Programmer age group

[XxGunMastaxX]

what's the main age group of many ppl that learn and do C++ programming?

just curious.

[Cbick]

I really don't know but I am 31 and just started learning C++.

[Incubbus]

I am 22...

[johnkravetzki]

The sooner the better. When you're 14-18 all you have to worry about is school, when you're 20+ you get extra responsibilities, like job, sometimes even family etc.

I started to learn c++ at 19, then i quit (stupid me) now i have to catch up with everything

edit:
oh lol, I have answered a question, which was never given

[crunchy frog]

I think i wrote my first (hello world) program when i was maybe 6 or 7, and I'm 18 now

[elvenspike]

im only 13, i feel so young compared to everyone. :O so basically. right now, we can say that C++ can be started learning anywhere from 13-31. :P

[z05DSL3A]

I was created around the same time as Intel! I sometimes feel very old here. I first started learning programming about 25 years ago.

[TheNoobie]

Not at all elvenspike, did crunchy frog not reply RIGHT before you saying he started when he was 6 or 7? Anyway, there's no age REQUIREMENT for learning C++ and people learn it from all different age groups. C++ is like being an alcoholic - there's no look, style, age, career, or any other factor that determines whether you do it or not. So long as you can read and write, you can start learning C++. Oh, and I'm 18. :P

[cdh473]

I am 13, I know C++.
Around this age is the best to learn, you actually have the logic and attention span to learn, and you have enough time.

[PanGalactic]

I'm around Grey Wolf's age and have been programming in C++ since before the STL existed.

[hunter]

15 and just started maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago.

[kranny]

It depends...Well in India,as a matter of fact people start doing things when it is really necessary which means if it is in academics :P ..I started when i was 18...

[Gregor]

started somewhere round 14, been playing with c before that

[elvenspike]

thenoobie, he said he made a hello world program at 6 or 7. most likely just copying the code from some tutorial. i dont understand hello world programs at all though. they're not interesting, useful, good practice, or a good place to start imo.
oh and
@cdh473 :
hmm...
logic? attention span?
not sure where you live, but where i live people have short attention spans and lack basic logic skills.
i'd be amazed if someone i know could code a program that adds A + B after asking for input. not because it's hard (it's not.) but because people have such short attention spans. around this age is the best to learn, IF you actually have the logic and attention span to learn, and you usually have enough time.

[cdh473]

that's what i meant.
I took the test to get into gifted classes in school before anyone else could even read.
I've always been a little ahead of my community.
BUT, I've never seen anyone who actually wanted to program who wasn't very smart for their age(compared to the rest of their community).

[elvenspike]

erm... you started school before anyone could even read? you started school at like 1 or 2? o.o i could read by 2 and a half-ish. lol and programming is fun... well, not to everyone. but its fun. plus you can do whatever you want with it. :P

[firedraco]

In my kindergarten class there were lots of kids who couldn't read (although GOD that school was HORRIBLE so...)

[helios]

21. Wrote my first BASIC program when I was 15 and since then it's been less of a hobby and more of a physiological need.

i dont understand hello world programs at all though.

Their only purpose is to demonstrate the basic syntax of the language. They're not meant as instructive to beginner programmers.
Interestingly enough, their equivalent in functional languages is the factorial function.

i'd be amazed if someone i know could code a program that adds A + B after asking for input. not because it's hard (it's not.) but because people have such short attention spans. around this age is the best to learn, IF you actually have the logic and attention span to learn, and you usually have enough time.

Nobody knows something they haven't learnt or been taught. Most people can't program because they don't know how, not because they're not smart enough to do it.
In fact, statistics show that ~50% of people can't be taught how to program (inability to apply rules consistently), and that ~10% of people would have to be taught how not to program.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000635.html
Of course, there could a bias in this statistic. It only sampled people who would be willing to start a career in computer science.

i could read by 2 and a half-ish.

I'm fairly sure most people start reading when they're between 4 and 6 years old.

[elvenspike]

Their only purpose is to demonstrate the basic syntax of the language. They're not meant as instructive to beginner programmers.
Interestingly enough, their equivalent in functional languages is the factorial function.

But still, wouldn't something more... "here's snipets of codes, do something with it yourself" as well as "here's how you start making a code, and here's how you end it" help you learn it better?

Nobody knows something they haven't learnt or been taught. Most people can't program because they don't know how, not because they're not smart enough to do it.
In fact, statistics show that ~50% of people can't be taught how to program (inability to apply rules consistently), and that ~10% of people would have to be taught how not to program.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000635.html
Of course, there could a bias in this statistic. It only sampled people who would be willing to start a career in computer science.

you misunderstood my point. i wasn't saying that people can't be taught, just that people don't want to be. either they have such a short attention span that they give up or they just don't want to. not to mention i was referring to people at the age of 13 and around that, not everyone.

I'm fairly sure most people start reading when they're between 4 and 6 years old.

hmm, well i learned sometime between 2 and a half and 3 and a half. not entirely sure when, but between there. guess not everyone does. may just be that my whole school district is accelerated (yet, people still lack logic. dunno why) ... kinda. not entirely, like everyone's years ahead. but it's a good school district. but i shouldn't really have said "read' shoulda said comprehended some written language. mostly for the fact that i couldn't read comprehend. or language. atleast to my knowledge that is.

I've never seen anyone who actually wanted to program who wasn't very smart for their age(compared to the rest of their community).

smart != programmer
or in C++ format :

/* meh... main can't be bool so i had to make main just go FoF(); :) */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
bool FoF ();
int main () {
	FoF();
}

bool FoF () {
	string smart, programmer;
	int proof;
	proof = 0;
	smart = "Yes";
	programmer = "No";
	if (smart == programmer) {
		proof++;
	} else {
		proof--;
	}
	smart = "No";
	programmer = "Yes";
	if (smart == programmer) {
		proof++;
	} else {
		proof--;
	}
	smart = "Yes";
	if (smart == programmer) {
		proof++;
	} else {
		proof--;
	}
	programmer = "No";	
	smart = "No";
	if (smart == programmer) {
		proof++;
	} else {
		proof--;
	}
	cout << "Result : " << proof << "\n";
	if (proof > 0) {
		cout << "Fact\n";
		return true;
	} else if (proof <= 0) {
		cout << "Fiction\n";
		return false;
	}
}

[EDIT]
i fixed the formatting on the code :D so here's how it works. save that as a .cpp. compile it. run it. You get to play fact or fiction! the statement : Being Smart And Being A Programmer Go Together.

[helios]

But still, wouldn't something more... "here's snipets of codes, do something with it yourself" as well as "here's how you start making a code, and here's how you end it" help you learn it better?

Hello World is meant as just a small sample. One important function is to demonstrate the shortest program that compiles. Compare the Python Hello World and the C++ Hello World.

i wasn't saying that people can't be taught, just that people don't want to be.

Neither are very good arguments. There's a lot of things I would very much like not being taught, such as accounting (by the way, I was taught accounting in high school, and the only thing that made it passable was that I could apply programming logic to it).
And just in case you're thinking of using the "but people use computers" argument: I use clothes, but I'm not interested in learning how to sew.


Always remember: "Programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things."
There are stupid programmers (maybe "stupid" isn't the right word. "Unskilled"? "Untalented"?), but you can't judge a programmer for one mistake.