Newbie needing advice
 

Greetings,

So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
to learn. Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
prior programming expierence. My main question is this: should I
start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
first steps. Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
to put in the time and effort to learn.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 5/3/2012 11:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
> to learn. Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
> what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
> some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
> prior programming expierence. My main question is this: should I
> start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
> first steps. Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
> back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
> to put in the time and effort to learn.

Java is OK as a first language.

And one benefit is that you will find it very easy to find information
on the internet about it and find fora where you can get help.

Arne

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 5/3/2012 8:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
> to learn.


My advice: go to school.

You aren't going to get any serious work, or learning, done trying to
learn on your. Learning on own is going to be difficult, and won't be
taken seriously by an employer.

If a university is out of the question, consider a junior college or
trade school. If I personally had to hire someone, I'd consider hiring
someone with a 2 year degree or the first 2 years of college coursework
at a junior college before I'd hire someone who was self-taught. If you
don't have a related degree (math, science, etc.) then "I learned it
myself" is going to be a non-starter; I simply wouldn't hire anyone with
no degree at all.

That said, sure, Java is an acceptable language to start learning. It's
practical and used in the workplace, as well as being not too baroque
for a new student. Other acceptable choices might be C#, Ruby, Python,
C, or probably a few more I'm unaware of.

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 5/3/2012 12:19 PM, markspace wrote:
> On 5/3/2012 8:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>> Greetings,
>>
>> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
>> to learn.
>
> My advice: go to school.
>
> You aren't going to get any serious work, or learning, done trying to
> learn on your. Learning on own is going to be difficult, and won't be
> taken seriously by an employer.
>
> If a university is out of the question, consider a junior college or
> trade school. If I personally had to hire someone, I'd consider hiring
> someone with a 2 year degree or the first 2 years of college coursework
> at a junior college before I'd hire someone who was self-taught. If you
> don't have a related degree (math, science, etc.) then "I learned it
> myself" is going to be a non-starter; I simply wouldn't hire anyone with
> no degree at all.
>
> That said, sure, Java is an acceptable language to start learning. It's
> practical and used in the workplace, as well as being not too baroque
> for a new student. Other acceptable choices might be C#, Ruby, Python,
> C, or probably a few more I'm unaware of.

Pascal is still a very good language for learning programming.

I am skeptical about C# and Ruby - more complex than Java.

Arne

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On May 3, 12:18*pm, Arne Vajhøj <a...@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
> On 5/3/2012 11:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>
> > So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
> > to learn. *Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
> > what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
> > some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
> > prior programming expierence. *My main question is this: should I
> > start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
> > first steps. *Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
> > back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
> > to put in the time and effort to learn.
>
> Java is OK as a first language.
>
> And one benefit is that you will find it very easy to find information
> on the internet about it and find fora where you can get help.
>
> Arne
>
>

Yes, there is tons of stuff on java, almost don't know where to
start. I have different sites with tutorials and that doesn't even
scratch the surface of the search results I got. Any recommended
beginner sites? Trying different sites. Getting slightly confused on
mains, methods, calls...guess I just need time to get use to java
terminology. Did the Hello World thing and had a giant smile on my
face. Wonder what it will feel like once I'm able to write an actual
program.

This is same who posted original post. Finally figured out how to
change my nick.

Thanks for response.

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On May 3, 12:19*pm, markspace <-@.> wrote:
> On 5/3/2012 8:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>
> > Greetings,
>
> > So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
> > to learn.
>
> My advice: go to school.
>
> You aren't going to get any serious work, or learning, done trying to
> learn on your. *Learning on own is going to be difficult, and won't be
> taken seriously by an employer.
>
> If a university is out of the question, consider a junior college or
> trade school. *If I personally had to hire someone, I'd consider hiring
> someone with a 2 year degree or the first 2 years of college coursework
> at a junior college before I'd hire someone who was self-taught. *If you
> don't have a related degree (math, science, etc.) then "I learned it
> myself" is going to be a non-starter; I simply wouldn't hire anyone with
> no degree at all.
>
> That said, sure, Java is an acceptable language to start learning. *It's
> practical and used in the workplace, as well as being not too baroque
> for a new student. *Other acceptable choices might be C#, Ruby, Python,
> C, or probably a few more I'm unaware of.
>
>

Starting a 2 year program this fall with plans (just plans, not sure
how funds/time will be 2 years from now) to get a bach later. Is a 2
year degree without the 4 year degree still good enough to get good
work and be considered for a job? I know the 4 year would be better,
but would a 2 year still get me the job (and money)? How much is a 4
year degree valued over a 2 year? Is it extreme or just slightly
better?

Thanks for response.

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 05/03/2012 11:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
> to learn. Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
> what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
> some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
> prior programming expierence. My main question is this: should I
> start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
> first steps. Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
> back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
> to put in the time and effort to learn.
>
> Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

There are a lot of levels of "what makes what do what and how it works".
Java is a fine language for many programming tasks, not so fine for
others. If you could pick a subject area of interest that would probably
narrow the choices of a language. Device drivers, dynamic HTML, etc.

Michael L. Scott
Programming Language Pragmatics
2000
ISBN 1-55860-442-1
For a great "what makes what do what and how it works" (on one level).

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 5/3/2012 12:27 PM, Cainito wrote:
> On May 3, 12:18 pm, Arne Vajhøj<a...@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> On 5/3/2012 11:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>>
>>> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
>>> to learn. Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
>>> what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
>>> some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
>>> prior programming expierence. My main question is this: should I
>>> start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
>>> first steps. Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
>>> back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
>>> to put in the time and effort to learn.
>>
>> Java is OK as a first language.
>>
>> And one benefit is that you will find it very easy to find information
>> on the internet about it and find fora where you can get help.
>
> Yes, there is tons of stuff on java, almost don't know where to
> start. I have different sites with tutorials and that doesn't even
> scratch the surface of the search results I got. Any recommended
> beginner sites? Trying different sites. Getting slightly confused on
> mains, methods, calls...guess I just need time to get use to java
> terminology. Did the Hello World thing and had a giant smile on my
> face. Wonder what it will feel like once I'm able to write an actual
> program.

I believe the best would be to get a good book and learn
Java from that.

For online tutorial then I would suggest the official
Java tutorial from SUN/Oracle.

Arne

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 05/03/2012 01:02 PM, Jeff Higgins wrote:
> On 05/03/2012 11:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>> Greetings,
>>
>> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
>> to learn. Been clicking on stuff for years and finally want to learn
>> what makes what do what and how it works. I have been checking out
>> some tutorials and have noticed that some of them are for people with
>> prior programming expierence. My main question is this: should I
>> start with java or start with a different language to learn as my
>> first steps. Again, no expierence with any programming before (way
>> back in high school, but don't remember a single thing) but am willing
>> to put in the time and effort to learn.
>>
>> Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
>
> There are a lot of levels of "what makes what do what and how it works".
> Java is a fine language for many programming tasks, not so fine for
> others. If you could pick a subject area of interest that would probably
> narrow the choices of a language. Device drivers, dynamic HTML, etc.
>
> Michael L. Scott
> Programming Language Pragmatics
> 2000
> ISBN 1-55860-442-1
> For a great "what makes what do what and how it works" (on one level).
>
>
I began learning Java with the help of "Core Java" many years ago.
It was in my opinion worth every cent I paid for it.
Now it is in a newer edition:
<http://www.horstmann.com/corejava.html>
These c.l.j.* groups have been an invaluable help over the years.

Re: Newbie needing advice
 

On 5/3/2012 12:43 PM, Cainito wrote:
> On May 3, 12:19 pm, markspace<-@.> wrote:
>> On 5/3/2012 8:55 AM, zack ballard wrote:
>>> So, I am a complete newb when it comes to programming and am wanting
>>> to learn.
>>
>> My advice: go to school.
>>
>> You aren't going to get any serious work, or learning, done trying to
>> learn on your. Learning on own is going to be difficult, and won't be
>> taken seriously by an employer.
>>
>> If a university is out of the question, consider a junior college or
>> trade school. If I personally had to hire someone, I'd consider hiring
>> someone with a 2 year degree or the first 2 years of college coursework
>> at a junior college before I'd hire someone who was self-taught. If you
>> don't have a related degree (math, science, etc.) then "I learned it
>> myself" is going to be a non-starter; I simply wouldn't hire anyone with
>> no degree at all.
>>
>> That said, sure, Java is an acceptable language to start learning. It's
>> practical and used in the workplace, as well as being not too baroque
>> for a new student. Other acceptable choices might be C#, Ruby, Python,
>> C, or probably a few more I'm unaware of.
>
> Starting a 2 year program this fall with plans (just plans, not sure
> how funds/time will be 2 years from now) to get a bach later. Is a 2
> year degree without the 4 year degree still good enough to get good
> work and be considered for a job? I know the 4 year would be better,
> but would a 2 year still get me the job (and money)? How much is a 4
> year degree valued over a 2 year? Is it extreme or just slightly
> better?

What geographical location? What type of job? When?

Regarding when then as a general rule in good economic times with
high demand for developers employers are less picky about education
while in bad times with low demand they can be more picky. We know
the economics of today but it is difficult to predict how it will be
in 2 or 4 years.

You can try and study salary statistics for 2yr/bachelor/master
at some salary site and do the math.

I believe that more education is better, so you should go for
bachelor preferably even a master.

But if circumstances does not allow it them 2 years are
certainly better than nothing.

Arne