Is programming worth learning? - General

Written on phone so expect my sentences to be messed up until I fix them tomorrow. So yeah basically I'm 18 no school self educated whatever basically got no skills other than computing and a bit of guitar. Is programming a skill worth learning? The only thing I really know is computer (basically spent my entire life on them Wasting my time gaming, mind you.) Basically I'm really interested in it and don't really know what programming language to start on or where to start at all really. Is programming a hard job? Besides endlessly sitting infront of a computer (I am really really good at that.) Tldr I don't even know if what I just wrote made sense can't see shit on this phone. Please help. Thanks.

[QUOTE=Lurklet;43285915]The only thing I really know is computer[/QUOTE] sounds like you're all set

Well shit, seek something out if you haven't gone to school and have no other skills. I'm biased towards saying yes because I know a couple languages and I find it fun sometimes, and computer scientists are becoming more needed now a days. But an actual career in computer science will be difficult unless you get a degree in it - unless you learn all of the same content on your own and happen to find an employer who knows that you know the stuff without going to school. Also unless you go indie.

[url]http://www.codecademy.com/[/url]

but seriously though, how strong are your maths skills? good maths skills are pretty damn useful, whether you have them before you start learning, or you are willing to pick them up and look stuff up as you go programming is just one aspect of software development, which is something you'll need to keep in mind if you want to get into that sort of thing (as a job)

It's definitely something worth learning. Start with a high level language like Java or Lua, and work your way into lower level languages from there. It's definitely a useful skill that can secure you a nice job.

[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;43285990]but seriously though, how strong are your maths skills? good maths skills are pretty damn useful, whether you have them before you start learning, or you are willing to pick them up and look stuff up as you go[/QUOTE] Well I picked math up a little while ago and went from bad to not so bad in a pretty short period. So I think I'll just pick it p as I go along.

[QUOTE=Lurklet;43286014]Well I picked math up a little while ago and went from bad to not so bad in a pretty short period. So I think I'll just pick it p as I go along.[/QUOTE] TBQH the only math you need is rudimentary math, and everything beyond that should be fairly simple (matrices, some algebraic concepts, etc). That of course assuming you don't want to start with CGI and 3D rendering, or something much more obscure, such like heavy-duty cryptography. I'd start with C++ if you're a perfectionist, or Java if you just want to poke around, or something more web-based (ruby on rails comes to mind) if you want to actually build something instead of just dicking around. There's plenty online on all these 3 to go on.

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[QUOTE=Lurklet;43286014]Well I picked math up a little while ago and went from bad to not so bad in a pretty short period. So I think I'll just pick it p as I go along.[/QUOTE] i'd recommend acquiring a book on computing science as well; programming is just one aspect of software development/engineering (if that's the sort of area you're wanting to get into) basically, computing science is to programming as physics is to engineering, and, while a programming job is [I]very[/I] unlikely to involve writing proofs or anything of that sort it's still quite important to know/at least be aware of, since that is the foundation [editline]23rd December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=PacificV2;43286065]TBQH the only math you need is rudimentary math, and everything beyond that should be fairly simple (matrices, some algebraic concepts, etc). That of course assuming you don't want to start with CGI and 3D rendering, or something much more obscure, such like heavy-duty cryptography. I'd start with C++ if you're a perfectionist, or Java if you just want to poke around, or something more web-based (ruby on rails comes to mind) if you want to actually build something instead of just dicking around. There's plenty online on all these 3 to go on.[/QUOTE] uhh, i don't know if [I]starting off[/I] with C++ or java is really gonna go that well

[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;43286093]i'd recommend acquiring a book on computing science as well; programming is just one aspect of software development/engineering (if that's the sort of area you're wanting to get into) basically, computing science is to programming as physics is to engineering, and, while a programming job is [I]very[/I] unlikely to involve writing proofs or anything of that sort it's still quite important to know/at least be aware of, since that is the foundation [editline]23rd December 2013[/editline] uhh, i don't know if [I]starting off[/I] with C++ or java is really gonna go that well[/QUOTE] He could start with MS-DOS batch files like I did :v:

[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;43286093]i'd recommend acquiring a book on computing science as well; programming is just one aspect of software development/engineering (if that's the sort of area you're wanting to get into) basically, computing science is to programming as physics is to engineering, and, while a programming job is [I]very[/I] unlikely to involve writing proofs or anything of that sort it's still quite important to know/at least be aware of, since that is the foundation [editline]23rd December 2013[/editline] uhh, i don't know if [I]starting off[/I] with C++ or java is really gonna go that well[/QUOTE] C++ and Java are how most high school computer science curricula go.

Java is easier to start with than C++ though, Java or C# would make more sense to start with.

Or python if you want something even more forgiving than java and c#

Start on C# so after you've mastered that you can move up to D

[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;43286093]i'd recommend acquiring a book on computing science as well; programming is just one aspect of software development/engineering (if that's the sort of area you're wanting to get into) basically, computing science is to programming as physics is to engineering, and, while a programming job is [I]very[/I] unlikely to involve writing proofs or anything of that sort it's still quite important to know/at least be aware of, since that is the foundation [editline]23rd December 2013[/editline] uhh, i don't know if [I]starting off[/I] with C++ or java is really gonna go that well[/QUOTE] He seems keen on learning something more general-purpose, and you can't write "general purpose" without a C (and two pluses). Ideally, we'd go with a play language like scheme (that's what I did) or, heaven forbid, python, but I'm not too sure that is what this guy wants. As an alternative suggestion, try a scripting language. Lua is fun and C-like (or was back in gmod9), or you can follow that web based suggestion even further and learn a bit of javascript and start hacking away ugly webpages with too much javascript-powered motion. [editline]23rd December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=alien_guy;43286481]Java is easier to start with than C++ though, Java or C# would make more sense to start with.[/QUOTE] The main argument against this is you have to ignore students when they ask why the main function has keywords like "static" and "public" or you have to explain OO even before you explain how variables work. At least in C++ you can have "the talk" about OO when starting to explain the STL.

C++ seems like the way to go. I've bought a c++ starting f Book and will look into finding a computer science book as well (hint hint link one pls,) Thanks for the help!

He asks while typing on a computer connected to the internet.

As a hobby it can be cool to learn. If you want to make a profession out of it though you need to invest heaps of effort. The norm here is four years full-time at uni with prerequisites in science and mathematics, and further development of such skills. But if you want to do it as a hobby you need to set yourself tasks to keep focused. A decimal to binary converter, then maybe take it to the next step and build a converter to hexadecimal, for example. For the language and IDE (the application you use to write) I probably wouldn't use something too hard straight away. I'd avoid C++ or Java, instead go for Basic or Python. The reason I say that is you want to learn the concepts behind programming and how to think like a programmer, without the added stress of learning the features of an advanced (by advanced I mean low or relatively low level) language. Then once you've finally done that you can move on to those more-advanced languages. [editline]24th December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=xxncxx;43286380]C++ and Java are how most high school computer science curricula go.[/QUOTE] Depends on where you live. We used Pascal and VB6 in software design back in senior school. Granted, the focus of the course was on the theory aspects (with several practical assignments and a practical lesson once every few weeks), but there's nothing wrong with the theory stuff. Using VB6 to apply that theory stuff into practice really helped because we didn't have to go through all that object orientation crap straight away, just procedures and the occasional function. Easy as.

[QUOTE=Bradyns;43293036]He asks while typing on a computer connected to the internet.[/QUOTE] I just wondered if anyone here recommended any particular book.

[QUOTE=Lurklet;43293854]I just wondered if anyone here recommended any particular book.[/QUOTE] [url]https://sites.google.com/site/scienceandmathguide/subjects/computer-science[/url] Visit /sci/ once in a while. :)

If you learn programming you have a guaranteed job for the rest of your life.

[QUOTE=Ol' McDonald;43293999]If you learn programming you have a guaranteed job for the rest of your life.[/QUOTE] Don't really know that but I'd love to have programming as a career ... some day

You'll be surprised how much work there is in C# development. If you go into business applications that is. I know this from experience. I let my C++ knowledge dwindle so I could become better at C# and it worked out great landing me a full time job (Which I've now cut hours on to focus on my own businesses, I like programming but Music and Broadcast media are more my thing). There just wasn't anything on C++ in my area. I'm not saying there's more jobs in a certain language than the other, rather C# gets overlooked when it's as popular as ever.

[IMG]http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1186717284l/1677880.jpg[/IMG] This is the only programming worth looking into mate

[QUOTE=Tezzanator92;43294077]You'll be surprised how much work there is in C# development. If you go into business applications that is. I know this from experience. I let my C++ knowledge dwindle so I could become better at C# and it worked out great landing me a full time job (Which I've now cut hours on to focus on my own businesses, I like programming but Music and Broadcast media are more my thing). There just wasn't anything on C++ in my area. I'm not saying there's more jobs in a certain language than the other, rather C# gets overlooked when it's as popular as ever.[/QUOTE] what kind of programs is c++ generally used to create?

[QUOTE=Lurklet;43294191]what kind of programs is c++ generally used to create?[/QUOTE] [I]everything[/I] [editline]24th December 2013[/editline] I mean it. Everything.

In our uni people start with Python (i didn't learn much during this as i used to mod Garrysmod with Lua, and Lua is like better version of Python), then C (this suffering) and then C++ (finally nice programming language). It's currently my second year (1.5years) and i must say C was painful experience compared to C++. I honestly don't know why they bother teaching C to us first.

I started with copy pasting action script in high school. Moved on to C (just C, not C++) for first year comp. eng.. Recently finished with some C++ and verilog, moving into Java and Assembly next semester.