Weblog entry #1 for brittdun
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If anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Brittany
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Asking how to create programs is like asking how to create paintings - it is a hard process that'll take a lot of time and effort and cannot be taught reliably by other people.
The best way to start would be to think of a single, simple, task that you'd like to accomplish. Then break that down into simple steps and consider how you'd automate them.
If you can do that then several languages (which you don't even touch upon) could be used - especailly the scripted languages such as perl, python, or ruby. They're interactive enough that they'll not distract you too much from actually accomplishing your task.
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Honestly, I have no clue where I'd like to start, what function I'd like the program to do. I guess, I'm just thinking of something basic, like adding numbers or showing a date or something when a button is clicked. I guess that'll get me started. Then from there I can do more complex things once I understand the basics.
Brittany
SimplyMepis 7, KDE 3.5.8, Evolution, Firefox
2.6.22-1-mepis-smp
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As soon as you start talking about "buttons" you up the ante into graphical programming. Things like VB aren't available except on Windows..
Having said that perhaps Javascript + HTML might be a good way to start - they let you create buttons on webpages, and run code when they're clicked.
A lot of people think javascript isnt "real" programming, but I don't agree. If you manage to write simple code then that would be useful if you later wanted to try something non-webbased.
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http://gambas.sourceforge.net/
I have it installed but when I try to run it via Run nothing happens. When I run it via konsole I see an error - segmentation fault. I wish I knew how to fix that. I've uninstalled and reinstalled it. No change.
Brittany
SimplyMepis 7, KDE 3.5.8, Evolution, Firefox
2.6.22-1-mepis-smp
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Interesting, I didn't know of that. Are there any bug reports about the problem? If not I'd suggest submitting one.
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If you want to pay money then there is RealBASIC, I've not used it, but I'm told the Mac version is very good.
If you want to learn something quickly then JavaScript is very good little language once you get away from the early rubbish that was often written. It's also nice as you get the GUI for free from the browser so it's not too steep a learning curve.
However, Steve is correct you need a problem to create a challenge that you can get your teeth into. I'd be tempted to start with a non-GUI scripting language like Shell, Perl, Python or Ruby, of which I like Perl but to each their own.
--
"It's Not Magic, It's Work"
Adam
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Brittany
SimplyMepis 7, KDE 3.5.8, Evolution, Firefox
2.6.22-1-mepis-smp
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Lurking round here is also a good idea.
I'd strongly suggest "The Debian System" book if you want to know how Debian works, it's a very good book, though possibly not the very best for absolute beginners. See my review: http://www.debian-administration.org/users/ajt/weblog/81
If you want to learn some basic shell scripting a good book is "Learning the Bash Shell": http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/bash3/
After that it depends what kind of thing you want to learn. There are more advanced scripting type languages - the so called dynamic languages - like Perl, Python and Ruby, those are easy to get into and useful, then there are the more traditional static languages like c, c++ and Java. Each type has it's uses a lot depends on what you want to do.
--
"It's Not Magic, It's Work"
Adam
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