Beginning to program

[cwblanch]

Hi,

I'm interested in learning to program....but I have no idea where to start!
Do I have to install something to get started?
Which language is easy to start with?
I've gone through the how-to begin programming thread and I will continue to use that as a help, but I wan't a few personal opinions, and maybe some help with early road blocks people run into.

I realize this is a big project to be asking about, but any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

[snowz]

Maybe you should first check out http://www.codecademy.com/. It's one of the best resources at moment in my opinion. Python and Ruby are pretty easy to start with, the concept is always the same, just the code is different.

[ppjdee]

c++ is what im aiming to learn this summer. if i stop being lazy and finish my addmisions

[Bodsda]

Maybe you should first check out http://www.codecademy.com/. It's one of the best resources at moment in my opinion. Python and Ruby are pretty easy to start with, the concept is always the same, just the code is different.

Except the python interpreter on their site is shocking and relies on people writing reliable test cases; which more often then not, they don't.


I would start with the sticky in this forum.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1766253

And the beginner programming challenges.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1714324

Also, another +1 for r-senior's post

Bodsda

[imagecko]

I would suggest that if you want to make webbapps, you should start with HTML and CSS, and after that PHP.
You can start read at http://http://www.codecademy.com/

If you want to make more desktop apps, you should start with Python.
A good start for that is: http://learnpythonthehardway.org/

[r-senior]

I'm interested in learning to program....but I have no idea where to start!

This is a good place, but you may need to sift through conflicting opinions about which language to start with.

Do I have to install something to get started?

It depends on the language but you will get the help you need if you ask.

Which language is easy to start with?

As you have specifically mentioned "easy" and have not mentioned a need to learn a particular language, I would suggest that Python is a good place to start. It is simple and elegant but still sufficiently powerful to create useful applications. You should already have the Python interpreter installed and you can check as follows:

In a terminal

$ python
Python 2.7.3 (default, Aug  1 2012, 05:14:39) 
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print 'Hello'
Hello
>>>

You type the parts in red, then ctrl-d to quit Python. (Hold down the control key and press 'd').

Then you can move on:

http://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/
http://www.diveintopython.net/

I've gone through the how-to begin programming thread and I will continue to use that as a help, but I wan't a few personal opinions, and maybe some help with early road blocks people run into.

Good start. You should also look at other languages as well as Python. C is a base for several other languages and, in my opinion, it is good for all programmers to know at least some C because of that. Some shell scripting (Bash) is also useful. Unless you have a need to learn C++, I would suggest that you leave that language until you have a bit of experience with others.

I realize this is a big project to be asking about, but any help is appreciated.

The most important thing is to start. Although I've suggested Python, the language doesn't matter that much. Ask questions when you get stuck. Look at threads in this forum to get a feel for languages and problems.

There are beginner's programming challenges to use as little projects:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1714324

Outside this forum there are also other problem sites.
http://projecteuler.net/
http://www.cprogramming.com/challenge.html

[slickymaster]

This is a good place, but you may need to sift through conflicting opinions about which language to start with.

It depends on the language but you will get the help you need if you ask.

As you have specifically mentioned "easy" and have not mentioned a need to learn a particular language, I would suggest that Python is a good place to start. It is simple and elegant but still sufficiently powerful to create useful applications. You should already have the Python interpreter installed and you can check as follows:

In a terminal

$ python
Python 2.7.3 (default, Aug  1 2012, 05:14:39) 
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print 'Hello'
Hello
>>>

You type the parts in red, then ctrl-d to quit Python. (Hold down the control key and press 'd').

Then you can move on:

http://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/
http://www.diveintopython.net/

Good start. You should also look at other languages as well as Python. C is a base for several other languages and, in my opinion, it is good for all programmers to know at least some C because of that. Some shell scripting (Bash) is also useful. Unless you have a need to learn C++, I would suggest that you leave that language until you have a bit of experience with others.

The most important thing is to start. Although I've suggested Python, the language doesn't matter that much. Ask questions when you get stuck. Look at threads in this forum to get a feel for languages and problems.

There are beginner's programming challenges to use as little projects:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1714324

Outside this forum there are also other problem sites.
http://projecteuler.net/
http://www.cprogramming.com/challenge.html

A big +1
After r-senior's post I don't think that anything else rests to be said.

[cwblanch]

This is a good place, but you may need to sift through conflicting opinions about which language to start with.

It depends on the language but you will get the help you need if you ask.

As you have specifically mentioned "easy" and have not mentioned a need to learn a particular language, I would suggest that Python is a good place to start. It is simple and elegant but still sufficiently powerful to create useful applications. You should already have the Python interpreter installed and you can check as follows:

In a terminal

$ python
Python 2.7.3 (default, Aug  1 2012, 05:14:39) 
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> print 'Hello'
Hello
>>>

You type the parts in red, then ctrl-d to quit Python. (Hold down the control key and press 'd').

Then you can move on:

http://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/
http://www.diveintopython.net/

Good start. You should also look at other languages as well as Python. C is a base for several other languages and, in my opinion, it is good for all programmers to know at least some C because of that. Some shell scripting (Bash) is also useful. Unless you have a need to learn C++, I would suggest that you leave that language until you have a bit of experience with others.

The most important thing is to start. Although I've suggested Python, the language doesn't matter that much. Ask questions when you get stuck. Look at threads in this forum to get a feel for languages and problems.

There are beginner's programming challenges to use as little projects:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1714324

Outside this forum there are also other problem sites.
http://projecteuler.net/
http://www.cprogramming.com/challenge.html

Hey r-senior,
thank you again for your help with the programming languages. I'm still working on Python, I went through a bit of a slump because it started feeling pointless, but I've started it up again.
But what about Java? Is there a website or anything that helps you learn Java? I haven't found anything myself, but then again I'm not sure what to look for as far as a simple learning website.
I'm asking because I've become a bit interested in learning to develop for Android. I've always wanted to make apps and stuff like that, but I don't have any experience! I have to get the experience myself.

Also, I almost made a whole new post for this, but decided to just come back to the thread I already made about programming, so I hope this gets to you, or anyone that can help me out.

Thanks!!

[r-senior]

But what about Java? Is there a website or anything that helps you learn Java?

The Java tutorials are very good. They perhaps emphasis Netbeans a bit too much, but not a bad start.

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/

See the Getting Started link near the bottom. You'd need to switch to an Android tutorial when you have the basics of Java: syntax, classes, interfaces, perhaps a bit of Swing programming. Again, ask for guidance on how deep you should go into the tutorials if you aren't sure.

[slickymaster]

...But what about Java? Is there a website or anything that helps you learn Java? I haven't found anything myself, but then again I'm not sure what to look for as far as a simple learning website...

JavaPassion
Collected Java Practices
Java Notes: Table of Contents
Java Programming Resources
Learn basics of java, tutorial for beginners, examples online
Data Structures and Algorithms with Object-Oriented Design Patterns in Java
Java Programming Forums

...Whats the NetBeans IDE though? You mentioned it in another post, but I skipped over it because I saw what I needed in the tutorial page. It said in this page, down at the bottom, you write once and then you can run it on all platforms....

The fact that you write once and you can run it on all platforms is a characteristic of Java language, not of the Netbeans IDE itself. Because Java is compiled into byte-code which is interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine, that allows for code compiled on any operating system like Linux to be executed on any other operating system like Windows or Mac. Any machine that can run a Java Virtual Machine can run Java.

On Netbeans IDE, you might be interested in seeing this. I've been working with Netbeans since 2005 and I think it is the best IDE for working with Java, providing the best out-of-the-box experience for Java EE development, deployment, and debugging and already started providing support for several Java EE 7 features.