wannabe7

I understand that trying to learn a programming language takes a lot of dedication, time, and energy. But there's some times when I feel like I will never get there (meaning where I want to be). I've been really busy lately and so I haven't had a lot of time to focus on practicing. the less I practice, the less I want to practice. I know that I need to stay consistent but I don't know how I can...

Do you have a certain way that you study/practice which makes it more understandable and fun? At what point am I really getting somewhere? From your perspective, what is the hardest part about learning a language? I would especially like advice from people who independently learned it themselves so I could feel better about my chances. Thank you.

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Aspiring Game Designer

Sane

> Do you have a certain way that you study/practice which makes it more understandable and fun?

When I was starting off, I always programmed every little thing that sprung to my imagination. Usually the task would be something above my current skill level. For example, little things like "Conway's Game Of Life", Tetris, hash tables, programming challenges, etc... This would allow me to set goals, keep things fun, work towards my goals, gain a sense of achievement, and consequently advance in steady increments. Setting nearby goals helps solidify what you know, and lets you visually see that you are accomplishing something. I've never stopped having fun programming, because I have never stopped this style of self-teaching.


> At what point am I really getting somewhere?

You are getting somewhere as soon as you place your hands on the keyboard. However, you are inhibiting yourself as soon as you start trying to set long-term goals, without reaching your short-term goals first. Don't get anxious waiting to learn what you don't yet know. Instead, have fun with what you do know. If you think about your progress in that way, you will know without a shred of doubt that you are getting somewhere.


> From your perspective, what is the hardest part about learning a language?

I'm not sure. My brain is definitely more logical than anything, so I've always felt like I've understood how to write code. The hardest parts for me would be certain specifics of the language, such as pointers and lambda functions. There's also the object-oriented paradigm, which is a more general aspect of programming that I've considered to be difficult when learning how to write in certain languages. As long as you write code, all the rest should come naturally, given you are a strong logical thinker.

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Composing Techno is a little side hobby of mine. Techno by DJ Sane. All free for download.

Jabo

My biggest motivating factor is working at Wendy's. This is cruel and unjust punishment and I don't ever want to return to it. Whenever I start to slack, I just say, wth, I can always work at Wendy's.

I haven't eat Wendy's since I worked there. And I fear if I don't do well with programming, I may run out of restaurants to eat at.

mrynit

lyrics from this song http://youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_FOCE6I

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i dont know much about programming but i try to help

Freaky Chris

This won't help you keep you motivate as such but listening to music when programming and learning ot program is a great idea. When you are looking at things and thinking it makes no sense or what ever you tend to give in after a certain period of time. But when your listening to music you sort of relax and just thing about whats going on better and end up coming to a solution to the problem without even knowning.

imo Music is a must for programming. xD

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Steven Skiena - Algorithms

,[->+>+<<]>>[-<<+>>]>++++++++[-<++++++++>]<+[-<->]>+<<[[-]+++++++++++++++.[-]>]>>[+++++++++.[-]],
brainf**k -- It's such a pretty language

Grich

This is my motivation: give yourself random projects, whenever I'm board, I write in this book random projects (eg a Sexagesimal calculator) (so far I have hundreds of random projects). It is also full of projects I see on the internet that I see that are good for me to experiment with(eg an emulator). The trick really is to have fun.

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SYNTAX ERROR ...

Jabo

That seems to be my biggest problem Grich, thinking up things to create. When the mood strikes/I have time to program, I sit there wondering what I want to do.

Grich

Look for things in the Maths field, eg prime numbers, fractals etc. There are so many cool things out there that you can do in the maths field.

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SYNTAX ERROR ...

BstrucT

Learning by yourself can be a bit daunting at times and it is often neccesary to gain external influence.
This forums have helped me a lot with programming techniques and ideas.
I don't have any friends that are interisted in programming, just an uncle who used to do database warehousing(SQL I think, till he was bout 60!), so this forum has done a great for me in terms of inspiration and staying positive.

After my first "hello world" in C I had an idea to write a C app for my girlfriend to work out her shift allowance where she worked, and it could accomadate for lunch breaks and everything I tell you. That was great, but even better now looking back.

I think that learning to program is quite a steep learning curve for some(like me), but that's what makes it worth while won't you say.

>BstrucT<

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"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein