TO LEARN PROGRAMMING

[Guest]

Hello, my name is Gustavo Vásquez and I want to learn how to program computers
What one needs to be a good programmer of computers
Which your advice are to be a good programmer
How is the logic acquired
Is it true that people that are good in mathematics are made easier th
programming of Computers, for the logic
Are the algorithms the first thing that should be studied
Is it Visual Basic. Net the language easier of learning

Thank you for your attention
Gustavo from Colombia

 

[William Ryan eMVP]

Gustavo:

As far as your questions it really depends on the person but as some general
guidelines, I'd suggest:

What one needs to be a good programmer of computers? Patience,
Determination, Persistence coupled with a good dose of humility.

Which your advice are to be a good programmer? Get a Computer Science

Major, you don't 'need' it but it will surely help things along. Get a
development tool and a book and start working through examples. Repetition
is everything.

How is the logic acquired? This really depends on the person but

repetition and experience come to mind

Is it true that people that are good in mathematics are made easier the
programming of Computers, for the logic? Sometimes, but there are many

good developers that aren't math geniuses. "Good at mathematics" is a
really broad statement and devoid of meaning for the most part. I know I
was pretty sharp in symbolic logic and matrix algebra for instance, but had
a rough time in diffyQ. Depending on your perspective, I'm either great or
terrible at math.

Are the algorithms the first thing that should be studied? They could be

but I wouldn't go that route. Learning the basic language syntax and
constructs is typically what I'd advise. if you look at most programming
books, many don't even have a chapter on Algorithms because you can't really
implement an algorithm unless you understand the language constructs.

Is it Visual Basic. Net the language easier of learning? You can get up

and running very quickly with VB.NET and it's the friendliest and most
pleasant development environment I've used, however, it's going to take a
while to learn any language well.

HTH,

Bill

 

[Cor]

Hi Gustavo,

I give it also a shot.

To be a "good" programmer, not to learn one, just some things.

You have to have in your brain withouth any thinking that:

Everything starts with 2 decissions, it is false or true
If it is false it can again be false or true
If it is true it can again be false or true
and again and again and again
On this is all programming based on.

To program you use tools, remember every morning again that the one which
you did learn to use are worse than the ones which exist today (do not
defend your tool, try to use the one which is better).

When you have made programs, remember every morning again that the code you
did make yesterday is much worse than the one you make today (your learning
curve). But do not change that from yesterday otherway you will get in a
loop. A programming term for a program which goes like this

Do until yesterday is better than today
make yesterday better
loop

And the language to start with to learn, in my opinion take Javascript, that
is for the webpages and you will need it anyhow. There are everywhere free
examples and can give you a lot of fun.

If you know that, and have used the documument object model, it is much
easier to go to languages as C# or VB.net (which is in my opinion the best
programming tool I have seen until today).

Just some personal thoughts,

Cor

 

[Guest]

Gustavo

You would be wise to follow the great advice that the previous posts provided. I personally would start with VB.NET as opposed to Jscript. However, that is a matter of personal preference. The point of the matter is that once you know the basics of programming in any object oriented environment, the others will come easily. If I were to add one piece of advice, however, it would be this.

When writing code don't think like a human. Think like a computer

This piggybacks off of the true/false advice given in the previous post, but it is worth repeating.


----- GUSTAVO wrote: ----

Hello, my name is Gustavo Vásquez and I want to learn how to program computers
What one needs to be a good programmer of computers
Which your advice are to be a good programmer
How is the logic acquired
Is it true that people that are good in mathematics are made easier th
programming of Computers, for the logic
Are the algorithms the first thing that should be studied
Is it Visual Basic. Net the language easier of learning

Thank you for your attention
Gustavo from Colombia

 

[Russell Jones]

You may find this useful--not as advice on *what* to learn so much as how to
go about learning whatever you choose:
http://www.devx.com/DevX/Article/10432

 

[Daniel Sélen Secches]

One of the basic thing that you have to have in your mind is that the
computer is the most obedient thing than you already knew.

if you say, knock your head in the wall forever, it will...

it really believes in you... : >