Trouble understanding?
I feel really silly asking this but, as im slowly trying to become a programmer and im just not getting it , im feeling like I need to give up everything I do and focus on that in order to actual reach that level of general understanding of a language..
does anyone else feel this way or has anyone else had to do this? Should I stop being social, playing games, doing other stuff for X amount of time until I really get it? Everyone says to just make something based on what you do everyday and that is a good start, but I don't need anything? I feel so lost and scattered haha
does anyone else feel this way or has anyone else had to do this? Should I stop being social, playing games, doing other stuff for X amount of time until I really get it? Everyone says to just make something based on what you do everyday and that is a good start, but I don't need anything? I feel so lost and scattered haha
Get some books on beginner C++, from the library or a bookshop or the internet, wherever. Find one that is good for you and work through it, making sure you understand each topic before moving onto the next one.
well I am taking an online degree and each class is only 5 weeks. the intro C++ class wasnt to bad and I had some fun. now.. attempts to learn pointers, linked lists, arrays.. stacks queues recursion (its a data structures class) the only thing I can do is learn what is needed and continue. hopeully regoing through some of the stuff later will make more sense
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I felt like that for a while. You don't have to give up on everything else to learn programming, just do what you would do when learning something new, designate a specified time to it even if it's just for an hour a day.
And as Mats suggested, read, learn and reread until you understand everything it is telling you
And as Mats suggested, read, learn and reread until you understand everything it is telling you
I'm not going to say "don't read".. .but reading alone is not going to teach you anything. You need to write code. You need to walk through code and see what it's doing.
This is a bit of a tangent point... but it irritates me that "how to use a debugger" is not like one of the first things taught to student. It is by far one of the single most important things to know not only in practice, but also for learning.
Beginners tend to write a bunch of code, run it... then when it doesn't work they're dumbfounded and have no idea where the problem is. Exercising basic debug skills would not only help them fix their problems, it would also teach them a LOT about the mechanics of the language.
Anyway I'm drifting away from my main point... which is this:
Reading books is good. Writing code is better.
After you read a chapter, try to write a program that exercises what you just learned. Just seeing it on paper doesn't really teach you... you have to actually see it in action to really 'get it'.
Once the program is written... step through it with a debugger. Even if it works. Step through it and see how it is working.. line by line. Watch how the variables change with each line of code... watch which functions get called and when... etc.. etc.
This is a bit of a tangent point... but it irritates me that "how to use a debugger" is not like one of the first things taught to student. It is by far one of the single most important things to know not only in practice, but also for learning.
Beginners tend to write a bunch of code, run it... then when it doesn't work they're dumbfounded and have no idea where the problem is. Exercising basic debug skills would not only help them fix their problems, it would also teach them a LOT about the mechanics of the language.
Anyway I'm drifting away from my main point... which is this:
Reading books is good. Writing code is better.
After you read a chapter, try to write a program that exercises what you just learned. Just seeing it on paper doesn't really teach you... you have to actually see it in action to really 'get it'.
Once the program is written... step through it with a debugger. Even if it works. Step through it and see how it is working.. line by line. Watch how the variables change with each line of code... watch which functions get called and when... etc.. etc.
@taku:
C++ is a language, and like any other, it requires a LOT of dedication, focus, and study. I spend hours every day practicing C++, and have been for 2 years now. I still am not a professional!! I know a LOT, enough to probably do anything I want to, but I still have a lot to learn from the masters.
You have to be obsessive, focused, intelligent, and logical to be able to master programming languages. It also helps if it's what you like to do.
You also need to practice it (write your own code, be daring, make a project for yourself and finish it, and even learn somthing in the process) until you get it down.
Practice makes perfect.
C++ is a language, and like any other, it requires a LOT of dedication, focus, and study. I spend hours every day practicing C++, and have been for 2 years now. I still am not a professional!! I know a LOT, enough to probably do anything I want to, but I still have a lot to learn from the masters.
You have to be obsessive, focused, intelligent, and logical to be able to master programming languages. It also helps if it's what you like to do.
You also need to practice it (write your own code, be daring, make a project for yourself and finish it, and even learn somthing in the process) until you get it down.
Practice makes perfect.
Thank you for all the advice :) I am definitely going to keep trying and improve. I have already started looking through some stuff with a debugger and noticed some things. I do like what I do , everytime Im coding It feels right.
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