Programmers - How'd you learn?

**grumpy** · 02-03-2006, 05:18 AM

hobby and then put a lot of nights in it. I have never met a good programmer that didnt start programming as a hobby.

**drjones** · 02-03-2006, 05:20 AM

Combination of self-taught, and being thrown into programming project at a computer company i used to work for forced me up to speed really quick.

Soaked up all the knowledge I could from the experienced programmers around me all day, and would get home from work and read books till i passed out.

Any programmmer will tell you the easy part is learning the language. Learning HOW to program is the hard part. Once you learn to program, learning programming languages becomes trivial. Learning a language is like learning the alphabet... learning to program is like learning to write a novel.

**acctman** · 02-03-2006, 05:21 AM

get a book something that covers what you want to do. Example would be i wanted to create db's and store and retrieve info. I made sure the PHP/Mysql book i purchased covered that. Then google and php.net can help you with everything else. active programming forums are a great help when you get stuck with an error.

i made 3 scripts, my first time with php took about 1 1/2wk to do something that could of been done in a day but, i learned

**chupachups** · 02-03-2006, 05:26 AM

Originally posted by grumpy

hobby and then put a lot of nights in it. I have never met a good programmer that didnt start programming as a hobby.

Very true, at least for the real good ones.

**psili** · 02-03-2006, 05:27 AM

Originally posted by drjones

Combination of self-taught, and being thrown into programming project at a computer company i used to work for forced me up to speed really quick.

Soaked up all the knowledge I could from the experienced programmers around me all day, and would get home from work and read books till i passed out.

Any programmmer will tell you the easy part is learning the language. Learning HOW to program is the hard part. Once you learn to program, learning programming languages becomes trivial. Learning a language is like learning the alphabet... learning to program is like learning to write a novel.

Mostly what drjones said.
Self-taught.
Learned from more experienced others.
Forced consecutively more difficult projects on myself.
Used Google as a huge resource.
And have learned, that if the code looks funny, too complicated, etc. - it's probably done wrong. There's 50 ways from Sunday to do something, but the most elegant and simplistic approach is usually the best -- and like Drjones said, getting to that point is what's difficult. I'm always looking over old code I thought was good and scratching my head, thinking "WTF?"

**MickeyG** · 02-03-2006, 05:28 AM

trial by fire baby! that and a big fat book

**MickeyG** · 02-03-2006, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by psili

I'm always looking over old code I thought was good and scratching my head, thinking "WTF?"

I know that feeling!

**FredIsMe** · 02-03-2006, 05:51 AM

i personally dont feel books are the best for beginners, as they can be filled with errors and it is very difficult to unforget something.

Sites like http://www.php.net/ and http://devshed.com/ are great resources, and when someone has errors in their code you have thousands of nerds getting out their puffers so that they can lay down the law.

**Veterans Day** · 02-03-2006, 05:54 AM

the first thing they learn is how to NOT meet deadlines and dissapear half way through finishing the project.

**FredIsMe** · 02-03-2006, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by FredIsMe

i personally dont feel books are the best for beginners, as they can be filled with errors and it is very difficult to unforget something.

Sites like http://www.php.net/ and http://devshed.com/ are great resources, and when someone has errors in their code you have thousands of nerds getting out their puffers so that they can lay down the law.

error

- "unlearn" not "unforget"

**mikeyddddd** · 02-03-2006, 06:00 AM

Internet.com's Developer Channel

**georgeyw** · 02-03-2006, 06:02 AM

Started at uni and to be honest I spent more time stuffing around drinking than learning anything there. Only really started getting into coding when I started my sites - still wouldn't label myself a 'programmer'...just a weekend hack - programming is as boring as bat shit

**StuartD** · 02-03-2006, 06:04 AM

Self taught 100%

**Egomancer** · 02-03-2006, 06:09 AM

Originally posted by drjones

Combination of self-taught, and being thrown into programming project at a computer company i used to work for forced me up to speed really quick.

Soaked up all the knowledge I could from the experienced programmers around me all day, and would get home from work and read books till i passed out.

Any programmmer will tell you the easy part is learning the language. Learning HOW to program is the hard part. Once you learn to program, learning programming languages becomes trivial. Learning a language is like learning the alphabet... learning to program is like learning to write a novel.

I subscribe 100%

Egomancer

**MrChips** · 02-03-2006, 06:09 AM

Started writing games when I was 11.

**everestcash** · 02-03-2006, 06:19 AM

guess and test, reading manuals and tutorials

**keyDet79** · 02-03-2006, 06:20 AM

Some Basic at home as a hobby, then Pascal and Delphi (which is basically visual pascal) during first year of education, C++ and Visual Basic during 2nd year. I can't say I could code at a professional level but I was ok, by now several years later I forgot all those languages since I never used them (apart from some small hacks and progs I did at home for fun in Delphi) and can now I only code in PHP. I can't say I learned those languages at school but it gave me a start and I followed. I dropped c++ and basic as soon as I quit school.

PHP is self taught because I needed it for my profession and a few projects I did a few years ago. I now know PHP better than I ever did Basic, Pascal and C++. Although Borland's Delphi was the most fun to code in, more advanced than Visual Basic, almost as powerful as C++ and much faster to code in than Microsoft's Visual C++ or Visual Basic. I wouldn't want to work as a professional coder though, with any language.

**Pete-KT** · 02-03-2006, 06:22 AM

Taught myself and then got my computer engineering Degree

**darksoul** · 02-03-2006, 06:23 AM

most PHP coders have no idea what programming is.
They just copy and paste parts of code and glue them together.
And thats 99% of gfy self taught programmers.

**keyDet79** · 02-03-2006, 06:27 AM

Originally posted by darksoul

most PHP coders have no idea what programming is.
They just copy and paste parts of code and glue them together.
And thats 99% of gfy self taught programmers.

Correct term for those is script kiddies. You can't learn how to program without going to school for it first. They teach you how to do projects, work in a team, debug, create manuals for your software, etc, etc. You can't learn that on the internet.

**loverboy** · 02-03-2006, 06:33 AM

self study, ebooks and lots of research online

**darksoul** · 02-03-2006, 06:35 AM

Originally posted by keyDet79

You can't learn how to program without going to school for it first. They teach you how to do projects, work in a team, debug, create manuals for your software, etc, etc. You can't learn that on the internet.

Thats debatable.

Problem is, theres no such thing as PHP programmer. Like already stated in this
thread, if you "know" PHP and have no clue how to do the same thing in C
you're far from a programmer.

**StuartD** · 02-03-2006, 06:47 AM

Originally posted by keyDet79

You can't learn how to program without going to school for it first. They teach you how to do projects, work in a team, debug, create manuals for your software, etc, etc. You can't learn that on the internet.

Really? Then I guess I shouldn't have been getting paid to do all that stuff for the past 6 years.

**keyDet79** · 02-03-2006, 07:21 AM

Originally posted by NichePay - StuartD

Really? Then I guess I shouldn't have been getting paid to do all that stuff for the past 6 years.

What kind of stuff do you do?

**Evil Doer** · 02-03-2006, 07:28 AM

heredity, my dad was a l33t coder

**mikeyddddd** · 02-03-2006, 07:30 AM

Originally posted by darksoul

most PHP coders have no idea what programming is.
They just copy and paste parts of code and glue them together.

Anybody can write a program. That does not make them a programmer.

**keyDet79** · 02-03-2006, 08:09 AM

Originally posted by NichePay - StuartD

Really? Then I guess I shouldn't have been getting paid to do all that stuff for the past 6 years.

Either way whatever you do, you do it the way you want to, with your own touch to it. Something I have always done, because I prefered it and was used to it, was writing spaghetti code, as long as I was able to read and understand it myself. It's something school has changed for me, it has changed the ways I write code now.

Self taught coders usually (not always offcourse) don't code in a corporate way, industry standard, however you want to call it. I myself can usually see the difference when a professional educated programmer writes something, and a self-taught programmer (who can be better and more experienced than the other, I agree) writes the same thing. It's just different.

**fuzebox** · 02-03-2006, 08:13 AM

Originally posted by keyDet79

Correct term for those is script kiddies. You can't learn how to program without going to school for it first. They teach you how to do projects, work in a team, debug, create manuals for your software, etc, etc. You can't learn that on the internet.

ok... Sounds like someone's bitter that their CompSci degree has gotten them nowhere.

Self taught here too, got my first full time job as a programmer at a dotcom at 17.

**ServerGenius** · 02-03-2006, 08:13 AM

for php + mysql it's really simple. Read chapter 7 of the MySQL manual 3 times
throroughly. Read the functions of php + comments on www.php.net 5 times
very thoroughly......start programing, slowly get better.

Don't forget before you start to write/draw what you want to accomplish.
Start moving the elements around as long as it takes to get the simplest
most efficient design of the code.....a good program design is the most
important part of it all.

With bigger projects try to build a core part surrounded with modules. This way
you keep things simple and flexible. If you want to add functionality you just
can build a new module that interfaces with the core part of the code.
This way you don't have alter the whole software.

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 08:15 AM

http://perl.rjenk.com/

**grumpy** · 02-03-2006, 08:17 AM

Originally posted by keyDet79

Either way whatever you do, you do it the way you want to, with your own touch to it. Something I have always done, because I prefered it and was used to it, was writing spaghetti code, as long as I was able to read and understand it myself. It's something school has changed for me, it has changed the ways I write code now.

Self taught coders usually (not always offcourse) don't code in a corporate way, industry standard, however you want to call it. I myself can usually see the difference when a professional educated programmer writes something, and a self-taught programmer (who can be better and more experienced than the other, I agree) writes the same thing. It's just different.

I never met a programmer who had just learned it from shool and was realy good . You can only be a good programmer if you have the passion for it. There might be an exception but i have never met them. And i have done some projects for major companies.

**jjjay** · 02-03-2006, 08:18 AM

Originally posted by mikeyddddd

Anybody can write a program. That does not make them a programmer.

10 PRINT "I am a leet programmer"
20 GOTO 10

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 08:20 AM

Originally posted by jjjay

10 PRINT "I am a leet programmer"
20 GOTO 10

here's the perl version:

Code:

while (1) {
    print "hAx0rZ rOcK\n";
}

**Doc911** · 02-03-2006, 08:24 AM

I just found programming to be a natural talent. Its more of a thought process than learning. I discovered my ability while taking a fortran 77 class way back in college. since then just about any programming language seems easy once I know the syntax

**High Plains Drifter** · 02-03-2006, 08:32 AM

six years of college.

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 08:36 AM

Originally posted by skinnywussy

six years of college.

hey yo...bump for sacto

I used to live on H Street downtown.

Sorry...off topic...carry on

**u-Bob** · 02-03-2006, 08:41 AM

downloaded some code, modified some coded,... modified some more... read some tutorials, read some books...

trial and error

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 08:51 AM

Originally posted by FredIsMe

i personally dont feel books are the best for beginners, as they can be filled with errors and it is very difficult to unforget something.

OReilly's cookbooks are great...you can cut and paste what you need, then tweak it. Want to open a file? See file access, want to process every word in a file, see file contents, want to count the number of words, see hashes...works for me

Number one thing to understand: regular expressions

**FredIsMe** · 02-03-2006, 09:04 AM

Originally posted by Spider Ninja

OReilly's cookbooks are great...you can cut and paste what you need, then tweak it. Want to open a file? See file access, want to process every word in a file, see file contents, want to count the number of words, see hashes...works for me

Number one thing to understand: regular expressions

Not too shabby

**jjjay** · 02-03-2006, 09:24 AM

Originally posted by Spider Ninja

http://perl.rjenk.com/

bookmarked. thanks

anything like this for php?

also considering learning windows programming, but not sure what's best to start with?

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by FredIsMe

Not too shabby

Thanks bro, for things you can't find in the cookbook, check comp.lang.perl.misc but, they can be very rough on newcomers, so have a thick skin if you post.

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 09:31 AM

Originally posted by jjjay

bookmarked. thanks

anything like this for php?

also considering learning windows programming, but not sure what's best to start with?

yeah...that's massive

I found the php help that comes when you download it to your pc very good.

Wish I knew Windows Programming and never did learn C...

Oh well, Perl/PHP still makes me happy

**High Plains Drifter** · 02-03-2006, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by Spider Ninja

hey yo...bump for sacto

I used to live on H Street downtown.

Sorry...off topic...carry on

nice, I just got here last week... I don't know H Street from Preperation H at this point...

**studiocritic** · 02-03-2006, 09:44 AM

if you understand programming basics, the php.net manual will more than suffice.

i learned vb for windows development a decade before i ever tried php, and while they're not similar at all, you learn core skills like if-then-else, loops, etc.

check out phpriot.com, devshed.com, etc.

stay away from php books, i havent seen a single one that didnt teach people to code HORRIBLY wrong.

**montythestrange** · 02-03-2006, 09:48 AM

started programming as a hobby -- tried learning C on my own (Learn to program C in 21 days -- yeah, right)... and then i got into php with books and online resources. I didn't fully understand the benefits of OOP until i learned the principals in college, and didn't use a debugger or profiler until I went to college -- now I can't really live without them

**Spider Ninja** · 02-03-2006, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by skinnywussy

nice, I just got here last week... I don't know H Street from Preperation H at this point...

I love Sacto, even when it is super hot, you still catch the delta breezes at night. I know adult.com operates out of there. Plus only 80 minutes to SF

**xroach** · 02-03-2006, 09:56 AM

it all started with the gwbasic 3.3 manual that came with my first pc when i was a kid...

**woj** · 02-03-2006, 09:56 AM

combination of self taught/school/hobby...

**High Plains Drifter** · 02-03-2006, 10:19 AM

The greatest programming languages OF ALL TIME

1. C (stood the test of time, still the go-to language for mission critical firmware and software)
2. C++ (desktop application language of choice)
3. php/perl (the web is built on these)
4. Java (had a good run but I think its coming to an end)
5. C# (new kid on the block that makes programming way too easy... what java should have been... [go mono!])
6. Assembly (sometimes you need really fine control)
.
.
.
743. Visual Basic (great for weekend warriors)

Programmers - How'd you learn?

Programmers - How'd you learn?

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment