how did u guys learn how to program? which method of learning is best? when should i start learning how to program if i want to make games as my career?how should i learn?please tell me how u got to where u are in programing today. did i ask too many questions?

I learned all I know from resources such as Gamedev.net, Flipcode.com and good ol'' google.

There is no best method of learning, just read all you can, and don''t get discouraged when some people are rude to you when you ask questions. If you need help, just look it up. If you can''t find anything, ask. Some people will flame, others will be helpful. Sooner or later, you''ll get the hang of it.

It really doesn''t matter when you start learning, as long as you can comprehend the language(s) you use and have at least some understanding of how computers work.

I got where I am at by working hard and learning harder. The programs I wrote teaching myself C++ along with the websites I have done (Mostly for myself or friends) got me the job I have today.

No, you did not ask too many questions, although someone out there will probably disagree. This is a beginners forum, after all.

Good luck with your career choice.


DracosX:

Master of the General Protection Fault

Hiya halo2, welcome. Well I can't speak for others but I started by reading the For Beginers link at the top of the page. Asked questions when I ran into something that didn't make sense and wrote as many small programs as I could drum up. Like anything else practice is the only way to really get it. As for when should you start? RIGHT NOW! It is never to early to learn. So if you have the time and desire why wait. How should you learn? Read the above articles to get a footing, get a compiler (plenty of free ones out there if cash is an issue) and start doing tutorials. How did I get where I am? One word "practice". You can never practice enough. And no you didn't ask too many questions. Good luck and hopefully we will all be playing one of your games soon.


GRELLIN

Good luck!

[edited by - grellin on May 10, 2002 1:40:30 AM]

quote: Original post by halo2
how did u guys learn how to program?

I learned how to program by spending many hours writing code and seeing what it did. I copied other people''s programs and changed parts, to see how the changes would take effect. I tried to understand why other people had written their programs the way they had. In short, I learned how to program by both programming and studying programs. Of course, I didn''t think of it like that at the time, I was just having fun playing with a computer. And that''s important, if you want to learn how to program, try to make sure you are having fun.

quote:
which method of learning is best?

I guess what I said: by programming and studying programs. But there are, of course, many ways to approach that. Make sure the way you do it suits you. Lots of people will tell you, say, to learn VB, then C, then C++, etc, and they will probably be telling you that because that''s how they did it. It''s a common conjecture that the way oneself learned to program is *the* way to learn to program.

Personally, I''d recommend Python as a good place to start. It allows quick feedback between writing some code and seeing what that code does.

quote:
when should i start learning how to program if i want to make games as my career?

Now. But don''t restrict yourself to games. They''re not the only interesting programs out there (yes, yes, I know this is a game programming site).

quote:
how should i learn?

However you like.

quote:
please tell me how u got to where u are in programing today. did i ask too many questions?

No, you didn''t ask too many questions. I got to where I am in programming by being incredibly enthusiastic - probably obsessed - with everything to do with programming. If you have that enthusiasm, the rest will come.

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