Best way to learn programming??

[LocustHorde]

I've always enjoyed working with computers, so I'm considering a career change into the IT field and would like to learn C# and would like to dabble in SQL too. I downloaded visual C# express along with SQL express edition.

Anyways, I bought a book to play around with and learn, but have found this quite frustrating. The book will either jump around and assume I know how to do ____ or the example will be poorly written and ambiguous. With not much experience, it is difficult to figure out the right way to program. Would taking courses in local tech or community colleges be the best way to learn?? There's a CC near Microsoft that apparently has good programming cirriculum so I might go check that out. I was considering online schools, but I've heard many negative things about them and they're quite expensive..

[nuclear500]

Figured out what you want to make, then just figure out how to do it.

I'm sarcastic and serious with that at the same time. "Flying solo" the best way to learn how to do something is to just figure out what you want to make, then figure out how to do it.

Good example, related to Poker, would be one that generates x number of hold'em hands and then figures out the winning hand out of everybody.

[kerowo]

Get a better book.

If the one you have doesn't do it for you get another one. Understand though, that getting a job out of being self taught is a difficult thing to do unless you are in a smallish company that will move you into it as you learn more.

[ayurice]

Take a course at your local community college. They'll teach you how to code.

[pa3lsvt]

[ QUOTE ]
Take a course at your local community college. They'll teach you how to code.

[/ QUOTE ]

/thread

You'll learn all kinds of bad habits if you are self-taught. It's as important to make your code maintainable (if you program for a living) as it is to make it work the way you want it to.

After you've learned to code, you can each yourself new languages down the road.

pa3lsvt, MS Comp Sci

[psionic storm]

i felt the same way about books when i started. i ended up modifying bits code from http://www.planet-source-code.com/ instead and it really kicked things off.

bad habits are a symptom of not understanding fundamentals of cs, which has nothing to do with being self taught.