How long did it take you to learn your coding language?

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How long did it take you to learn your favourite programming language?
It has taken me 5 months to get a firm grasp on the basics.
Is this good? (Personally, I think Im a awful programmer to have taken that long to grasp the basics of Objective C. But oh well. I enjoy it)

My first coding language? About a week to ten days. Prior to that the only coding I did (on an IBM drum memory computer) was in binary. That was back in 1955. I learning FORTRAN in 1959. About a week to ten days. In all I learning 10 languages. After the first or second, it goes pretty quick.

ruveyn

My first coding language was C++ back in 2003, as it was a course for my degree at the time, so the usual one semester, but we were going at the class's pace. I'm currently taking Java (after having done JustBASIC), but I think i grasped the topics within the first few weeks. I'd learn faster if I felt motivated, but that's another issue.

Some languages are larger and more complicated than others. Some people spend more time in a day learning things. Different people would mean different things by 'firm grasp on the basics'. I can't really tell if you're naturally good at programming based on what you wrote.

That you enjoy it is a good sign, though.

I can't really say how long it took me for most languages, but it would depend most strongly on how much learning constitutes 'finished'.

My first was Java. Took about a year. My seconds were perl and python.. had to learn them on the fly at work, 2 weeks and I was confident using both. altho perl still scares me a little...

I learned the basics of BASIC in just a few days of playing around with a TRS-80. Since then, I have taken classes in the various C languages. I can not say that I have stopped learning, as every time I start coding, it seems that I learn a new "trick" to make the code more efficient, more effective, or more economical (choose any two).

I think I learned my first language in a 2 months or so. By learned I really just mean the basic concepts of programming and how to use them. The first language I learned was QBASIC which is pretty simple to work with.

I don't particularly have a favorite programming language (maybe C++). But one thing I think is true about programming... you are never done learning. If you aren't just learning language syntax and semantics you are learning new algorithms, data structures, refining your coding style, learning new APIs, etc, etc.

I don't think 5 months to learn obj-c is a bad though, it isn't the easiest language to learn. Most people give up way before 5 months of programming... you clearly have the perseverance and interest to be a programmer, and those two things alone will take you far. The more you learn though the better you get. When I look at old code I wrote I sometimes am just ashamed of the things I did... its part of learning though. The more experience you get the better you will become!

You don't know how jealous I am! I wish they had these sorts of computers nowadays!

Depends what you consider knowing, I've been doing C++ for like 18 years and I still learn something new once every month or two. It took me a year to become good enough in my first language to do work that was worthy of actually being sold or referred to as "professional". My most recent language, I could say I reached that point in 3-4 weeks.

That is like wishing for hand cranked Model-T Ford automobiles to make a comeback.

I assure you, you would not really like having a very large, very expensive to run computers with less computing power than your electronic wrist-watch.

ruveyn

Depends what you're into. I don't understand people who are into having women walk on them in stilettos either, but everyone has their fetish.

My watch is analog thank you very much!

Sure today's computers are much faster and more reliable but there is something about older systems that just intrigues me... I think the space constraints and the slowness attract me because it makes you think about efficiency much more than today. I see lots of poorly written algorithms used today because its easier to implement and the processors are fast enough that people don't think it will matter.

You crave retro? Then do it right. Get an abacus.

ruveyn

Sometimes the extra speed and memory space allows for more elegant algorithms. The cramped old computers would often be so cramped that you had to use ugly hacks to get the program to even work.

If you really like coding for small/restricted computers, you can do that on modern hardware by doing embedded stuff.

No doubt. I was in the computer and computer software business for 42 years. I assure you that smaller and faster and cheaper is better. Having a computer on my desk top that cost less than 1500 dollar and nearly a hundred times more capable than the best and largest computers of 1960 was a rush and a half.

ruveyn

Wrote my first 'program' at age 4 (BBC Basic) using the 'SOUND' command (a series of them). Didn't formally learn how to program until age 16 by which time I knew quite a bit, but also realized I had important gaps in my knowledge and there were ways of writing much cleaner, better annotated, and concise code.

With the exception of assembly language programming, I've found that what one really learns are a series of basic programming ideas (e.g. ifs, loops, arrays, nested ifs/loops, counters, and functions) that are relatively easy to implement in most programming languages. Once you're familiar with these concepts, you can use google searches to learn how to write equivalent code in whatever language you like (e.g. Delphi, Basic/VBA, php, R, c++, python, etc.)

All IMHO.

My first programming language (C) I learned in an hour and a half. I of course didn't know every nook and cranny, but I could write programs in it.