Programmers

[gasoltub]

"Modern C++ Design" by Andrei Alexandrescu should set you off in the right direction.

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Seriously though, learn java first. And make sure you don't use an IDE in the beginning. Just get a basic syntax highlighting text editor.

Your first goal should be to learn about the basic language constructs such as flow control, datatypes, methods, etc. Next, move on to OOP.

[jalexand42]

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On a releated note I think the intro course for first year students should be Assembly. That should quickly weed out the people that are not skilled/don't want to be there.

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LOL - right, because most of your entry/medium level programmers have to use assembly in their jobs. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[fiskebent]

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On a releated note I think the intro course for first year students should be Assembly. That should quickly weed out the people that are not skilled/don't want to be there.

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LOL - right, because most of your entry/medium level programmers have to use assembly in their jobs. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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Because when you work with computers it helps to know how they work at all levels.

[Jeff W]

I'd just wait till school starts. Intro Comp Sci courses are about learning programming, not programming languages. Once you've learned how to think and how to program in Java, other programming languages will probably be easier to pick up.

[kgrad5]

I really wouldnt worry about it too much.. intro to CS classes are usually a joke, but in any case, skunkworks first answer about learning concepts instead of a specific language is spot on.

When you actually learn how to program.. picking up a new language is purely a matter of syntax. (and stay the hell away from lispy languages and prolog until you have MASTERED programming)

[challenger84]

Your first programming class will be a joke. If you have a lot of trouble with it, you're probably not cut out for CS. When you get into data structures your second or third semester is when the wheat is seperated from the chaff, so to speak.

[SBR]

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imo, it's easier to learn C (which features more complicated things like pointers) and then learn Java than the other way around. Java has a lot of things which it kinda does "magically" to make things easier for the programmer; it's easier to learn memory management from the C perspective, where you're dealing directly with memory, than it is to learn Java's cookie cutter reference stuff and then have someone tell you "ok, remember everything you learned about references in Java? Forget about it" when you have to learn C.

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I agree with this. I learned java first had a hard time managing memory in C/C++, the difference between the . operator and the -> operator, etc.

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I don't understand this opinion. Does Java's automatic garbage collection somehow make it harder to learn to manually manage memory in C++?

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I don't think they realizee that many people who learn C++ as their first language also have a hard time managing memory and understanding the difference b/t the . and the -> operator.

Maybe if learning Java first causes someone to be even more frustrated when learning pointers.

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I think it's a case of being easier to go from C++ to Java than from Java to C++. It's sort of the same argument about learning to drive on a stick vs. learning to drive on an automatic.

[Dadswell]

go learn something like Turing or Pascal, both good for newbs.

[d10]

You should definitely learn Intercal first.

[challenger84]

You'll never be a true programmer until you write a chess program using 50 boxes of punchcards.