Learning about programming...

[Jeff7181]

A family member basically told me that there's a job opening where he works for someone who knows .NET and I'm looking for a job. I've also wanted to learn how to program before, but never had a good enough reason to dedicate a lot of time to it.

So I'm wondering, for someone with basically no programming background, is it likely that I could just start learning with something like Visual Basic .NET? Or would it be better to start with something older to learn the basics before diving into something like .NET?

 

[tfinch2]

I think you should start with Java, but the odds of you learning how to program well enough to obtain a job in a few weeks or so is highly unlikely.

 

[BigPete]

I agree, java is easy. However, its HIGHLY unlikely you will learn enough about any programming language to obtain any kind of job.

 

[oog]

it's fine to start with .net, but i would choose c# as a language instead of vb, unless you know that the job will require vb.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
I think you should start with Java, but the odds of you learning how to program well enough to obtain a job in a few weeks or so is highly unlikely.

True, it takes years to become good.

 

[kamper]

Originally posted by: BigPete
I agree, java is easy. However, its HIGHLY unlikely you will learn enough about any programming language to obtain any kind of job.

If you do you will make those of us with degrees (or on our ways to getting them) feel very inferior

 

[Jeff7181]

I don't expect to learn in a couple weeks... I just want to know where I should start for now. I'd like to get some sort of background and know something about it while I'm paying off current debts before I go to school to really learn. It'll help fill some of the free time I seem to have too much of lately too.

 

[uOpt]

General tips:

Don't use a language which is bound to one operating system and/or for which only one implementation exists. The former is worse, the latter halfway acceptable if the only implementation is open-source.

Don't be too eager to jump on the scripting bandwagon.

Learn at least a bit about algorithms and often-used data structures.

Don't only try toy tricks from the APIs that happen to be around. Write a program which becomes very slow and then go improve its performance by studying what you are doing and what standard ways exist to improve the situation.

 

[Jeff7181]

Thanks for the tips Martin.

 

[rh71]

I'm hearing that it takes about 6 months to get a good handle on Java.. is that about right ?

 

[kamper]

That depends entirely on what you define as "a good handle" The core language you might master in 6 months if you already understand most programming concepts and oo datastructures. You could easily spend a lifetime in j2ee and not master it.

As for the op, one of the best things you could do is to find a geek who doesn't mind teaching you stuff. Courses, tutorials and fooling around by yourself are all fine and good but, unless you're quite talented, you'll pick up much better habits learning from someone who programs because they really love it. My schooling has been great but I've made the largest leaps by far while on my co-op terms.

Don't be too eager to jump on the scripting bandwagon.

But don't be avoiding them either Would you say one scripting language for every one or two compiled languages is a fair deal?

 

[imported_mitch2891]

It REALLY depends on what type of programming you want to do.

For example application/game programming if you want to do it seriously is best done in C\C++

Never really used VB or any type of Java but I do recommend doing a bit of assembly as even if you don't use it often it will greatly improve your knowledge of how a machine is working and what you higher level instructions are doing.

.NET bugs me seems like way to much overhead.

If you can get an old version of VC 6 it comes with a electronic version of a C++ tutorial and it is really good for getting a very basic grounding in C++

hope this is of some help and don't get put off by it taking so long.

 

[DT4K]

As an absolute beginner, it really makes no difference what language you choose.
The first things you will be learning are the basic fundamentals of programming and they are essentially the same no matter what modern high-level language you use. Things like variables, assignments, conditionals, loop structures, functions, parameters, etc.

But since you will also want to learn about object oriented programming, you might as well choose a language that is fully object oriented.

VB.Net or C# would be fine, but since Java is free and is so easy to get started with, that would be my suggestion. If you become proficient in Java, you will be able to pick up VB.Net or C# very quickly. I think starting with C++ would be more complication than you want or need. And I see no reason to waste your time on older languages when it's just as easy to learn with a more up to date language.

 

[Jeff7181]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! (heads to amazon to look for Java books)

 

[DT4K]

The only Java book I've gone through is Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel.
But I really like his writing style. It wasn't dry and boring and for a programming book, that's fairly rare.

He has made the entire book available as a free download here. Personally, I prefer having a real paper copy in front of me, but you might want to download it, read a chapter or two, and decide if you like it enough to buy it.

 

[Jeff7181]

Hey thanks a lot for the link... maybe I'll just print out the chapters as I go along.

 

[kamper]

I've heard good things about that book too.

Edit: if you've settled on java make sure you head over to the java tutorial. It's a pretty solid (and free) way to get started and then some.