Programming
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- armsbottomer0
I don't naturally think like a programmer, but through a great deal of exposure to programming logic and perseverance , it eventually just clicked. To get started with an OOP language, I would recommend Processing( http://www.processing.org/) and the manual written by the two creators (http://www.amazon.com/Processin... It's entirely open source, and really easy to get started. The language is Java based, and is intended make programming accessible to designers/artists. Java is similar to many other OOP languages. The book is an absolutely amazing introduction to the basics of OOP programming, and expands into more complex topics such as: phsyics, particle systems, physical computing, cellular automata, etc.
There is also a similar IDE to processing that uses python called NodeBox( http://nodebox.net/code/index.ph… ), but Processing has a much larger audience and is probably more translatable to other languages.In terms of the logic of programming
this book is amazing, but might be overkill for a beginner:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product…- very nice input.Corvo2
- whats processing like compared to as?powertoni
- this page compares as and processing, and gives examples of syntax differences too: http://www.processin…armsbottomer
- I plan on learning processing someday. it's cool.Jaline
- Corvo20
If I had a whole lot of money so has not to worry about survival for the next 10 years, I think I could programme a learning scale between literature and the fair-arts, since I'm looking to run a publishing house with contents based on a specific world-view.
- that would be going back to the UNI for programming, drawing and writing.Corvo2
- Pupsipu0
learning becomes ridiculously difficult when you get older. It's not that the brain has more info, it's that the individual neurons are falling apart, toxins build up and make everything slower. Neurons are also less flexible, so they don't tend to make as many connections. Signals become weaker too. So if you want to learn something, hurry the fuck up.
I think it's important to have motivation. You have to set some goals, some project you want to accomplish. Without that, dicking around with some little programming experiments you'll be fooling yourself that you're comfortable programming when you're not. It's being able to handle size and complexity in a program that forces your brain to get with the programming.
From the perspective of making a project and getting others to pay attention to it, I think you should stay away from languages where you can't easily deploy the content and get attention for it.
- I think your first paragraph is too bleak. It's not piano lessons.Corvo2
- it's no joke. It's one thing for a programmer to learn a new language when he's 30, it's another thing for an artist to learn how to use a whole other hemisphere in the brain. When neurons aren't used they degrade faster.Pupsipu
- to learn how to use a whole other hemisphere in the brain. When neurons aren't used they degrade faster.Pupsipu
- You're talking as an artist, I believe?Corvo2
- :DCorvo2
- Look, I've had some difficulties learning new stuff, but that's not because my brain is de-composing itself now that I'm on my thirties.Corvo2
- I'm on my thirties. It's because I have no time or disposition to dedicate to it.Corvo2
- studderine0
^"when neurons aren't used they degrade faster". ok scientist, fuck it, your neurons are degraded. just sit around and touch yourself.
- Come on, S. Let's just talk about it, for once. It's an interesting subject.Corvo2
- ptouch7180
just bang your head son. bang hard
- Corvo20
Pupsipu, I don't partake your view. I think people are sensible to programming, just like they maybe sensible to drawing.
- ShaunM0
Buy this book. http://www.learningactionscript3…
I've started and given up on two other highly recommended actionscript books, but the approach in this one is very easy and I am pathetic at maths. I feel like I will actually learn something with this attempt!
- studderine0
Learning at a young age is often more efficient. Being older = greater amount of effort required to grasp the concepts. Big deal, you won't be able to learn when you die.
- Jaline0
I'm hoping to get the basics down before the age of 24. But programming is something you keep learning about for the rest of your life, I'd imagine.
- ********0
Grow long hair
- Pupsipu0
I watched a bunch of educational tv shows about aging, brain damage and advancements in neuroscience that address memory loss, parkinsons and some less intense toxin buildups that affect brain function.
It said some interesting things about learning as a kid and how our society discriminates and underestimates the abilities of teenagers, even though there are plenty of experiments that show kids and teens learn much better than adults when exposed to the same learning environment. (Obviously both test groups had to be completely clueless about what they were being taught in the experiment, so the subject was obscure)
When you age learning becomes more difficult because there is less reward (brain stimulation in the form of electric jolts and hormone releases) It's assumed that evolutionary selection favored brains that adapted to being less flexible and saved calories by turning off inefficient processes with age.
People who still had those processes going on at an older age were studied and they learned totally new subjects better than people without those processes. Now those processes involve motivation to learn new things, increased dopamine reward for learning and as a result an outlook that favored learning and new experiences over concerns of the daily grind.
So it's interesting to see that Corvo2 says he has less time to devote to learning, that's why he doesn't learn as well. That might be a sign of the brain turning off some motivation for your learning endeavors.
And I can't figure out what you mean by being sensible to drawing and why you mentioned piano lessons. You mean math people can grasp drawing just like art people can grasp programming? I'm sure they can with considerable effort, but most people don't have the motivation to work through it, so those are rarer cases.
- Evdawg0
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby. Forget all the opinionated stuff you've heard about Ruby regarding web development, it doesn't apply here.
Ruby is a great programming language and I promise you'll have fun reading this book.
- bad idea for a first programming language to learn********
- bad idea for a first programming language to learn
- Evdawg0
There's also Learn Ruby in Your Browser: it's a 15 minute rundown on the language's basics.
- ukit0
I am mainly a designer but I enjoy programming, especially in Flash. Just sketch out the logic of what you need to do, go step by step and you will never really get stuck. Plus there are a million tutorials and blogs out there that will answer any question.
I don't really think it is so tough, the toughest part is just getting over the hurdle of thinking you can't do it and diving in.
- studderine0
i learned by watching the tv.
- ********0
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you don't necessarily need to learn "programming" to be a developer. Someone mentioned Ruby - it's a good call, but I would encourage you to learn a framework such as Rails (which is built with ruby). It'll enable you build things quickly without having to learn Ruby from the ground up. It'll instil in you a good understanding of OOP (which I can't express the importance of enough). All the while you'll be exposed to Ruby, and when you get to the point you need to extend the arm of a decent framework, then you'll be better placed to really study the underlying language.
Given the leaps and bounds of development frameworks, you may never need to learn the underlying language. Just like you don't control your PC or Mac via the command line - the application does it all for you.
- 99% of everything you'll want to do has already been "programmed". Why would you bother?********
- 99% of everything you'll want to do has already been "programmed". Why would you bother?
- eating_tv0
Maybe I have an interesting view on this being a designer first and a developer second. I learned PHP and MySQL myself, just by trial and error. I had fun, up to a point where designing a website turned out to be 5% design 10% markup and 85% yelling, cursing, shouting and upsetting my parents (I lived at home at the time).
I quit my job as a webdesigner and went back to regular design and motion graphics. Now I live in a box, but I am much happier.
- modern0
Processing and Try Ruby are both very good. Once you have got good at those grow your hair long, eat lots of pizzas and grow a neckbeard.
You'll be hacking the Gibson in no time