Is there any way for a guy like me with no programming experience...

[MonkeyGH]

...to get into some sort of programming language without having say, taken a ton of courses for it? I've read on here that some programmers are self-taught, although I'm skeptical of the validity of the interwebz sometimes.

Bear in mind I don't know the first thing about any sort of programming languages or anything like that. Is there any sort of semi-easy program out there that teaches the basics to knuckleheads like me or is that not a possibility outside of courses?

Thanks!

 

[Bagged Milk]

I'm not a programmer either, but from what I've heard, python is pretty easy.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

Not really an expert myself, but the first step I would take in learning that kind of stuff is a book. Most likely "for Dummies" ones. (That isn't supposed to be an insult, I'm trying to say I would buy said book.)

Also, welcome to the Escapist!

 

[Citizen Box]

...to get into some sort of programming language without having say, taken a ton of courses for it? I've read on here that some programmers are self-taught, although I'm skeptical of the validity of the interwebz sometimes.

Bear in mind I don't know the first thing about any sort of programming languages or anything like that. Is there any sort of semi-easy program out there that teaches the basics to knuckleheads like me or is that not a possibility outside of courses?

Thanks!

I would suggest starting on C or C++ which is what I started on but it really depends on what you are programming for, but those 2 are the basic.

Edit: Also as stated above Python too

 

[MonkeyGH]

@webepoop

Python? Ok, I'm just trying to do some research. A friend and I decided this area interests us and I'm just seeing whats out there. I'll Google it.

@Sinclair
Yeah, that's a good suggestion. Also, none taken. I love those books.

And thank you for the welcome!

@ The other guy who's name escapes me

Ok, I'll look into that too. Thank you!

 

[viranimus]

Python is by far the easiest first language to learn. C++ would be more logical if you want to cut to the quick because of how pervasive C& C++ are. However the question is what are you trying to program?

I ask because you present this on a gaming centric site and that seems like logically you would be interested in programming games. If that is the case there are other things you would want to work on first such as scripting or learning licensed engines like Unreal, Maya, CAD, etc instead of trying to build the entire architecture from scratch.

 

[M.J.Proctor]

If you've got the ability to stick with it you can teach yourself a fairly decent amount of programming knowledge just by practicing every day in your preferred language. It'll take a few weeks to a few months for sure, but with thousands of websites all offering free and paid programming tutorials, you should be fine.

My advice: Find something you want to do, plan a project. Describe it to somebody who knows more about programming languages than you do, and have them tell you which would probably be the best language to use for it. Then tutorial/ask on programming forums/ask programmer friends.. Shouldn't be too bad.

 

[MonkeyGH]

Python is by far the easiest first language to learn. C++ would be more logical if you want to cut to the quick because of how pervasive C& C++ are. However the question is what are you trying to program?

I ask because you present this on a gaming centric site and that seems like logically you would be interested in programming games. If that is the case there are other things you would want to work on first such as scripting or learning licensed engines like Unreal, Maya, CAD, etc instead of trying to build the entire architecture from scratch.

Yeah, programming something in that department is in my main interest right now, but I also want to see what this is like for other potential uses (I'm planning on hopefully getting some form of a career in computers and I know programming is one of the big ones.)

 

[grimgor42]

Im a Computer Science major in college, and I can say with some authority that using the web alone you may have a good chance at teaching yourself to be a darn good programmer. A book and a good teacher might help you more though. Depending on what you have in mind with your newfound skills, it might be not worth the effort on account of the fact that even if you can code circles around college grads, noones going to hire you for a programming job without a piece of paper saying you went to college.

 

[Citizen Box]

My advice: Find something you want to do, plan a project. Describe it to somebody who knows more about programming languages than you do, and have them tell you which would probably be the best language to use for it. Then tutorial/ask on programming forums/ask programmer friends.. Shouldn't be too bad.

This is very good advice, hell if you play something like World of Warcraft, design an add on. It is easy to find documentations on XML and LUA I believe even Blizzard distributes the tools needed to design an add on complete with a fully documented step-by-step tutorial.

 

[viranimus]

Python is by far the easiest first language to learn. C++ would be more logical if you want to cut to the quick because of how pervasive C& C++ are. However the question is what are you trying to program?

I ask because you present this on a gaming centric site and that seems like logically you would be interested in programming games. If that is the case there are other things you would want to work on first such as scripting or learning licensed engines like Unreal, Maya, CAD, etc instead of trying to build the entire architecture from scratch.

Yeah, programming something in that department is in my main interest right now, but I also want to see what this is like for other potential uses (I'm planning on hopefully getting some form of a career in computers and I know programming is one of the big ones.)

Noble ambition. I definitely encourage you to do so, However I want to point one thing out to you as it relates to a career. I understand you may not want to take classes and learn these thing on your own, however as it relates to employment (unless your planning on self employ and thats a very risky thing to start off with) It wont matter if you have the skills needed unless you can validate to the hiring manager that you have those skills needed and many times they will only consider that validated if you have the collegiate experience in that specified field. Basically, you can have all the skill in the world and many places, especially high tech places will not look at you twice unless you can prove it with a piece of paper signed by someone else validating it. Not saying its impossible, but more to the effect of saying not having proficency certification is a MASSIVE hinderence.

Regardless, best of luck.

 

[MonkeyGH]

Im a Computer Science major in college, and I can say with some authority that using the web alone you may have a good chance at teaching yourself to be a darn good programmer. A book and a good teacher might help you more though. Depending on what you have in mind with your newfound skills, it might be not worth the effort on account of the fact that even if you can code circles around college grads, noones going to hire you for a programming job without a piece of paper saying you went to college.

Hmm, that's an interesting statement (in a good way). And yes, I fully intend on getting that scrap of paper.

And btw, I'm impressed with the fast replies from this forum so far. And for me, the good sentence structure is a nice change of pace from other forums I've had to visit on occasion.

 

[Zoe Castillo]

---

 

[chukrum47]

Actually, a couple of years ago, I decided to start teaching myself C# because I was bored. If you decide to go this route, then I would suggest 2 main things. One, if you're really serious get a book about C# (or another language; I'm partial to C# because it's fairly easy to get into from no programming background), and give this thread a look where exactly that topic is being discussed: C# Book Recommendations (if you scroll down on it, you'll find my response to that thread as well ). Second, sign up on Microsoft's Developer Network (it's free), because their forums are exceptional helpful for figuring out problems you're having.

Well that's all I can think of for now, but if you do decide to try it out, there are some free basic tutorials on the Internet that you can also use to see if you like the language or not.

Feel free to ask me any other questions about C# in general or in specific. Hope this helps!

 

[MonkeyGH]

Thanks to all of you for the fast, well-constructed replies. I'll definitely send a link to my friend for this thread (he has apparently done some research of his own in this area) and we'll see what to do from here.

 

[itsausernamewhatofit]

...to get into some sort of programming language without having say, taken a ton of courses for it? I've read on here that some programmers are self-taught, although I'm skeptical of the validity of the interwebz sometimes.

Bear in mind I don't know the first thing about any sort of programming languages or anything like that. Is there any sort of semi-easy program out there that teaches the basics to knuckleheads like me or is that not a possibility outside of courses?

Thanks!

It's completely possible. In school i started by learning Dark Basic, a programming language that is, to be blunt, not very useful. It taught me loads of universal concepts though and i learned a lot of useful things. Looking back i think it's perfectly possible to learn it on your own because of it's simplicity and the large number of tutorials about it online.
Also, as someone already said, welcome to The Escapist, i'm sure you'll like it here

 

[SouthpawFencer]

...to get into some sort of programming language without having say, taken a ton of courses for it? I've read on here that some programmers are self-taught, although I'm skeptical of the validity of the interwebz sometimes.

I see no reason why you can't learn how to program by self-taught methods. Pick a programming language (I'd recommend Perl if you're looking to manipulate text files, C++ if you want to eventually program computer games, Java if you want to do Web-browser games, etc), and either look up tutorials on the web through Google, or buy a programming book. Keep an eye out for Regular Expressions (Regex).

Just start small (there's a REASON why the first attempt most people do for a new programming language is to get the program to simply output "Hello world!" on the screen), and build on your work.

While in college, I learned more from the books about whatever programming language I was learning than I ever did by attending the class lectures (actually, I skipped most of the lectures, unless I was having trouble with the assignment).

I generally did better in college programming classes by skipping the lectures and relying on the book to help me complete the programming assignments. Your milage may vary, however.

Things to take a special note of: functions, subroutines and subprograms. These are a CRITICAL part of Object Oriented Programming [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_oriented_programming]. Mastering OOP is a good way to develop a good piece of code that you can reuse multiple times.

 

[frizzlebyte]

...to get into some sort of programming language without having say, taken a ton of courses for it? I've read on here that some programmers are self-taught, although I'm skeptical of the validity of the interwebz sometimes.

Bear in mind I don't know the first thing about any sort of programming languages or anything like that. Is there any sort of semi-easy program out there that teaches the basics to knuckleheads like me or is that not a possibility outside of courses?

Thanks!

I am in almost exactly the same boat as you. After years of wanting to get into it, I never could find the right book to teach me programming.

Get Mary Farrell's "Computer Programming for Teens." It's at Amazon for 16.57.

Let me tell you, it is the greatest beginner's programming book I've ever seen, and don't let the "teen" part fool you, it is not condescending at all. The only difference between her book and other books is that she is language-agnostic. The book is conceptual, rather than language-oriented, (though the code examples are mostly in C++, with a little JAVA and PASCAL thrown in), which allows you to get the basics like types, variables, loops, and other things, and gets you going quickly, and with a solid foundation.

If I'd had this book when I was younger, oh man. I'd be ruling the intarwebs by now. I can't recommend a better book. I've already programmed a console (command prompt) app that uses a loop to count to one million in real time.


And yes, it is four minutes of sheer awesome.

EDIT: I can't believe how much my post looks like spam. Sorry about that. Seriously, though, I think that book is really a good bet for you. I love it.

 

[BreakfastMan]

I agree that Python is a good starting point, but you should not expect to learn all about programming from it, just the basics, like loops, functions, and logical tests. C# might be good because it is very visual, so it could be something to look into. Java might be something to look into as well, if you want to learn about Object Oriented programming (which you probably should if you want to learn about programming, but not till later once you have a bit of experience under your belt).

 

[RADlTZ]

I remember messing around with triggers and conditions in Age of Empires 1 and 2/Age of Mythology as a kid, and then moving on to teach myself how to script inside the Morrowind construction set. From there I did Software Design in highschool many years later which was easy for me to pick up.

Its deffinitly possible, I think the best way to start would be to get a basic understanding of how programming and scripting languages work as a whole (have a look at what things like Psudocode try to achieve). Once you kind of know how things in a script or program as a whole are structured, you can adapt to different languages without to much trouble.

On the most basic level its just a matter of learning the syntax of a language (essentially its rules and format) Then seeing what tools or functions the language lets you use and applying them to solve whatever problem you have.

I'd say teaching yourself the basics wouldnt be too hard, then choose a language to get comfortable with. Id recomend looking at Visual Basic (Visual Basic 6 is the only one ive seen in action but I think its pretty old) to get started because its fairly simple, corrects the syntax for you as you go, and when it comes to making programs it lets you 'draw' your different windows and buttons and set other similar properties, instead of having to create them using code. Then your free to get actuall programs up and running without having to get bogged down making the User Interface from scratch.