I just started programming about a month ago. I've started learning
Ruby, C++, and Java just to get a feel for languages. I'm really liking
ruby but I'm getting bored of doing super basic programs.(No more Hello
World's) At the same time I'm totally lost when looking at any of the
code snippets posted on this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions for getting better/more familiar without taking a class(I'm
going to take one next semester at school)
You could always read through Chris Pine's 'Learn to Program'. Its an
introductory
programming book with the examples in Ruby. Now in second edition, from
Pragmatic Press.
Richard.
···
On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 6:37 AM, Jon Kupe <jon.kuperman@gmail.com> wrote:
I just started programming about a month ago. I've started learning
Ruby, C++, and Java just to get a feel for languages. I'm really liking
ruby but I'm getting bored of doing super basic programs.(No more Hello
World's) At the same time I'm totally lost when looking at any of the
code snippets posted on this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions for getting better/more familiar without taking a class(I'm
going to take one next semester at school)
(1) Get a good basic book on the language you are learning (for Ruby,
I like Programming Ruby [1.9] by Dave Thomas), both to read through
linearly and to use as a reference,
(2) Get things to try to do that are more involved than "Hello World",
but where what you need to do is fairly well defined; some of the
quizzes from the various incarnations of Ruby Quiz work for this --
and there are some similar things on the web that aren't Ruby
specific; if you can find descriptions of basic algorithms (Wikipedia
is a decent enough starting point for these), implementing them in the
language you are trying to learn can help you get a feel for the
language,
(3) Figure out something you'd like to do for yourself, and try to
build it a piece at a time.
···
On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 10:37 PM, Jon Kupe <jon.kuperman@gmail.com> wrote:
I just started programming about a month ago. I've started learning
Ruby, C++, and Java just to get a feel for languages. I'm really liking
ruby but I'm getting bored of doing super basic programs.(No more Hello
World's) At the same time I'm totally lost when looking at any of the
code snippets posted on this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions for getting better/more familiar without taking a class(I'm
going to take one next semester at school)
Loads of problems with (and without) implementations in the languages
you're learning and tons of others. You can write solutions without
looking at code already posted and compare.
···
At 2009-09-24 01:37AM, "Jon Kupe" wrote:
I just started programming about a month ago. I've started learning
Ruby, C++, and Java just to get a feel for languages. I'm really liking
ruby but I'm getting bored of doing super basic programs.(No more Hello
World's) At the same time I'm totally lost when looking at any of the
code snippets posted on this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions for getting better/more familiar without taking a class(I'm
going to take one next semester at school)
--
Glenn Jackman
Write a wise saying and your name will live forever. -- Anonymous
I just started programming about a month ago. I've started learning
Ruby, C++, and Java just to get a feel for languages. I'm really liking
ruby but I'm getting bored of doing super basic programs.(No more Hello
World's) At the same time I'm totally lost when looking at any of the
code snippets posted on this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions for getting better/more familiar without taking a class(I'm
going to take one next semester at school)
Hey! You should take a look at Shoes. It's a ruby-based domain specific language for GUIs. It's tremendously rewarding for a beginner to see the effects of their work visually, and Shoes is perfect as it is made with beginners in mind, so it's not too hard to use.
It comes with a nice, built-in manual, which you can read to get an idea of use, and lots of sample apps. The shoebox website also has many apps that others have made and posted, so that's a good source, and there are also many tutorials around the web for shoes. It's simple to get started with, but you can go pretty far with it, very far beyond "super basic programs" if you need to. Just come up with ideas for desktop programs, a simple game perhaps, and start figuring out how to make it with the built-in manual.
The shoes community is quite active, and helpful, and I think it's a great start for programmers. In fact, a couple of people have done "Introduction to Programming" classes to kids using Shoes, because it's fun and generates a lot of interest, and isn't too difficult to get started. Have fun!
- Ehsan
···
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Thanks a lot. I just ordered that book. I've been doing more complex
things then hello world. I've just been coming up with idea's and
executing them. For example I did a salary calculator where I enter a
salary and then it puts it in an income tax bracket and shows you
monthly pay after taxes. I've been doing a lot of things like that, i'm
just running out of idea's and having a hard time motivating myself to
think of more app ideas. These books sound great and I think they are my
next step.
(2) Get things to try to do that are more involved than "Hello World",
but where what you need to do is fairly well defined; some of the
quizzes from the various incarnations of Ruby Quiz work for this --
and there are some similar things on the web that aren't Ruby
specific; if you can find descriptions of basic algorithms (Wikipedia
is a decent enough starting point for these), implementing them in the
language you are trying to learn can help you get a feel for the
language,
For example,this site holds the first 156 quizzes: http://rubyquiz.com/
(there are a couple other subsequent ruby quiz sites - I'm not sure
what number we're up to now.)
Examples of quizzes that might be suitable for beginners:
(Warning, if you scroll down too far on the page, you will see the
solutions listed!)
I forgot to mention a couple things earlier. You could check out Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby. It's a book that has been the reason for many people falling in love with the language. It's somewhat eccentric, but very well written and fun. Why was the creator of Shoes to, you should know. Here's the book: http://cloud.github.com/downloads/devyn/shoes-web/whys-poignant-guide-to-ruby.pdf
Another fun thing you can do for programming in general is automation of different things. Using AutoIt V3 ( http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/index.shtml ) for windows automation, if you have a windows machine anywhere, can be extremely fun. It was my start in programming. It was really fun for me because I was automating the playing of online text-based MMORPGs, but you can do all sorts of stuff. And it's a treat to see your computer act out real user movements that you've programmed it to, like seeing a car running a race track without a driver!
Anyways, I'll end with a piece of totally unsolicited advice: You should always have fun when programming. Well, sure, sometimes it's a pain, but it should be fun overall at least. So try to find the most fun things you can do and go for it. Just learning a language without applying it in a fun way can get boring very fast, unless you have some other deep motivation to learn programming.
I just wanted to say thank you for everyones great responses. This is by
far the best forum experience that I have ever had. I ordered a couple
books, and started using a few of the mentioned programs. Everything is
going along really well.
