Elysian Shadows

Yea, so I'm still in highschool, and I wanna learn to program, but I don't know where to start, most resources I checked out were either to advanced, or didn't even work (Programing for Dummies =/). My Computer teacher is a tard and can barely handle using MS Word.

What would you recommend specifically, and yes I understand their are many threads like this out there, but most of those were made by 5 year olds who want to make WoW in 5 weeks.

I'm really looking for books, or anything else, I understand Blitz is a good starting point, but how do I learn Blitz? lol.

Help?

mck567 wrote:Yea, so I'm still in highschool, and I wanna learn to program, but I don't know where to start, most resources I checked out were either to advanced, or didn't even work (Programing for Dummies =/). My Computer teacher is a tard and can barely handle using MS Word.

What would you recommend specifically, and yes I understand their are many threads like this out there, but most of those were made by 5 year olds who want to make WoW in 5 weeks.

I'm really looking for books, or anything else, I understand Blitz is a good starting point, but how do I learn Blitz? lol.

Help?

just start learning C/C++, dont worry about game. just learn basic stuff like loops, conditional stuff. IO. there are multiple resources online, go to your public library, if they dont have anything good. go to a univirsity library if one is close. id suggest staying about from blits. its not something people really use. C# XNA is your best bet if you wanna get into games immediately.

I actually recommend starting with C++. It doesn't hold your hand, and the concepts you're learning apply to almost every programming language. These were the first tutorials I went through for C++ on the internet, but before that I read Teach Yourself C in 21 Days. I wouldn't recommend that book, by the way.

If you decide you do want to start with C++, you'll need a compiler and various other tools. I recommend either using Microsoft Visual C++ Express or Code::Blocks. Both are completely free.

Now why would you not recommend that book my friend?

Jokeboxproductions wrote:Now why would you not recommend that book my friend?

its actually a great book for beginners, but i also wouldn't recommend it. well mayby. it was one of my first ones to. it just does not do as well as some other books. if you wanna laearn from a good C/C++ book, try and find out what major universities subscribe their students to.

See if your high school offers any Computer Science courses. I actually went to 3 different high schools, and they all offered a programming course of some sort.

I'm completely self taught. Books are a great way to go. if you're interested in general programming rather than game development, drop blitz and try for C++. Otherwise, Blitz's or DarkBasic should have you up and running quickly and working through game logic in notime.

As for highschool courses...Well, I taught a C++ class for 2 years at my Jr. High, then when i reached highschool I enrolled in my very first programming course: (c programming accelerated). I was kicked from the class and had my computer privileges revoked within the first term...I wasn't allowed to touch a school PC for the next year. XD

Luckily, the teacher knows I'm a very capable programmer and let me skip the prerequisite courses and jump into the AP ones. Next thing I know, I've been hooked up with a way to enter my editor (for elysian shadows) into a university's competition for possible scholarship, and will be compacting out of the classes next semester to job-shadow employees of a government contractor. 99% of the time this leads to paid internships.

So yes, definitely try the classes. If anything, the teacher may have hook-ups with businesses or universities. ;P

I was considering replying with "Don't bother with classes in High School, I've learned so much more by doing it myself at home." Then I read Arce's post, and thought about it some more. In the end it's certainly worth doing. Colleges are going to notice it on your transcript, and if you're luck your teacher might recommend you to some friends in high places. I suppose I have learned a few things at school I couldn't have learned at home, probably the most important is developing a game with a group (which as Falco has said many times SUCKS unless you are really close to those people). If you have the option to take a programming class at school.. I'd say, "Go for it!".

Arce wrote: As for highschool courses...Well, I taught a C++ class for 2 years at my Jr. High, then when i reached highschool I enrolled in my very first programming course: (c programming accelerated). I was kicked from the class and had my computer privileges revoked within the first term...I wasn't allowed to touch a school PC for the next year.

Ooh!!!! Can it be storytime now please?

marmalade wrote:

Arce wrote: As for highschool courses...Well, I taught a C++ class for 2 years at my Jr. High, then when i reached highschool I enrolled in my very first programming course: (c programming accelerated). I was kicked from the class and had my computer privileges revoked within the first term...I wasn't allowed to touch a school PC for the next year.

Ooh!!!! Can it be storytime now please?

im curious what kind of lacks school would let a student teach.
anyhows. way back when, when i was still in highschool and in south africa, the computer science teacher got me pissed off. so the user names and passwords for ever person on the school system, students, teachers, everyone. and printed them on fliers and just put them on walls at school.

if anyone is interested on how it was done. i ARP poisoned his machine, monitored all the network traffic, got the administrator password. and alakazam.

he knew it was me but could never proove it. oh and the best part was that i uploaded a app to his local machine that made the CD-ROM spin to maximum RPM whenever a CD was put in, and i knew he had a ghost cd he used all the time so i made a little nick on it, and that bitch exploded in the cdrom. millions of little tiny shards.

also did silly little things like perform DoS attacks on him when he tried to do administrative task. my friend also hid a wireless access point under a desk. so we never had to be one the wire.

fun times.

Start with html it only takes a couple of days to learn and helps you understand harder languages.

Levio91 wrote:Start with html it only takes a couple of days to learn and helps you understand harder languages.

Well I agree that it is easy to learn but it actually has very little in common with other languages.

unholysavagery wrote:

Levio91 wrote:Start with html it only takes a couple of days to learn and helps you understand harder languages.

Well I agree that it is easy to learn but it actually has very little in common with other languages.

This was what I was getting at in a previous post, without just going ahead and saying it

programs differ greatly in the way they're constructed in comparison to websites, yeah there's similarities, but if your primary goal is to make games, (or any application), just learn to program applications, well thats what I think.

programmerinprogress wrote:

unholysavagery wrote:

Levio91 wrote:Start with html it only takes a couple of days to learn and helps you understand harder languages.

Well I agree that it is easy to learn but it actually has very little in common with other languages.

This was what I was getting at in a previous post, without just going ahead and saying it

programs differ greatly in the way they're constructed in comparison to websites, yeah there's similarities, but if your primary goal is to make games, (or any application), just learn to program applications, well thats what I think.

i dont mean to argue or say you are wrong, i just dont think learning HTML will help learning other languages. html is not the same as C/C++/C#/java or anyother real programming language.

HTTP was a dirty invention for the internet. it doesent really teach object orientated. or program flow. at least not last when i did HTML. i mean they have dreamweaver and all those aps no that you can plretty much do anything with just a few clicks.