New position, will need programming skills within several months

[Trey22]

Short version: new position, need programming skills by the end of the year. We use assembly, which I don't have to learn, and C & C++. A friend said to first find out what environment we use (I believe Borland, not positive).

I currently have no programming experience. NONE! As in all the jargon below really means nothing to me and might as well be in martian:

compiler
environment
IDE
stack
syntax
calls
runtime
strings
debugger
keys
object oriented
declarations
looping
nesting
libraries
vector
know nothing of memory mgmt

I was hoping to re-arrange my schedule and take classes, but that won't be possible, so I basically have to teach my self.

What book(s) explain programming from the VERY beginning, nuts/bolts, A to Z, layman's terms?

One good thing, the other 90% of my job, I know very well, am good at it, and have over 10+ years experience. The bad thing, well, there will be that 10% that will require programming.

I can find out any info you guys need to help me out.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

I agree with your friend - find out the language you'll be using primarily. Most AT'ers can recommend books, but you need to be specific in order to receive good feedback.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Once you find out the language also tell us the kind of work, the suggestions for follow-up materials will be quite different for web server programming vs. device driver coding or 3D game engines.

 

[JACKDRUID]

what is the "other 90%" of your job that you do? why are you lookiing into programming?

 

[hans007]

if they are ok with you , being really bad at first... i think its possible. do you have anyone who can show you or you can ask for help from when you have questions?

i think if you are a pretty smart guy y ou can figure it out in 3-4 months (i mean the first couple classes at most colleges , kids figure this out all the time).

honestly you might want to look into what types of books your local college makes the kids buy for the first few CS classes (if they teach c++ that is).

when i was in college we used a book called "C++, how to program" by dietel and dietel. I already knew c++ fairly well, but i think its a pretty decent book if you know nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/C-How-Pr...qid=1210750445&sr=11-1

 

[Jawo]

One website that is very helpful introduction/reference is W3Schools: http://www.w3schools.com/. "At W3Schools you will find all the Web-building tutorials you need, from basic HTML and XHTML to advanced XML, SQL, Database, Multimedia and WAP."

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Jawo
One website that is very helpful introduction/reference is W3Schools: http://www.w3schools.com/. "At W3Schools you will find all the Web-building tutorials you need, from basic HTML and XHTML to advanced XML, SQL, Database, Multimedia and WAP."

that doesnt really help him learn c++.

i do agree its a great site though.


http://www.cplusplus.com/


thats probably ok as a reference, though since he has 0 programming experience it might not help that much.

 

[Evander]

I don't know if it's the best, but C for Dummies is something I used in the past and thought was better than other textbooks I used:
http://www.amazon.com/C-Dummie...qid=1210819436&sr=11-1

(for what it's worth I got a B in "intro to programming" and an A in "C for science majors", but didn't major in comp science and haven't touched C in almost 10 years, nowadays I like to occasionally use Visual Basic but nothing else)

 

[EvilManagedCare]

Originally posted by: hans007
if they are ok with you , being really bad at first... i think its possible. do you have anyone who can show you or you can ask for help from when you have questions?

i think if you are a pretty smart guy y ou can figure it out in 3-4 months (i mean the first couple classes at most colleges , kids figure this out all the time).

honestly you might want to look into what types of books your local college makes the kids buy for the first few CS classes (if they teach c++ that is).

when i was in college we used a book called "C++, how to program" by dietel and dietel. I already knew c++ fairly well, but i think its a pretty decent book if you know nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/C-How-Pr...qid=1210750445&sr=11-1

Second vote for Deitel & Deitel. Their texts seem to do a good job covering a wide range of topics, while explaining what's going on behind the scenes. This will be a good text for learning about Object-Oriented Programming. The Dummies books are an easy read, but tend to cover topics more superficially and would likely not be the best resource if you need to learn C or C++ for a job. They are, however, sometimes a good supplement for clarifying topics discussed less casually in other books.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Evander
I don't know if it's the best, but C for Dummies is something I used in the past and thought was better than other textbooks I used:
http://www.amazon.com/C-Dummie...qid=1210819436&sr=11-1

(for what it's worth I got a B in "intro to programming" and an A in "C for science majors", but didn't major in comp science and haven't touched C in almost 10 years, nowadays I like to occasionally use Visual Basic but nothing else)

10 years ago i bought C for dummies and I thought it was a really hard book to read.

it didnt really have examples and such. i'd say its a less "boring" read, but it in my opinion it was not that good a book if you actually wanted to learn as it wasnt very thorough. it just left too many things unanswered i thought.

 

[JACKDRUID]

dummy books definately depend on the reader... I like mine though...

 

[Trey22]

Sorry for the delay, I've been transitioning over into my new position/area. I'll have some time tomorrow to ask one of our engineers about our environment/languages.

My main job is QA test, for our software, firmware, hardware and peripherals. We're an Access Control manufacturer and provide interfaces to alarm panels, dvr's, etc. Programming will come into play when I'm asked to perform maintenance on our legacy products, basically going back and fixing bugs in our Windows app.

 

[nordloewelabs]

i've read a few chapters of "C++: How To Program" by Deitel and i agree that its text is great! to bad their "Visual C#: How To Program" isnt half as great. however, one thing is common to all Deitel books: their layouts look pretty bad....they look as if a kid put them together using MS Word. not a big deal, but it makes me wonder.

you said that the software you will be dealing with is used in DVRs.... isnt Java the standard in Settop boxes and DVRs nowadays? Assembly is likely the language they use to make the firmwares.

if you are going to be using Java, i recommend "Java: Head First" by O'Reilly. if C++, i suggest Deitel too.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Trey22
Sorry for the delay, I've been transitioning over into my new position/area. I'll have some time tomorrow to ask one of our engineers about our environment/languages.

My main job is QA test, for our software, firmware, hardware and peripherals. We're an Access Control manufacturer and provide interfaces to alarm panels, dvr's, etc. Programming will come into play when I'm asked to perform maintenance on our legacy products, basically going back and fixing bugs in our Windows app.

i used to work in QA. have you at least done any automation? that would probably help in your transition.

 

[trexpesto]

If you are a real good QA person, that is AWESOME! There's a million programmers, but not near enough good QA peeps.
No sane boss is going to turn you loose on the code base, even after you start getting up to speed, but at least to identify some problems it's always nice to have a "technical" QA person".

They'll know where you are starting at. Most likely they will be wondering about your:

1. commitment: interest and eagerness
2. ability: aptitude and learning curve
3. how you work with the other humans


Personally, I was verrrrry lucky to sit keyboard for great programmers who introduced me to lots of what I know about OO and design.
Basically, it was Programming in Pairs, with me always in the hot seat.

 

[presidentender]

Why no love for K&R or Stroustrup?

 

[esun]

Originally posted by: presidentender
Why no love for K&R or Stroustrup?

I would recommend K&R. I haven't read Stroustrup, but according to those reviews, it isn't a good choice for a first book on programming C++.