Programmers - How'd you learn? - GoFuckYourself.com

FredIsMe · 02-03-2006, 07:10 AM

How did you learn to program? Books, school, guess and test?

(this goes for you to woj

)

grumpy · 02-03-2006, 07:18 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, 07:20 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, 07:21 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, 07:26 AM

Quote:

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, 07:27 AM

Quote:

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, 07:28 AM

trial by fire baby! that and a big fat book

MickeyG · 02-03-2006, 07:29 AM

Quote:

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, 07:51 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, 07:54 AM

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

FredIsMe · 02-03-2006, 08:00 AM

Quote:

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, 08:00 AM

Internet.com's Developer Channel

georgeyw · 02-03-2006, 08:02 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, 08:04 AM

Self taught 100%

Egomancer · 02-03-2006, 08:09 AM

Quote:

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, 08:09 AM

Started writing games when I was 11.

everestcash · 02-03-2006, 08:19 AM

guess and test, reading manuals and tutorials

keyDet79 · 02-03-2006, 08:20 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, 08:22 AM

Taught myself and then got my computer engineering Degree

darksoul · 02-03-2006, 08:23 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, 08:27 AM

Quote:

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, 08:33 AM

self study, ebooks and lots of research online

darksoul · 02-03-2006, 08:35 AM

Quote:

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, 08:47 AM

Quote:

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, 09:21 AM

Quote:

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, 09:28 AM

heredity, my dad was a l33t coder

mikeyddddd · 02-03-2006, 09:30 AM

Quote:

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, 10:09 AM

Quote:

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, 10:13 AM

Quote:

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, 10:13 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, 10:15 AM

http://perl.rjenk.com/

grumpy · 02-03-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

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, 10:18 AM

Quote:

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, 10:20 AM

Quote:

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, 10:24 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, 10:32 AM

six years of college.

Spider Ninja · 02-03-2006, 10:36 AM

Quote:

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, 10:41 AM

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

trial and error

Spider Ninja · 02-03-2006, 10:51 AM

Quote:

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, 11:04 AM

Quote:

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, 11:24 AM

Quote:

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, 11:27 AM

Quote:

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, 11:31 AM

Quote:

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, 11:42 AM

Quote:

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, 11:44 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, 11:48 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, 11:55 AM

Quote:

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, 11:56 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, 11:56 AM

combination of self taught/school/hobby...

High Plains Drifter · 02-03-2006, 12:19 PM

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)

02-03-2006, 07:10 AM	#1
FredIsMe So Fucking Banned Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Livin' in America Posts: 2,406	Programmers - How'd you learn? How did you learn to program? Books, school, guess and test? (this goes for you to woj )

02-03-2006, 07:18 AM	#2
grumpy Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Holland Posts: 9,870	hobby and then put a lot of nights in it. I have never met a good programmer that didnt start programming as a hobby. __________________ Don't let greediness blur your vision \| You gotta let some shit slide icq - 441-456-888

02-03-2006, 07:20 AM	#3
drjones Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 908	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. Last edited by drjones; 02-03-2006 at 07:22 AM..

02-03-2006, 07:54 AM	#10
Veterans Day Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Windy City Posts: 8,403	the first thing they learn is how to NOT meet deadlines and dissapear half way through finishing the project. __________________ Build a Massive Traffic Network, Hands FREE, Totally Automated

02-03-2006, 08:00 AM	#12
mikeyddddd Viva la vulva! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself Posts: 16,557	Internet.com's Developer Channel __________________ AdultStarProfits AmbyaCash AnilosCash AzianiGold ColdHardCash FlashTheMoney IdolBucks MediumPimpin NSCash Nubiles PussyCash ScoreCash Sextronix SpunkyCash TubeTitans Twistys

02-03-2006, 07:21 AM	#4
acctman Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Atlanta Posts: 2,840	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

02-03-2006, 07:28 AM	#7
MickeyG Confirmed User Join Date: May 2004 Location: South Florida Posts: 4,134	trial by fire baby! that and a big fat book

02-03-2006, 07:51 AM	#9
FredIsMe So Fucking Banned Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Livin' in America Posts: 2,406	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.

02-03-2006, 08:02 AM	#13
georgeyw 58008 53773 Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 9,864	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 __________________ TripleXPrint on Megan Fox "I would STILL suck her pussy until her face caved in. And then blow her up and do it again!"

02-03-2006, 08:04 AM	#14
StuartD Sofa King Band Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Outside the box Posts: 29,903	Self taught 100% __________________ This is me on facebook This is me on twitter

02-03-2006, 08:09 AM	#16
MrChips Confirmed User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,504	Started writing games when I was 11.

02-03-2006, 08:19 AM	#17
everestcash Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 2,194	guess and test, reading manuals and tutorials __________________ Got solo girls/teen traffic? Promote our exclusive solo girl sites and boost your income!

02-03-2006, 08:20 AM	#18
keyDet79 Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,109	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. __________________ Multihomed quality BW for less ICQ 51034232 - MSN [email protected] - Email keydet(at)vibehosting.com

02-03-2006, 08:22 AM	#19
Pete-KT Workin With The Devil Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: West Bloomfield, MI Posts: 51,532	Taught myself and then got my computer engineering Degree

02-03-2006, 08:23 AM	#20
darksoul Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: /root/ Posts: 4,997	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. __________________ 1337 5y54\|)m1n: 157717888 BM-2cUBw4B2fgiYAfjkE7JvWaJMiUXD96n9tN Cambooth

02-03-2006, 08:33 AM	#22
loverboy When it rains, it pours Industry Role: Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 20,609	self study, ebooks and lots of research online

02-03-2006, 09:28 AM	#26
Evil Doer Confirmed User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: ICQ: 251-911-362 Posts: 915	heredity, my dad was a l33t coder __________________ see sig above mine

02-03-2006, 10:13 AM	#30
ServerGenius Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 9,377	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. __________________ \| http://www.sinnerscash.com/ \| ICQ: 370820 \| Skype: SinnersCash \| AdultWhosWho \|

02-03-2006, 10:15 AM	#31
Spider Ninja Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: NYC ICQ: 320970274 Posts: 2,051	http://perl.rjenk.com/

02-03-2006, 10:24 AM	#35
Doc911 Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: If i was up your ass you'd know Posts: 3,695	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 __________________ For PHP/MySQL scripts ICQ 161480555 or email [email protected]

02-03-2006, 10:32 AM	#36
High Plains Drifter Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: ♠ ♣ ♥ Posts: 2,341	six years of college. __________________

02-03-2006, 10:41 AM	#38
u-Bob there's no $$$ in porn Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: icq: 195./568.-230 (btw: not getting offline msgs) Posts: 33,063	downloaded some code, modified some coded,... modified some more... read some tutorials, read some books... trial and error

02-03-2006, 11:44 AM	#45
studiocritic Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 2,442	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. __________________ 254342256

02-03-2006, 11:48 AM	#46
montythestrange Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NoCal Posts: 184	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 __________________ If you put instant coffee in the microwave, do you go back in time? DatingGold Rocks!

02-03-2006, 11:56 AM	#48
xroach Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: vancouver, bc Posts: 963	it all started with the gwbasic 3.3 manual that came with my first pc when i was a kid...

02-03-2006, 11:56 AM	#49
woj <&(©¿©)&> Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 47,882	combination of self taught/school/hobby... __________________ Custom Software Development, email: woj#at#wojfun#.#com to discuss details or skype: wojl2000 or gchat: wojfun or telegram: wojl2000 Affiliate program tools: Hosted Galleries Manager Banner Manager Video Manager Wordpress Affiliate Plugin Pic/Movie of the Day Fansign Generator Zip Manager

02-03-2006, 12:19 PM	#50
High Plains Drifter Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: ♠ ♣ ♥ Posts: 2,341	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) __________________