What is the point of programming?

[ChrissyJ91]

by The Great on Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:11 am

ChrissyJ91 wrote:
I'd recommend you stick with it, C++ is a complicated language and it'll take a long time to learn but it'll be worth it. This forum is full of people who are willing to help you with any problems you may have. The way I see it you have already put a couple of months towards learning why throw away a couple of months worth of learning? Keep at it and you will make progress. I think you'd benefit from reading the book all the way through and then reading it through a second time taking time to learn the parts that you find difficult to understand. If you find something hard then the internet is a good resource; research topics and then break technical stuff down so that its understandable. I think that learning anything is an investment; you are putting time towards learning something so that you can reap the rewards later. I'd encourage you to stick with it completely as you may regret it completely in the future. Have you considered learning a game orientated language such as blitzplus or a programming language that is less complex for a beginner such as vb? you may find that you are able to make more progress with one of these languages and you can then return to C++ with a few games under your belt and a better understanding of programming in general. At the end of the day I think that the only reason you aren't enjoying it is because you don't know enough to do anything with it, you should find ways to keep yourself motivated and keep at it.

If you want to do something more 'artistic' then there are all sorts of different things you can consider e.g. 2d pixel art, 3d modelling, texturing etc. as with programming there are people on this forum who can assist you with anything you have difficulty with and the internet is a good resource you just need to go looking for the information you need.
Good Luck

Quite a motivating response .
I feel I've always had more of a technical inclination than an artistic.
It's not the difficulty of it, but just how I feel when I put in work to learn the language and I haven't made much yet I guess...

I'm off to learn references, whether I like it or not, because I'm hoping that the inspired-feeling good times I have with programming will outweigh the unmotivated bad times.

Edit: Does anyone know of any way to copy source code into Word without the formatting getting messed up?

Good for you I'd recommend that you try using notepad rather than word. it can be found in your acessories folder and alows you to save your code as .txt files which can themselves be compiled and the formatting won't get messed up .

[Bakkon]

Good for you I'd recommend that you try using notepad rather than word. it can be found in your acessories folder and alows you to save your code as .txt files which can themselves be compiled and the formatting won't get messed up .

I'll one up you and recommend Notepad++.

[dandymcgee]

Good for you I'd recommend that you try using notepad rather than word. it can be found in your acessories folder and alows you to save your code as .txt files which can themselves be compiled and the formatting won't get messed up .

I'll one up you and recommend Notepad++.

I wouldn't necessarily call that a one-up in every sense of the term. Although Notepad++ is clearly more powerful, it's more bulky when I'm doing quick copy/edit/paste work and it's also not a native Windows app.

[ChrissyJ91]

awesome I had no idea it existed downloading now sweet!!!

[Bakkon]

I wouldn't necessarily call that a one-up in every sense of the term. Although Notepad++ is clearly more powerful, it's more bulky when I'm doing quick copy/edit/paste work and it's also not a native Windows app.

I was trying to make a lame joke that Notepad++ is Notepad + 1.

[dandymcgee]

I wouldn't necessarily call that a one-up in every sense of the term. Although Notepad++ is clearly more powerful, it's more bulky when I'm doing quick copy/edit/paste work and it's also not a native Windows app.

I was trying to make a lame joke that Notepad++ is Notepad + 1.

Whoops, my bad, I ruined a really funny joke.

[GroundUpEngine]

Notepad++ ftw!

[RyanPridgeon]

Notepad++ sure is great.

PUN PUN PUN

[LeonBlade]

I have a Mac, my editor of choice is TextMate or BBEdit or Espresso if I'm doing websites and CSSEdit for major CSS stuff
Notepad++ is pretty good though... just not as good as TextMate or BBEdit.

As for the point of programming, I'm sure lots of you have already gotten these points across already.

I absolutely LOVE programming so much.
It's my hobby in life, it's what I'm most passionate about.
If you're doing programming for a job, and don't have passion in it, or desire.
STOP PROGRAMMING NOW!
If you can't put your heart and soul into your work, why bother?
Sure, it's an office job, but it's more than that...
Programming is an art, you make art with your code you make something amazing.
And I love the satisfaction of learning new things and teaching others things that I know so they can hopefully feel the same way I felt when I first learned it.

I program because I love it, that's the point of programming.
It's a way I can express myself and my ideas.
Some people paint, some people make music, everyone has their own art, and I consider programming an art.

That's the point of programming, it's to express yourself through code... or at least that's what it means to me.

[StealthAsimov]

The point of programming is simply the craft of transforming requirements into something that a computer can execute.

[Falco Girgis]

The point of programming is simply the craft of transforming requirements into something that a computer can execute.

This is the point of programming.

I program because I love it, that's the point of programming.
It's a way I can express myself and my ideas.
Some people paint, some people make music, everyone has their own art, and I consider programming an art.

That's the point of programming, it's to express yourself through code...

This is the reason we do it.

[tajdadon]

I program because it's fun, it's sort of like crossword puzzles for me (with c++ it's like crossword puzzles in the Beijing times ). I enjoy seeing my projects come to life and coming up with new ways to do things !