Complete programming noob

[fullmetal84]

As for book recommendations, sorry, I don't have anything I could recommend.

[Adrir]

GameDev.net has a comprehensive selection of books and reviews. Check out the For Beginners section in particular.

[Phosphorblind]

I started getting into programming with PHP. It is fairly easy, and especially fun to test out. Programming PHP for the web does not differ from windows programming a lot, and in my opinion, once you know one language well, you can adapt your knowledge on other languages fairly easy and quick. There might be different syntax, and different classes, but you can learn that quick.

What really matters that you understand the concepts of object orientated programming, know how to use conditional arguments, loops, classes and functions,... The rest really is pure learning of function names and what they do.

In no case I would start programming in a framework. A lot of books out there teach you how to program windows with Visual studio and the .NET framework. Dont! It is important to know how to create everything yourself from scratch.

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by Phosphorblind

It is important to know how to create everything yourself from scratch.

Since when? Which level of scratch? Are we talking about building compilers out of assembly or writing a random number generators and data structures manually?

[yaustar]

Originally Posted by Phosphorblind

It is important to know how to create everything yourself from scratch.

Again, since when? 'Why reinvent the wheel?' You should understand how things should be used and how they work but you don't have to recreate everything you use.

Libraries like the .NET framework, C++ Standard Library exist because they were written by many experts of the language and domain which are faster and more robust then what the average programmer can do.

When you drive a car, do you need to know how it works under the bonnet? When you use a computer, do you need to know how the components interact with each other? When you use PHP, do you need to know how the server works that parses it?

[LizC]

@Freaky:

Here's my best advice for learning any sort of programming from a book or any textbook without any tutorial or personal direction.

Take a list of books you think you are interested in getting (my favorite place to look for books is on gamedev.net) going to a Barnes and Noble or Borders or whichever local library and spending a few hours looking through the books. See how easy it is for you to read and comprehend what the authors are trying to teach you.

We all have different learning styles, which also means different ways we need to be taught. The books will have different ways to teach, you just need to find the one that best fits you. So, if you can't get through the first chapter without passing out from boredom or pulling your hair out trying to figure out what they are saying, it's not the book for you.

Hope this helps!

[The Jazz]

I read and recommend C++ for Dummies. The writing style is very friendly and non-intimidating, and I just think they did a good job getting the stuff across to those who don't know programming/C++.