C# tutorial for 13 year old

[psp219]

Which is a good tutorial for 13 year old to learn C# programming?

[slavik]

Which is a good tutorial for 13 year old to learn C# programming?
How much do you know about programming? Do you have any experience in any other languages?

The reason I am asking is that C# (much like Java) requires that you understand some things before writing even the simplest programs.

[LaRoza]

My wiki has some information on C#.

Programming really doesn't depend on age.

[Fbot1]

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/C_Sharp_Programming

[pmasiar]

I will risk another flamewar, but psp219, why you decided to start with C#? C# is hard, is for "enterprise" (corporate) programming, and not too much fun. Definitely not for beginners with lots (and I mean lots) of painkillers. :-)

If you want to program games, excellent start is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_maker (sadly Win only), lots of fun without much pain, very GUI. If you want to start programming, Python is much better choice. In any case, see sticky FAQ, plenty of links.

[LaRoza]

If I recall correctly, there is a thread for younger people learning to program.

Do you (or this 13 your old, if it is not you) have any specific goals or requirements?

[jobsonandrew]

If hes posting this on an Ubuntu forum I'm guessing he wants to use Linux to write programs...? Why not use BASH or PERL.. you wont be able to make fancy looking games or anything but you can automate some tasks and create some pretty cool stuff..

If you want to really dive in I'd suggest looking at C++ or Java.. but you'd have to learn them alongside some very fundamental programming and object orientation theory as well

dont put the theory aside.. Documentation is key

[pmasiar]

If hes posting this on an Ubuntu forum I'm guessing he wants to use Linux to write programs...?

Your guess about priorities is might be as good as next person. Let's wait to OP's response?


Why not use BASH or PERL..

http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=510594

"using PERL as a shibboleth to sort out whether a job-seeker or potential employer is plugged in to the community."

According to that, you are not plugged in :-)


you wont be able to make fancy looking games or anything but you can automate some tasks and create some pretty cool stuff..

...for your definition of "cool", which might be different from a 13-year old kid's. :-)

[LaRoza]

If hes posting this on an Ubuntu forum I'm guessing he wants to use Linux to write programs...? Why not use BASH or PERL.. you wont be able to make fancy looking games or anything but you can automate some tasks and create some pretty cool stuff..


Perl can be used for GUI's, and there are projects that are pretty in Perl (the code isn't pretty)

[jobsonandrew]

...for your definition of "cool", which might be different from a 13-year old kid's.
Thats the last time I post my opinion on an openly accessible public forum :(

PERL, Perl.. whats the difference.. I dont believe being 'plugged into the community' is a necessary requirement for learning a scripting language..

[CptPicard]

Thats the last time I post my opinion on an openly accessible public forum :(


Don't be thin-skinned on an openly accessible public forum :)

I have to disagree with everything you said really... a 13 year old does not necessarily want to start by "automating tasks" on the Linux box. Bash is really only good for gluing together all the disparate tools that make up the shell environment, and is about the worst possible programming introduction I can think of.

Perl has nothing that Python wouldn't have, and Python is way more orthogonal and pedagogical.

Java... C++?? Java is intellectually boring and cumbersome, in the same sense as C# is. C++ is just... Difficult and Hard, for a 13-year old at least.

[LaRoza]

C++ is just... Difficult and Hard, for a 13-year old at least.

20 year olds as well. (I had to study C and a Dynamically typed language that is OO before I understood C++, and C++ was my first language)

[tlink]

Why not start at the beginning and learn Assembly x86?

Heh, but seriously, Python would be a good place to start, and as kids pick up things MUCH faster than us old geezers, I would wager that even C++ would be a good one to start sorting out without much trouble. It wouldn't be gui and "fun" for a while till you got the "meat" of the language down.

[CptPicard]

I have always played with the idea of teaching a kid a functional language first. How about Scheme? The syntax is minimal, and concepts are emphasized... on the other hand, it's a bit "hard" perhaps to get "cool" stuff done, unless the kid really finds tail recursion "cool" :)

[pmasiar]

Thats the last time I post my opinion on an openly accessible public forum :(

Consider this as "peer review" of your opinions and comments. Scientist publish in peer reviewed journals, where other people can comment back and challenge thoughts - and after dust settles, TRUTH is revealed. If you don't want to submit your comments to peer review, it means you do not care about finding underlying truth, just about broadcasting your opinions regardless how close or far they are relevant to reality. Which is of course your right to do, but don't pretend it is related to seeking for truth, because it is not.

Publishing your thoughts in a place where nobody can access them seems like little too radical solution for me, but maybe it is exactly what you want and need, who am I to challenge your choice of forum? :-)


PERL, Perl.. whats the difference.. I dont believe being 'plugged into the community' is a necessary requirement for learning a scripting language..

Difference is, that if you suggest using Perl, we (your peers) can expect you to have some Perl-relevant skills, and Perl is not just a word you overheard at watercooler last week. It is measure of level of your relevant skills, and how much we readers can trust your judgment about using Perl for that particular task, or any other judgment. So, by using PERL, you failed, and I friendly corrected you so **next time** you avoid making fool of yourself.

I even spent (and seems like wasted) my own time to dig you a link, to prove that it is not my personal opinion, but opinion of Perl community. You obviously did not appreciate that either.

Of course you are free to ignore any advice given to you, everyone has right to make fool of himself in public, it is (for some time) source of mild enjoyment, even if it become tiresome after a while.

Have a nice day on forums where everybody always agrees with everyone, women are strong, men are handsome, and all children are above average! :-)

[scourge]

20 year olds as well. (I had to study C and a Dynamically typed language that is OO before I understood C++, and C++ was my first language)

Wow. Again you guys make me feel like a frickin' genius for having learned C++ without much pain. :)

I recall myself coding some neat stuff (at least a screensaver and a nibbles game) in Turbo Pascal when I was 13. The code was horrible and I only scratched the surface of what one can do with TP, but they were definitely exciting times.

[CptPicard]

neat stuff ... in Turbo Pascal when I was 13. ... code was horrible and I only scratched the surface

... and it still was Turbo Pascal :) (no hard feelings, I started with TB as well, more or less)...

I still don't do C++ voluntarily (voluntarily I do Haskell these days). I also voluntarily watch Babylon 5 main story arc episodes. They are absolutely brilliant.

I still seriously feel for Londo Mollari. :-({|=

[LaRoza]

Wow. Again you guys make me feel like a frickin' genius for having learned C++ without much pain. :)

I recall myself coding some neat stuff (at least a screensaver and a nibbles game) in Turbo Pascal when I was 13. The code was horrible and I only scratched the surface of what one can do with TP, but they were definitely exciting times.

It isn't a matter of learning it, it is using it. To some, C++ may be their Blub.

I find C++ to try to be high level, and low level at the same time. If I want low level, I use C, if I want high level, I use [Python|PHP|Perl|Ruby|Lisp].

C++ abstracts all the features that I would consider to be its main high points. It has pointers, but in reality, one shouldn't use them in C++ because it has something "better". It is better in that you don't have to track them, but why even use them in that case?

I see how C++ may be good for somethings, especially when one wants it to be compiled to native binaries, but be "high level". That is not a typical scenerio that I have come across.

Right now, I am working on Haskell (slowly and without haste), for the learning of a pure functional language.

[scourge]

... and it still was Turbo Pascal :) (no hard feelings, I started with TB as well, more or less)...

Hey, no dissing of TB! It is a good language, a lot more powerful than Pascal.



I find C++ to try to be high level, and low level at the same time. If I want low level, I use C, if I want high level, I use [Python|PHP|Perl|Ruby|Lisp].

I find myself needing both low level and high level in the same project. That's when I use C++. And that's why C++ is so popular for example in gamedev.

[LaRoza]

I find myself needing both low level and high level in the same project. That's when I use C++. And that's why C++ is so popular for example in gamedev.

Python + C for me :)