Alright, I'm Taking Computer Programming As A Class In School.

[Punisher12 0]

Is there anything I should personally be worried about or anything I really need to know?I'm pretty much good with computers and such and pretty much spend my whole life on them, lol.

[Midori 0]

truely I think classes are uneeded especially if your paying if you are I consider getting your money back because you can learn everything on the internet now you don't need to go to class for it. but no there isn't anything really you need to be worried about and what you need to learn basicly the basics of C++ like operators of it, and the variables. I'm really into c++ i'm normally into php, ajax and html myself

[Punisher12 0]

You got me wrong man, this is a High School class. lol

[osknockout 0]

A high school class? Dude, don't worry. It shouldn't be that hard - though I wouldn't expect it to be easy if you're learning C/C++ (or at least, that's what I'd be assuming seeing that you posted in this forum section. Any clue what the syllabus is like?

 

@Punisher12: I'm not too sure about that. If you're looking for a job, a B.S. or master's looks pretty nice - unless you've made a major piece of software of course. :XD: Ajax ay? You mean the web page content reload thing or some language I don't know about?

[Codemaster Snake 0]

Programming need creatvity. You will need to be creative and logical while writing programs. These are two musts if you wanna be a good programmer.

[reconraiders 0]

Well since it is a highschool class I would just go on the internet and learn as much about what you're studying in class and then use it to get an easy A and make fun programs and show off a little bit. I learned everything I know from internet tutorials . I take programming classes in college now and I learn next to nothing from them. I am only taking them in order to get my degree. They are pretty much just easy A's :XD: Oh, and for Midori - I'm on a 100% scholarship, so I only pay for the books. And actually, the books are pretty useful

[Tetraca 0]

If you're good at math and solving equations and such, you'll be good at programming as it requires a lot of knowlege of math, especially trigonometry if you ever get into 3D programming. It will be much simpler with only 2D programming, but still, it requires knowlege of math. If using C, it might require a decent knowlege of computers, or memory management will be confusing to you. I prefer to not try and deal with memory management, and if progtramming applications it's just a hinderance. C++ does have memory mangement, but it's a bit harder to debug than Pascal or FreeBASIC.Please, don't take a course in Visual BASIC. VisualBASIC is an utter joke and a waste of your good time. It produces poor, bloated, non-cross platform applications.

[xpress 0]

C language is better. It is simple and easy to learn. And moreover it helps them learn basics of programming very easily. But be generic rather than technical. Teach them using real life simpleexamples like "calculating percentage" etc... which create some interest to them and also easy to understand. And I don't think concepts like Memory Management is not that much necessaryto high school students.

[gnitsuk 0]

Is there anything I should personally be worried about or anything I really need to know?
I'm pretty much good with computers and such and pretty much spend my whole life on them, lol.

Cool, stick with it. Programming is definately an art as much as a science. It's a wonderfully rich and varied area of study. I code for aliving using C,C++,C#,Flash,php,OpenGL,Durect X,DHTML etc

They're all great fun and varied in their styles and capabilities.

You'll be starting on a learning curve that will last decades.

The main thing to know is the following:

Whatever languages you learn, they will all have the same features (broadly speaking): Variables, functions, classes, ways of drawing graphics etc

Learn to program algorithms well - the languages are easy to pick up.

[dimumurray 0]

Cool, stick with it. Programming is definately an art as much as a science. It's a wonderfully rich and varied area of study. I code for aliving using C,C++,C#,Flash,php,OpenGL,Durect X,DHTML etc

 

They're all great fun and varied in their styles and capabilities.

 

You'll be starting on a learning curve that will last decades.

 

The main thing to know is the following:

 

Whatever languages you learn, they will all have the same features (broadly speaking): Variables, functions, classes, ways of drawing graphics etc

 

Learn to program algorithms well - the languages are easy to pick up.

That's some very solid advice there. Here's some more to add to it. If you're serious about pursuing a career as a programmer then you need to start building a library of technical reference materials -- primarily of the paper-based kind -- i.e. books. As great and as versatile as the net is when it comes to accessing information taking a bit of time to sit down with a book and assimilating its contents can prove just as worthwhile if not more so. Come to think of it reading technical texts can double as part of a fitness routine given that they tend to be pretty hefty .

A good introductory text for learning how to program standard algorithms is Introduction To Algorithms by Cohen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein. It's really a college level textbook and a high level of proficiency in algebraic math is assumed going in (even though the appendices cover much of the requisite knowledge) but it's as good a place to start as any. The algorithms in this book are presented in a generalized format so that they are applicable to pretty much any language you'll come across. Being as you're still in high-school this text may prove a bit difficult at first, especially if you're not used to reading technical texts but it will be well worth the effort.

[TerroR 0]

However stupid that may sound, but http://www.cplusplus.com/ is worth to have a look at.
It has some basic tutorials, as well as some reference manuals for different code includes.

I'm a high school student myself (yr 9, grade 9 or whatever you call it), and I've been programming since year 4. So, a friend who is very good with C++, or any programming language, is a MUST.
I also suggest looking at online training sites that provide problems for you to solve and post up the source code. USACO is one of those. I live in Australia, and I'm registered on this training site, which is quite good for pros and beginners. TopCoder is also a good one, but is harder.

Also, look for as many problems as you can find -- write programs and tools for online games, try challenging stuff.

PS: How i have studied:
*LOGO years 4-5
*Delphi years 4-9, and still studying
*C and C++ since year 7
*Assembly (MASM) since year 8
*PHP + SQL since year 8. Not really a language, but is a must for this hosting