hey every1, as u can see this is my first ever post
im 13 (going on 14 2008) and wish to learn programing as im only in grade 8 i hear nothing of it from my IT teacher and prolly wont till grade 9 so i thought may as well find a quicker way . so i was wondering if any1 can tell me a good free or cheep programing corse, i want 2 learn Java and C. any advice would be helpful cause tbh i just want 2 learn.
thx for help
Shade

Hello 11 shade11 and welcome to Geeks to Go. While you are waiting for some responses to your question perhaps you could use our wonderful search function and do some searches for responses. This question has been asked a number of times before and I am sure you will glean some good information from searching.
Cheers
Frantique

I'd start with Java, that's where many university's tend to start off with programming.
Go to the local bookstore and pick up a Java book, I could give you the title for the one I use at university if you like, once I get home. Be warned, if you want to purchase a coding book, you are looking at upwards of $80 per book.
Also, just because I use it at a university level doesn't mean that you cannot do it, I'm just starting myself.
James

age is really not a factor, if you have a interest in these things and u commit urself to it, u can learn anything! (literally)

Never said age was a factor.
James

wasnt talking to you, i was just tellin the other dude to not get discouraged by thinking he is "too young"

*Fredil Yupigo is liable to have his head blown up by learning any language other than VBS and MS-DOS

For me, Java is too difficult. That could be because I've never had the chance to REALLY look at it in excruciating detail

It takes a lot of motivation to do it, but if time and effort is put into it, it's relitively easy. I've never programmed a thing in my life (aside from HTML) and caught on very quickly, sadely I was forced to drop out of the class as I had taken to heavy of a course load. O well, I'm just going to end up taking it next year.
There is no better feeling than accomplishing a new program that was entirely written by you.
James

This post has been edited by james_8970: Jan 17 2008, 09:11 PM

I am six weeks into a programming class at school. We have been doing Visual Basic .Net. Microsoft's Visual Studio actually gives you lists of possible functions as your typing them. It keeps things very simple. I would even say too simple.


I had tried C in the past and got discourged because of the difficulty. Now I am bored out of my mind.....

This post has been edited by Titan8990: Jan 17 2008, 09:35 PM

I would recommend C++. It is indeed harder to learn than Java, .Net and the stuff but will be more beneficial to you. The other languages/platforms hide many things about what is happening "inside" the program so you can program faster and safer but won't learn the "behind the scenes" stuff. That's why I recommend first learning C/C++. If you know C++ you'll easily learn the other languages (most of them even have copied the C syntax), but the vice versa is not true. I have many friends that program in Java and .Net and have no idea what memory management or a pointer is.
So my advice is start with C++ and after you learn programming in general choose whatever language fits your needs.

My brother truely was a geek. He taught him self how to program games and things by playing about with the computer when he was 12. So it is very much possible to learn. I don't have a clue. There appears to be a few really young people on here. I think it is great that at those ages you guys are into things like this. When I was around 15, I discussed philosophical and religious things. Or "Intellectual" discussions. But one can always learn many new things. I would be interested in this topic also.

Regards,


Pirate.

I have studied virtually every programming language ever. I would suggest HTML, C, and JavaScript as beginning languages. I find them to be some of the most simple and allow you to learn a large amount about the general structure of programming. With that I may add XNA/Visual Basic as it is definently combines virtually all programming languages combined.

Moved to Software Development.

The easiest language is not C/C++, java, html, or javascript.

The easiest programming language to learn is python. For those who have a bit of programming experience, python does not use any { } brackets nor does it require the user to use a semi-colon at the end of a statement. It works and reads like english. I would say it's super high level coding. If you want to get the gist of programing and get a feel for what it's like definitely give it a shot. I'm learning it at my university right now. Although it won't be the best tool to script complex programs or high level games, it can do basic level games and most of daily small programs. It's also highly supported by google

I'm trying to learn C++ right now and I find it a lot more difficult even when I've learned html, php and a bit of java (although I can't recall much of it from my high school days anymore).

Okay, lets say you start from the easiest language, and work your way to the hardest one. Lets put that at 5 years total to learn each language. Each language you come across, you have to learn the syntax all over again, and build on more knowledge that you didn't previously have.

Now a second person started at the hardest language. Sure he had to spend 3 years on a single language, but due to complete knowledge over that language he no longer needed to learn "extra" stuff. So he spends another year learning the rest of the languages.

Would you rather spend a lot of time going from easy to hard, or spend a decent amount of time starting at the top? You can start off easy so you can ease into the subject. However, it will probably be less beneficial to start off easy.