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How to learn to become a programer?

Which shouldi learn first?

  • i learned qbasic ( i know its an old langauge) in school and now a very very little bit of vc++ (like i can take inputs and create outputs but thats it). Now i would like to learn more languages which should i learn first and vba, vc# or vc++. i would like to become a programer but i have 2 years untill college so there is no real hurry i would just like to learn some other languages and make some simple games.

  • Answer:

    Saying you want to be a programmer is good -- it shows you have some focus. But now you have to decide what TYPE of programs you want to write. That will determine (at least partly) what you should learn first. By what type of programs, I mean do you want to write banking applications, robotics applications, web services, mobile phone apps. You get the picture. You can't go wrong learning C++. It is especially useful if you want to know the back-end, that is, the guts of the programs. I Don't spend too much time on the visual part. Spend your time really understanding Object Oriented Design. It is invaluable. If you want to do robotic applications or other small embedded apps, learn C -- but ONLY AFTER YOU UNDERSTAND C++ and OO. It is much easier to go from C++ to C than the other way around. Trust me, I see folks who have this problem every week. If you want to work in the Windows environment (making GUIs), go with C#. If you want to work with generic GUIs and portable code, learn Java. Again, you will need to really learn OO for either of these languages. I'm not a big fan of VBA. Today, it is used mostly to extend existing applications. For example, I have to use it because my program's API supports VBA. Customers frequently want scripts to do special tasks. But I prefer Java and the API supports Java too, so it is a wash. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that VBA will be killed off eventually or it will be a very small part of the development world. I'm going to list a few places to get free tools (compilers and IDEs). Pick one you like and stick to it.

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There aren't as many jobs available in computer engineering anymore in the USA. It's an extremely competitive field. And then when you turn 30 yrs., you become "too old". Then it's almost impossibly difficult to land another job in the field unless you have something extraordinary in your background which would give you an edge in addition to your experience. If my children were young, I'd advise them to make another career choice.

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If you're interested in game development and want to use Microsoft technologies, the XNA game develoment framework is a great place to get started. You'll learn some C# along the way and all the tools to get started are free. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/default.aspx

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I think the modern (and much improved) equivalent of BASIC (my first love) is Python. It actually reminds me of some of the better features of BASIC: Python syntax is about as easy to understand as BASIC. Python has an interpreter (like BASIC) so you can test code immediately Python has simple variable types and structures, and advanced features are hidden until you need them. Python is available on nearly every platform, like BASIC once was. Python (like BASIC) is ideal for beginners. However, Python is a modern and powerful language, and has many improvements over BASIC and qbasic: It's a modern language without the baggage of BASIC's antique control structures. Python does not allow goto statements or DATA statements, using modern equivalents. Python supports modern programming ideas well including strict typing, object-oriented programming, and even functional programming capabilities. It comes with complete libraries for modern programs like game development, web programming, network programming, and much more. It's an ideal experimentation language. Python is easier to mess around with than C++, C#, or Java (all are powerful but a bit messy for beginners) Python is completely free to use, and comes with terrific free editors. I know you're not really focused on gaming, but I did write a book on Game Programming using Python, which will also serve as a great introduction to some more advanced programming ideas and Python. C# and C++ are fine languages as well, but the particular language you learn now isn't nearly as important as the general skills you learn. If you're going to study computer science or a related field, you'll learn lots of languages before you're done. The more important goal now is to learn to think like a programmer and problem-solver. Good Luck!

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