Learning programming is so so so hard ! !!

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Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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17 Sep 2010, 11:59 pm

I'm in a C# class, my first programming course and I swear I'm the most behind person in the room. The instructor seems to only want to help so much, and that I should figure out these exercises for myself, but the book is so damn confusing. I don't get why I can't understand it. I feel like we go so fast, and I'm so confused. Geeeez.

Orwell
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18 Sep 2010, 12:53 am

C# (or MS-C++ as I call it) is an ugly language. To learn programming, you might be better off using Python first. There's a good tutorial on Wikibooks for it.

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18 Sep 2010, 1:55 am

CaptainTrips222 wrote:

Actually programming isn't always hard. It really depends on your instructor and the book.
It's very important, when teaching programming, to use real world analogies and language which is easy to understand.

I had an instructor who did not do this and I ended up dropping the class and taking it with an instructor who was absolutely excellent, and most of my other programming instructors were more similar to the latter than the former.

Consider dropping the class if you can, and taking it with another instructor next semester.

CaptainTrips222
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18 Sep 2010, 2:06 am

Yeah, the book doesn't use many real world analogies as you put it, and defines words only after it uses them fifty times, and even then the definition is a little fuzzy. It doesn't go in depth on a lot of things, just assumes you'll understand after a few dense, highly technical paragraphs. I feel like a lost idiot in this class though. I'll stick with it until the first test, but if I get a C or lower I'm the hell outta there.

Thanks for the validation, planeteers! I love you guys. Seriously.

monsterland
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18 Sep 2010, 4:24 am

I dropped out of two colleges because I couldn't stand their programming classes. I can only learn from examples, or books that are written with some sort of creative flair.

Dry reference books and artificial, flat assignments can go eat camel poop.

Titangeek
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18 Sep 2010, 1:20 pm

monsterland wrote:

Dry reference books and artificial, flat assignments can go eat camel poop.

Well said, lol :nerdy:

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LordoftheMonkeys
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18 Sep 2010, 2:00 pm

C#, Java, Visual Basic, and similar languages are not good for starting programming, despite popular belief. They don't teach you any of the principles of computer programming (algorithms, data structures, recursion, etc.); only how to use premade tools and gizmos. Before you learn a programming language you have to learn programming. Recently there has been a shift towards choosing Python as a starting language; it's fairly easy and is a robust and flexible language, not just a toolkit.

I suggest you read this:
http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/CrossTalk/2 ... nberg.html

The article is about Java, but C# is basically the same thing as Java, just with Windows-specific libraries added to it to make it less portable. It should be just as relevant to C#.

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Fuzzy
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18 Sep 2010, 6:05 pm

Processing from http://processing.org/ is free, a simplified version of java and has, oh, 50 samples that you can mess around with. Just changing things is the quickest way to get a grasp of concepts, and processing is designed for quick "sketch" programs. The examples are visual in nature and thus, closer to real world concepts.

Its free. Its cross platform too.

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18 Sep 2010, 6:25 pm

CaptainTrips222 wrote:

For me, the easiest way to learn a programming language is to just start writing a program and look up the commands their meanings as I need them. That way you're learning as you go along.

CaptainTrips222
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19 Sep 2010, 12:48 am

LordoftheMonkeys wrote:

'

Thanks, LOTM... and once again, the education system has mislead me, directing me to a poor starting point, just like it did when they told me to take macro before micro economics.

BigK
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30 Sep 2010, 11:25 am

Are you in the right class?

If you cannot program then you need to be in a "learn to program" class not a "learn c#" class.

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30 Sep 2010, 2:46 pm

Find a class to help you learn C. C is one of the basic but extremely powerful languages.

tttnjfttt
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30 Sep 2010, 7:28 pm

C# isn't one of the traditional beginner programming language. Is there a particular reason why you are beginning with this language?

Also, if you have a weak math background, take a few classes. The stronger your math background is, the better u will program (it all has to do with logic).

peterd
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01 Oct 2010, 4:51 am

I've never been good at math, but with programming, I'm a hot knife on butter. Go figure...

zobier
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01 Oct 2010, 11:16 am

I can't recommend JavaScript (ECMA-262), and jQuery enough.
It's the perfect combination for a beginner.

Install Firebug and have a play around with your favourite sites.

ruveyn
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01 Oct 2010, 1:36 pm

peterd wrote:

I've never been good at math, but with programming, I'm a hot knife on butter. Go figure...

Programming is less abstract than mathematics.

Programming is about actions and operations. Mathematics is about states and relations. (By and large).

ruveyn

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