Learning to Program?

**luisito** · 11-21-2010, 06:49 PM

Hi Muggers,

Tried searching the archives already. Just wanted to get the advice of programmers/software developers out there in general, not specific to Apple only.

Would you guys have any advice on how to start to learn how to program? I've been trying to read up on some languages like Java and Ruby (recommended by my brother) but I still feel like I lack the basics/foundation. I kind of want to learn the skill but I don't know where to begin.

Are there short courses that you guys can recommend? I'm not sure about which one. I've researched Informatics and ActiveLearning.ph. Let's just assume I'm starting from scratch.

If you guys have advice, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks!

**Sponsor** · 11-21-2010 06:49 PM

**ste@lth** · 11-21-2010, 07:49 PM

hi Luisito, programming is a skill which as from my point of view needs development and a lot of practice, learning to program is different in learning a "programming language" the programming languages you specified are for a definite set of purpose or application lets say Web page programming (Jave and Ruby), usually learning to "use" these programming languages will go hand in had with learning the basic skills and foundation of programming, if you are for a fast track i suggest you get a crash course on basic programming skills for you to learn the principles and logic behind, and then climb up to know which languages (java, ruby, .Net, etc.) you will be most effective to use, and what application will you develop (web, systems, business, etc.) good luck!

**luisito** · 11-21-2010, 08:47 PM

@ste@lth

Thanks for the quick response.

So my take on your comment is to get with the basics and foundations of programming. What would this involve? And also, do you know where I can take these "crash courses"?

Thanks for the advice.

**P-M-J** · 11-26-2010, 01:36 PM

Programming is like writing a novel, you develop your own style.

As for the programming language, back on college days, I began with Pascal and VB, then moved to C. There are different programming languages for different purposes.

Find which language you are comfortable with, then discover your own style of writing code.

**burn09** · 11-26-2010, 01:54 PM

programming is a never ending learning process... actually to have a basic foundation in programming is big advantage because you can easily understand and comprehend information related programming and and its technologies...

my advice, first, you have to choose specific technology or platform (like Java) to concentrate as a novice... from there you can get sources (books and alike) to study (start with the basic)... a good source of information contains a sample code(s) that works with a good explanation on how it works... from the sample code try to experiment or tweak the sample code and it will just grow from there... that's what I call self-taught technique or process...

**majesta24** · 11-26-2010, 02:07 PM

I'm on the same boat... actually i started reading articles regarding object oriented programming. Next on my plate is to learn the principles of Java. I actually have some background in C++ (from college) and it would help with the road im taking.

**motoflux** · 11-26-2010, 02:23 PM

I believe if you want to start learning from the scratch, begin with the first basic course.

As for me, I began with Turbo C, then C++, then I moved on my career programming like, Festo's Programming Logic Circuit for Pneumatic Controls.

There are so many things to be programmed to.

**Bem** · 11-26-2010, 11:33 PM

I first learned programming in high school, C++, Java and Python, but we started out learning things like flowcharts and pseudocode. Even though it's not the actual programming language, I think they're basics everyone who wants to program should learn. You'll pick up the basics of loops, conditional statements and such. Those are the things that are common in programming, the only difference would probably be how it's implemented in a particular language. It makes it easy to learn different languages.

And I'm in college now and I use C in school, and sometimes we're still asked to make a flowchart of our program before we code.

You should also learn things like data types, e.g. integers, strings, boolean (true or false), floating point (decimal).

I'm not sure what language in particular you'll want to learn, and also I'm not sure if I'm qualified to make a recommendation but I think Python is easy to learn

You can download IDLE from Python's website (Python.org? I think) and you can do your coding and testing there. There's an OSX version too

For C, gcc (GNU C Compiler - for making your C code into an executable program) is not installed by default on Macs (not in mine at least), but it's included in the 2nd install disk that comes with Macs.

**NextStep** · 11-27-2010, 09:43 PM

When starting to learn how to program, you need to learn software design. In order to be a better programmer, you have to study the development life cycle and possess discipline. When I started programming, I delved into learning programming languages, but lack the first and most important, which is design. There are lots of books about this, although couldn't recommend one right now. This is essential on creating good software. You are advised to have formal education, if you are really serious about this. But, if you are only a hobbyist, you can learn from books and ask experienced developers. Hope this helps.

**alistair** · 11-27-2010, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by NextStep

When starting to learn how to program, you need to learn software design. In order to be a better programmer, you have to study the development life cycle and possess discipline.

That may be true, but that's like telling a would be architect "when starting to learn how to draw buildings, you need to learn building design..."

I think that, in that analogy, you have to learn the basics of drawing/drafting first. Perspective, light & shadow, etc.

Similarly, get the basics of programming nailed down first. By basics, I don't mean object-oriented design/programming.

Basics includes the concepts of program flow, input/output, loops, subroutines, functions, recursion, data structures, and so on. Then move up to exceptions, classes and objects, and concurrency. Then move up to proper software design/engineering: decoupling, reuse, encapsulation, etc.

As far as the Mac is concerned, you're lucky. You can choose from any of Java, Ruby, Python, Perl, or Objective-C right of the box, with free/Free IDE and other tools for most of them.

Then next part, once you have the basics nailed down, is figuring out what you want to do—what platform and applications you want to specialize in, be it Objective-C for iOS apps, or Ruby for Web apps, or Java for enterprise apps.

Good luck!