Absolute Beginners

Hi
Never tried any programming really. I wonder if one of you knowledgable people could explain a few basics to me . I remember from college (in the dim and distant) being taught about different programming languages and how some (assembler etc.) were more efficient than others (basic etc), even when compiled the lower level languages gave a much more efficient version of code for the machine to work with. Is this still the case with the much faster machines we all have nowadays? What I mean is, if someone wrote an app. in say, visual basic, someone else wrote the same in C++, when compiled, would the resulting code be any better? faster? in one or the other? if so, why is this? I would like to try my hand a this programming lark but I need to know which language to start learning for best, does it really matter which one you use nowadays, or will each, if used properly, give the same results. As you can see I know very little, please be gentle with me Guys, keep it simple eh?

Regards

For knocking up quick apps/prototyping I use VB.

For processor intensive tasks where speed is of the utmost importance I use C/C++.


My best advice m8 is to start with VB as it's very easy then move onto C/C++.


VB used to be very slow compared to C/C++ as it was compiled to PCODE which is a byte level interpretation of your program. It' still had to be processed by another interpreter during execut1on.

Nowadays it's compiled to a pure EXE but it still has a lot of baggage ... so in the majority of cases VB is slower than C/C++.

OK thanks for the advice m8. I'll give it a try when I get some time

Regards

Steve

Yo i'm 15 and im thinking of programming as a career but i dont
know where to start, have u got any ideas

Go to college/university and get a computing degree.

The IT market is really dead and people are only taking on people with a degree or oodles or experience.

As a first stage though ... learn VB then move on to C++.

Quote:

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Originally posted by twinny
Yo i'm 15 and im thinking of programming as a career but i dont
know where to start, have u got any ideas

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hi,
i suggest doing an a-level in maths, computer science based degrees are very maths intensive, play about with different languages, assembler, C++, VB, html, java, asp, etc as many as you can. The more flexible you with different languages the further you will go, i wanted to do a computer science degree but chose electronics/computers instead coz i felt i didnt have the maths background, you wont go far wrong in this field mate


take care

luigi

Hey Twinny, less of the Yo and more of the hello, try to get a grasp of the English language before you persue the others. the standards in this country are slipping and I, for one don't like it. Joking apart, communicate with RhinoBanga, he will sort you out re: programming. Always remember, as a young man, the elders who profess to know it all, don't. But they have seen it more times.
Good Luck Young Man

Thanks to everyone who has helped me!!!!. Do any of you know anysites where i can download programming help?, to give me a head start before i go to college!

Use google twinny - the net is full of programming help. Best advice as mentioned above - do the mathematics /computer science bit and go through the academic channels but don't be afraid of just delving into it and going through a few tutorials.

while i agree that vb is gud for knocking quick apps together i would go for C first before c++.

this is a personal thing but i found that C gives you a better feel for things before moving on to explore other languages

i don't really agree about the maths A level bit , a computer related course would be a good start tho.

also the only way to get better is to practice constantly - use the net (as suggested google will chuck up loadsa links) and also my preferred learning tool - READ BOOKS.

main thing is even if you think you are shite and haven't got a clue you've got to persevere - it will come in the end.