Becoming a programmer

[SUCCESSOR]

First, read this book. If you hate it, you won't enjoy programming. Then read this book, and if you want to die, you won't enjoy programming.

Those seem to be exceptionally terrible examples. Those books are guarenteed to bore and frustrate you. The former is not even a very good introduction book. The latter is a great book to have and study (and possibly required for a course) but you don't have to drudge through the whole thing before learning a Programming Language.

I say pick the language you are interested in and do a few tutorials online before investing in a book you may never use that has a terrible resale value. I suggest something newer and not C(C++) or something like that. (I personally have failed to teach myself C++ for nearly 10 years, mostly due to lack of discipline and consistent interest.)

It has come to my attention that Mega Man Zero is a lot like what I described. I suppose I should play that.

Mega Man ZX has also been described as a Metroidvania type game. Unfortunately, I haven't played either. I'd really like to. I wish I still had my DS or GBA. Well, I still have my GBA but it doesn't charge.

[Beldaran]

Those seem to be exceptionally terrible examples. Those books are guarenteed to bore and frustrate you.

They are good books for someone who wants to develop a professional level of skill. The contents of those books will be a substantive part of actual job interview questions, and they provide an intellectual foundation for the practical craft of software development.

I did not say he had to master every concept on every page, but that he should test the depth of his interest and aptitude by reading them.

I personally have failed to teach myself C++ for nearly 10 years

Then maybe you shouldn't be giving programming career advice to Anthony.

[SUCCESSOR]

They are good books for someone who wants to develop a professional level of skill. The contents of those books will be a substantive part of actual job interview questions, and they provide an intellectual foundation for the practical craft of software development.

I did not say he had to master every concept on every page, but that he should test the depth of his interest and aptitude by reading them.

Then maybe you shouldn't be giving programming career advice to Anthony.

I wasn't denying the content of those books or the value of some of your advice. In fact, I agree with most of it. I disagree with the books you recommend he read through to determine if he will be fit for a programming career. Those books are guaranteed to make anyone miserable. Students have been tortured by that algorithm book and ones like it for ages. Yes, you do need firm understanding of the subject matter of those books. 90% of people will not make it through those books on their own even if the subject is interest. The first one promises teaching Objects to an absolute beginner but that is not a something a beginner can or should grasp without already having a firm grasp on a lot of basics. Based on a couple reviews it sounds like the book is also scattered and quite dull in it's approach. Sam's or Dummies books are very good at covering the basics for absolute beginners(so good Anthony might have to skim a few chapters to get started) but they also do so in a interesting manner. A little bit of humor helps get you through some of the incredibly dull content you need to absorb when learning programming.

I also wasn't giving professional advice. I was sharing my experience to make the point that I may have gotten a lot farther if I chose to learn another language on my own. Most programmer recommend people don't start with C or C++ and instead pick a language with less of a learning barrier. I was suggesting internet tutorials because they are free and they give you the chance to see how the language works and get some interactive experience with it. Plus, he might be able to invest in a book that covers much more of the language since it doesn't have to spend the first half covering the basics of programming. As you, gleeok, and others have said to have a job in programming you need all those skills and knowledge, but as someone who is wondering about getting into programming and if such and such language is for them they don't need it right now. This isn't the early 90's you don't need to know C to be a programmer(though it obviously helps a lot).

My advice(from a non professional programmer as Belderan pointedly noted): Find out if you like the language you are going to be learning before investing in the goal and materials to work with it.

There is an Algorithms course on Coursera but it, like most algorithm courses/books, recommends a basic understanding of a programming language. This one happens to be Java.

[Din]

I'd argue that the most important part of programming, as others have pointed out, is just that - programming. Set some goals and personal projects for yourself, and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Many introductory books have exercises that the reader can do to practice, and they're usually excellent for first getting your feet off the ground.

If you want to get a feel for it, I'd say a good first step would be to focus less on the object oriented side of things and more on the core programming basics. That is, take a good long time to familiarize yourself with things such as variables, control flows, loops, methods, and arrays. Start off with simpler tasks (such as, say, a program that counts the number of words and characters in a file), and gradually work up to more complex exercises and situations involving these basics. If it doesn't grab you by then, honestly, it probably won't later on. But if it does, then you'll probably find yourself enjoying it later on as well, and that's usually a good time to look into the more intermediate things such as pointers, recursion, data structures, algorithms, and object oriented programming.