any forumers with a programming background?

trigs

i have some free time at work over the next few weeks and i'm looking to fill it in with something productive, so i'm going to try and teach myself some C++ programming (sadly, i can't play poker at work ). i've read some basics already and have been practicing some simple programs.

i was just wondering if there are any forumers on here that have a decent understanding of programming, specifically C++. for the most part i think i'll be okay, but every now and then i have a question and it's so much simpler if i could find someone to explain the details to me. any help would be greatly appreciated! i thought i'd give it a try on here and hope for the best.

Milo

Half the folks here probably can't even program their cellies.

GTA Poker

I used to make my name scroll across the screen on the Commodore 64 -- just sayin'

1. print "Dave"
2. goto 1;

waltsfriend

Is there a particular reason you want to learn C++ in particular and not another programming language? If you just wanted to learn how to program, I would not recommend C++ as a starting point. I know about a good online tutorial for learning Python.

Aiki65

I've been programming for about 30 years (including many years in C++) and I'd have to agree with Sandy about C++ not being an ideal starting language. Another language you might want to consider is Java. There are plenty of online references and tutorials available and the toolkit is freely available for virtually any operating system. There is also a free integrated development environment called Eclipse available that provides an excellent visual editing environment with built in syntax highlighting and an integrated debugger.

trigs

waltsfriend wrote: »

Is there a particular reason you want to learn C++ in particular and not another programming language? If you just wanted to learn how to program, I would not recommend C++ as a starting point. I know about a good online tutorial for learning Python.

honestly, i didn't know where to start as i'm a complete newb when it comes to this stuff (well, i know a limited amount of html but that's easy stuff). i did some research as to which programming language to learn and i settled on C++ but i was not convinced it was the best choice.

why python? i don't know anything about it.

trigs

Aiki65 wrote: »

I've been programming for about 30 years (including many years in C++) and I'd have to agree with Sandy about C++ not being an ideal starting language. Another language you might want to consider is Java. There are plenty of online references and tutorials available and the toolkit is freely available for virtually any operating system. There is also a free integrated development environment called Eclipse available that provides an excellent visual editing environment with built in syntax highlighting and an integrated debugger.

i read a little about java as well but mostly what i read suggested learning java later. what makes it better to learn? is it easier? more widely used?

i'd love to hear your comments on this. i'll consider downloading eclipse and checking it out. thanks.

trigs

well, i just came across the following info from 2013 so maybe i will switch to java.

Language Jobs
PHP 12,664
Java 12,558
Objective C 8,925
SQL 5,165
Android (Java) 4,981
Ruby 3,859
JavaScript 3,742
C# 3,549
C++ 1,908
ActionScript 1,821
Python 1,649
C 1,087
ASP.NET 818

waltsfriend

I agree that Java would be easier to learn than C++, mostly because of the way Java automatically handles memory management, whereas C++ requires more from the programmer. Python is a language that is widely used and is easier to learn than either Java or C++ as an introductory language. I can highly recommend this site for learning:

Computer Science Circles | 01000011 01010011 01000011

The site is specifically designed for learning to program. You can work through the interactive exercises, and if you get stuck you can ask for help. I am one of the people who monitors the help requests.

BlondeFish

trigs wrote: »

Language Jobs
PHP 12,664
Java 12,558

How many jobs are available for COBOL and BASIC programmers like me? :-[

Hobbes

Not many Cobol jobs, but when they do advertise them they are for big $.
Scarce resource.

compuease

BlondeFish wrote: »

How many jobs are available for COBOL and BASIC programmers like me? :-[

I'm afraid to say what programming language I learned.:-[

GTA Poker

Insert PIC of punch cards

compuease

GTA Poker wrote: »

Insert PIC of punch cards

Bingo, bango, bongo you win... Fortran it was.. Just way ahead of the curve..

GTA Poker

Originally developed by IBM at their campus in south San Jose, California[1] in the 1950s

Are you Don Draper?

trigs

compuease wrote: »

I'm afraid to say what programming language I learned.:-[

GTA Poker wrote: »

Insert PIC of punch cards

compuease wrote: »

Bingo, bango, bongo you win... Fortran it was.. Just way ahead of the curve..

Lol I immediately thought binary.

trigs

waltsfriend wrote: »

I agree that Java would be easier to learn than C++, mostly because of the way Java automatically handles memory management, whereas C++ requires more from the programmer. Python is a language that is widely used and is easier to learn than either Java or C++ as an introductory language. I can highly recommend this site for learning:

Computer Science Circles | 01000011 01010011 01000011

The site is specifically designed for learning to program. You can work through the interactive exercises, and if you get stuck you can ask for help. I am one of the people who monitors the help requests.

i did a couple lessons from that site yesterday. python does seem a lot easier a language to learn so i may finish out those lessons at least. thanks for the reference!