Programming???

[BigClemsonFan]

I need to take a programming course and need some advice. Some recommendations that have been made to me are C, C++, FORTRAN, or MATLAB. In the course catalogs for schools in this area the classes are mostly for Java programming. Are they related to the aforementioned examples? Is it possible I can learn Matlab or C++ programming with a interactive tutorial or a book? I'd appreciate any recommendations if you have any.

Thanks.

 

[fastpakr]

I'd run with either C++ or Java.

 

[Mark_88]

If you've never done any programming it may be more difficult to take on a course using tutorials...unless you've got a good study plan and are determined...

Not familiar with MATLAB but did a C++ course many years ago...I guess it would depend somewhat on why you are taking the course...and where that will lead...

I would say C++ because it is a easy to learn (not as basic as C) and does lead to bigger things if you wish to...or Visual Basic(NET)...which is also considered fairly easy to learn....but, again, depends on where it's going...

Visual Basic on Wiki

 

[Psychopete]

Hard to say where the best place to start would be. I started with languages that we're not object oriented back in '89.

I'd hate to tell you just right into C++ if you've never written a line of code, it might be a little over bearing. There's also a lot that can be done in C, especially in Linux. That would be a good start, it can do multithreading and if you use linked lists, that would be a good exercise in learning to malloc and free your own memory. It's hard to learn something without difficult goals that are applied to something real world. Internships are a good thing to get your feet wet if you can find a good company. IMO, experience is critical in this field. Once you get comfortable with many languages, new languages will come easier.

I am doing mostly web development now, I haven't done anything in a real programming language in a while. Sometimes there are a few odd ball projects that come in. Last I did was a 3 phase monitoring project that I had to cross compile the code to run on a Power PC. But frequently, I'll have to script in Perl, write some Javascript, write a little HTML/CSS, then get into some ASP, spend some time on database design, etc, etc. I've done some .NET as well, C# is pretty much a mix of C and Java. I try to stay away from VB/.NET and ASP as much as possible. But they are easy to understand.

I see Java jobs everywhere. The reason they're probably constantly looking for someone is that they might be having trouble finding someone to maintain the big heaping pile. This is called a WTF. Personally, I hate Java. There is too much over head, it's too slow and sometimes you can run into some strange bugs.

Pete

 

[BigClemsonFan]

Thanks for the input guys. Sounds like I need to find a place to take C++ classes. This doesn't seem like it's an easy thing to learn from a tutorial.

 

[fastpakr]

No, it's really not. While it can be done, I'd definitely recommend taking at least one semester of an entry level programming/data structures course to get your feet wet. Once you know how the system works, you can adapt to any language given a bit of time.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I agree with what has been said above. start w/ C++ or Java. FORTRAN is pretty much dead as a language, and will not give you many options...

If you do insist on a mainframe language, do COBOL. it is technically dead too, but there is so much out there that many large companies are looking for new hires out of college that have experience in it because it is way too costly to convert the millions of lines of code into a newer object oriented language. That is how I got my job last year. I had two semesters of COBOL and I do COBOL and JCL where I work. Not bad pay either.

AJ

 

[BigClemsonFan]

I'll start looking into some course descriptions at the colleges around here and see if I can find an entry level one. Some of the courses are limited in their availability.


Not looking to pursue a new career in programming. I need to have some background in it for some math courses I'm taking.

 

[colinrmitchell]

I bought a book for $0.25 at a book sale: Teach Yourself C, by Herbert Schlidt. Best textbook I have ever owned (and I am a mathematician). I would say, learn C.

MATLAB is not a programming language, but a scripting interface. I.e., you do not 'hardcode' programs, but the MATLAB programs runs your script on-the-fly.

I do not know anything about Java, except it is high-level. Learning straight C will not only make you a good programmer, but will also teach you the basics on how a computer works. Well, next to assembly. And nobody likes that.

 

[Psychopete]

Not looking to pursue a new career in programming. I need to have some background in it for some math courses I'm taking.

Binary math?

Pete

Edit: +1 to colinrmitchell.

 

[colinrmitchell]

Binary math?

If this is the case, talk to me, I can help.

 

[Psychopete]

If this is the case, talk to me, I can help.

LOL, the only tricky part is division (and floating point numbers).

Pete

 

[colinrmitchell]

LOL, the only tricky part is division (and floating point numbers).

Pete

This is definitely the case.

I find it very astounding how a repeating decimal in base 10 can sometimes be represented in a finite decimal in base 2, and vice versa.

 

[Psychopete]

This is definitely the case.

I find it very astounding how a repeating decimal in base 10 can sometimes be represented in a finite decimal in base 2, and vice versa.

Haha, That's very mind boggling from a programming perspective; that's how it's represented. I wrote somewhat of a "fix" for it in Perl from a float to a fixed 2 decimal point (money), but it wasn't the most efficient thing. But it did work.

The first time I ran into binary mathematics is when I tried to increase the maximum number Visual Basic (6.0) could hold. I think it was 4 billion or something stupid, so I used a binary array (max of 4096 elements I believe) to represent larger numbers - wrapping "binary math routines" into to functions and passing the arrays around by reference. Not very efficient either...

Pete

 

[Mark_88]

Speaking of math...I had a college professor that I asked a question...why is the number 9 indestructible...

If you multiply a number by 9...say the number 5, the answer is 45...and 4 + 5 = 9...

If you add a number to 9...say 5 again for simplicity sake...the number is 14 and the sum of 1 + 4 = 5...so the number nine does not destroy the original number...

He wrote a few things on the chalk board and muttered something and then tried to explain it to me but he lost me as I was still looking at the chalk board saying "holy f()ck" to my self...

There are other examples of this indestructibility...but I sort of got interested in numerology for a bit and found the thing about 9 fascinating...

As for binary math...lol~! I recently finished a course on subnetting and the Cisco book went into binary and decimal conversions for IP addressing...I spent two weeks on that one chapter and had to sort it out...in the long run I found a shortcut that led to figuring out the subnet quite easily...but it took me two whole weeks on one chapter...

As my avitar heading says...Einstein I'm NOT...