. But if your mind to it you can do it.A lot of other would recommend python, so you might want to do that so you can get help here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Is Phython useful? I wouldn't mind investing time into C++ because I'm trying to learn something useful.I've been reading Amazon.com reviews and I am thinking in investing in the C++ Primer (5th Addition)According to the synopsis and reviews it covers everything for beginners and is a good jump into C++ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcl Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 (edited) Multireply.To be more specific - what are some good books that I could read to begin learning programming? (such as the For Dummies series)SICP and CTM are highly recommended. SICP may be a better introductory text.Microsoft Visual Basic, as far as I know, is the progam that converts the coding into a .exe program so its actually usefulVisual Basic is both a programming language and an integrated development environment (IDE) for that language.Is Phython useful?Very.I wouldn't mind investing time into C++ because I'm trying to learn something useful.You need a language that's useful for learning how to program. C++ is not that language. Worry about it when you're working in a domain in which it is useful. Edited December 28, 2005 by jcl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shanenin Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I first tried to learn C, I got frustrated, and bored fast. It is a little tough with no programming experince. My next attempt to learn a language(after doing some bash scripting for a while) was python. Python is very easy to understand, but powerful. It is easy to write a very useful program with just a few lines of code. I use the simple python programs I have written most everyday. One huge plus to python is its code is portable, it can be used on winodows, unix(linux), mac, and many other systems. I like this book, it is desighned for someone with NO propgramming experience, but by the end of the book it shows you how to make a simple gui gamehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159200073...glance&n=283155 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Python it is then. I'll be ordering that book then - Thanks everybody! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Naming is hard Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 A Byte Of Python is a good book to, The whole book can be downloaded, or you can buy it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dragon Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 A Byte Of Python is a good book to, The whole book can be downloaded, or you can buy it.if your interested in using A Byte Of Python you can download it from my mirror of it. I'm listed at the byte of python homepages alsohttp://bop.iabusinessprojects.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imroadkill2 Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) -REMOVED- Edited February 1, 2012 by imroadkill2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xxkbxx Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Update - I bought Python programming for the Absolute beginner - preogressing about a chapter every 2 days or so trying to "burn in lessons" as someone said.Right now I have enough knowledge to write simple programs to complete math/science equations.It's amazing - you type raw_input("\n\nPress Enter to Exit") and you have it memorized! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shanenin Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I am glad you are enjoying python :-) I really like it myself Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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