Programming Advice Thread, Help with Codes

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MusicForThePiano

Pelican
I haven't seen a thread on here related to learning programming languages in awhile, figured it would be helpful to myself and others who are aspiring to become independent coders.

I do have a request though. Is anyone on here good with C++? Myself and a few friends are looking to hire out for a couple of small projects, about three or four codes, and there will be more come February. I know this isn't the usual type of thread here, but coding is an increasingly valid skill that helps keep you ahead in this world where more things become obsolete day by day. I have tried to hire some on freelancer.com but none of them seem to understand either the level of detail required, or the timeliness of delivering the codes. I will accept PM's if anyone is interested in checking it out.

If not, any advice is appreciated. Due to personal lives and work, all of us in my group cannot finish these unreasonable projects in time, and we have decided to just do things the old fashioned way, pay for someone to do them, and deconstruct the code ourselves before the deadlines to help ourselves learn in our own way.

Anyone else feel free to post whatever helped you learn C, C++, machine language, html, etc. The institutions don't do a great job of teaching nowadays and those of us without the natural knack for it are kind of left in the dark. Still though, I am determined to learn one way or another.
 
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Sargon2112

Woodpecker
Protestant
I'm self taught. I took assembly for a couple of weeks during my 2 yr associates program in EET, but that was it for formal programming instruction. Now, I code in C and C# primarily. The first language I learned in any depth was VB, then I progressed from there into VB.NET, then C and C#. Once you get the first one under your belt, subsequent languages come more easily, since you develop the necessary patterns of thinking with the first one.

My first attempt at teaching myself failed because I didn't have a specific goal, other than to just "learn to program". Later, I was presented with a project at work, where I was an electronics tech at the time, that required the implementation of VB code to complete. With that goal in place, and a generous deadline, I was able to teach myself enough to accomplish it, with the help of forums like www.stackoverflow.com, www.extremevbtalk.com, www.codeproject.com and the like. MSDN is also a good reference. That first small success, some 15 years ago now, got me hooked. Now, I'm making six figures, with only a two year associates degree from the late 90's, as an electronics engineer. I started out as an electronics tech in a manufacturing plant making 10 bucks per hour doing maintenance and simple repairs on machines. Now, I design machine control systems & write code. These systems control industrial processes, collect process data and generate reports. These reports are available to others in the company via internal website, which I also learned to build out of necessity. I'm just wired that way - I need to have a goal out there to use as a motivator. Then it's just a matter of learning to use a tool (code, circuit board design, electronics) in order to accomplish the goal.

If you are completely new to coding, I suggest you focus on the following first:

data types and operators - you need to understand what these are and how/when to use them.

Download simple examples from others, run their code, then change it up & see what the effects are.

At some point early on, you will need a project. A simple project like displaying the result of adding two numbers is a fine place to start. Then make it multiply the numbers, then make it round the result to 2 decimal places, turn the text green if it's even, red if it's odd... things like that. The point is, you have a series of small successes (trial & error at first) & build on them as you add features, learning along the way.
 
Sitting Bull

Sitting Bull

Woodpecker
Trad Catholic
Here are my two cents on this subject.

Whenever I'm learning a new language/framework, I always start by reading what the haters have to say. It saves you time by helping you avoid common pitfalls. If those haters are respected, learned members of academe, better still.

Thus, I recommend the 15 pages-long "C in education and software engineering" by R.P. Mody, ACM SIGSCE bulletin, available at https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/126459.126471.

At first sight, it looks like the rants of a C-hater, but upon reflection it's a very thoughtful and interesting analysis on what's wrong with CS teaching today, and as the author clarifies "he has written non-trivial applications in C and enjoyed doing it".

For C++, I recommend the 51 pages-long "C++? A Critique of C++ and Programming Language Trends of the 1990’s." (Ian Joyner, 1996). I can't seem to find a complete online version, but those interested can PM me about it.

Joyner is obviously an Eiffel fan who wishes the name of C++ to disappear from the earth, but the article follows academic standards, all his points are detailed, factual, unquestionable (even if a little bit outdated today) and you can't read his paper without learning a tremendous lot about C++.

Now for actual learning rather than just criticisms, for anything Unix-related I can't recommend enough the 1120 pages-long "Computer Systems : A Programmer's Perspective" by Randal E. Bryant & David R. O'Hallaron (Third edition, 2016).

It doesn't treat everything but gives you a firm foothold in anything. Unlike most other CS books, this one is never afraid to go full-depth in the explanations (including but not limited to, historical context), never lacks an adequate supply of corrected exercises, never forces a particular coding philosophy on you.

Please note that there are two editions for the book, the US/Canada edition and the so-called "global" edition. The "global" one is very bad and full of errors (I presume it was made into some sweatshop in India or China), and on their website the authors refuse to answer questions about the "global" edition.
 
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mr_mike_

Pigeon
MusicForThePiano said:
It's rather large, would be easier to send privately or through email or a chat program or something.
Click to expand...

can you explain the gist of it?

is it a problem with existing code or a new project?

I met some people involved with startups (like actual founders who sold their stake for 7-figures)
They don't stop talking about their ideas (code or business).
Even to complete strangers.
 
M

MusicForThePiano

Pelican
mr_mike_ said:
can you explain the gist of it?

is it a problem with existing code or a new project?

I met some people involved with startups (like actual founders who sold their stake for 7-figures)
They don't stop talking about their ideas (code or business).
Even to complete strangers.
Click to expand...
It's just compilation and output errors, the codes are already written, its the debugging and correcting phase I am having a lot of trouble with before I turn them in. Are you cool with direct / private message? I can further details there, just don't want it public.
 
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mr_mike_

Pigeon
I haven't worked in C/C++ since school. used C# and now python professionally so I'm probably not your best source for help.

Search the error codes on stackoveflow it's my main goto for coding problems.
 
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