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#1 2004-06-18 01:42:14

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Programmers Block

(Sorry if this doesn't really fit in this forum.)

I think I might have what they refer to in the book writing world as writer's block, but for programming. I seem to have a problem grasping programming as a whole. I guess it's just that the logic flow chart style thinking process is just foreign to me. Also it's probably the fact that I'm a loner computer nerd. All my friends in real life just like to get high/drunk/retarded and I don't. sad Maybe if I had someone to study and work at it with I would be good to go.

What I'm getting at is, does anyone have any suggestions on howto kick start my programming ability? I know abit of C/C++ and Java, enough to get some basic funtions down and whatnot. But that is really as far as it goes for me. I try to read programming books and online documentation, but it seems to go no where. I almost feel like a need a certain type of project to get me going.

I really like programming alot and the whole thought of creating something that alot of people may want/need to use or grow to love. Is this just me or do you have to be a certain type of person to be a programmer? I have never had a problem with anything computer related besides programming. I just can't seem to get it. :cry:

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#2 2004-06-18 01:51:14

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
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Re: Programmers Block

famavolat wrote:

I really like programming alot and the whole thought of creating something that alot of people may want/need to use or grow to love. Is this just me or do you have to be a certain type of person to be a programmer?

Yes, you have to be a certain type of person... somebody who likes programming a lot and wants to create something that people might want or need to use. You're in! smile

Start a project and see where it gets you.

Try Python.

Dusty

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#3 2004-06-18 08:02:47

soniX
Member
From: Oslo, Norway
Registered: 2004-01-23
Posts: 161

Re: Programmers Block

famavolat wrote:

What I'm getting at is, does anyone have any suggestions on howto kick start my programming ability?I know abit of C/C++ and Java, enough to get some basic funtions down and whatnot.

theres really only one way to do learn programming, and thats to write code and code and even more code. Java is a fantastic language with tons of great documents and great tools. Python is also a good option and Ruby looks even better (but poorly documentet). All of these three languages have gtk bindings, so they are all well suited for showing their graphical side in a Linux environment (writing some gui programs is the way to go when you are a pretty fresh programmer once you know the basics. That way you get visual fedback from your code right away and you really get the feeling that you are writing a "real" program)

Dusty wrote:

Yes, you have to be a certain type of person... somebody who likes programming a lot and wants to create something that people might want or need to use. You're in!

Start a project and see where it gets you.

absolutely right... working on a project (that beeing you own, or one that youre participating in) is great fun...

good luck

soniX

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#4 2004-06-18 08:41:00

dpb
Member
From: Cyperspace?
Registered: 2004-04-11
Posts: 231

Re: Programmers Block

famavolat wrote:

(Sorry if this doesn't really fit in this forum.)

It would fit in the Off topic forum.  wink

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#5 2004-06-18 11:15:35

i3839
Member
Registered: 2004-02-04
Posts: 1,185

Re: Programmers Block

You could write patches for some programs, add features, fix bugs or whatnot. Adding some feature is easiest I think. That's what I did and you learn a lot from it. I don't think that GUI programming is that great to start with, it's too specific imho. It helps to find out which programming language suits you, learning to use that one is much easier.

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#6 2004-06-18 14:23:23

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Thanks everyone for your replies!  :oops:

I mean I'm not an idiot when it comes to programming, I under alot of it. I think mainly it's bigger projects that kinda overwhelm me. If a program is only one file with a few headers I'm ok. But then when I look at even a small program like gtick for example I get overwhelmed with sooo much code.

I guess I need to start "thinking outside the box". All of you have been a wonderful help. I'm thinking I might try some python with a bit of GTK.  wink

Anyone have any suggestions on some good IDEs to develop with python? Or maybe just a good text editor with python syntax highlighing?

I think gtick is a nice little package.
http://www.antcom.de/gtick/

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#7 2004-06-18 14:59:12

afu
Member
From: Tuscalooser, Alabummer
Registered: 2004-02-19
Posts: 155

Re: Programmers Block

Pick a language and stick to it till you know it well. This means you have to do a lot of coding, not just reading. Also learn shell scripting.  Once you learn a language well, others will be easier to learn. Thats two - stick with those for a while.

Logic: How do I get from here to there? You must know the details before you start. It's like trying to drive from Los Angeles to London - if you don't whats ahead you will get half way there before you realize you have a problem. Most everything can be broken down into three structural methods - sequence, selection, and loop.

It takes practice.
And after all of that, you may find it ain't what you want to do. That's what happened to me.  Just another adventure in life.
-Shawn

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#8 2004-06-18 15:16:48

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
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Re: Programmers Block

wxwindows is an easier to use toolkit than gtk. Actually, on unix it runs on top of gtk, but its easier to work with as a programmer.   You might try it for GUI in python.

I don't like reading other people's code much either (especially in C!); you have to really take the time to understand what each line is doing. If you start on your own big project from scratch, it's much easier than reading somebody else' big project because you will know what each line of code is.

If you do want to edit another project, you have to learn what each line of code does anyway (at least in whatever module or functions you are currently interested in patching), its almost like mentally reimplementing it so you understand what the programmer was doing.  Then you have to decide if you can do it better!  8)

Dusty

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#9 2004-06-18 16:01:40

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Hehe!  lol
Thanks everybody!

afu wrote:

Pick a language and stick to it till you know it well. This means you have to do a lot of coding, not just reading. Also learn shell scripting. Once you learn a language well, others will be easier to learn. Thats two - stick with those for a while.

Yes, I need to do this... this is problem one of my bigger problems with computers/life. I try to be good at too many things without focusing my effort on one or two things completely. I really need to work on that.

afu wrote:

Logic: How do I get from here to there? You must know the details before you start. It's like trying to drive from Los Angeles to London - if you don't whats ahead you will get half way there before you realize you have a problem. Most everything can be broken down into three structural methods - sequence, selection, and loop.

This is so very true and well said. Thank you for the insight. big_smile

afu wrote:

And after all of that, you may find it ain't what you want to do. That's what happened to me. Just another adventure in life.
-Shawn

sad So you don't code anymore then?

Dusty wrote:

wxwindows is an easier to use toolkit than gtk. Actually, on unix it runs on top of gtk, but its easier to work with as a programmer. You might try it for GUI in python.

wxwindows eh? I have heard of it before, but never checked it out. Thanks!

Dusty wrote:

I don't like reading other people's code much either (especially in C!); you have to really take the time to understand what each line is doing. If you start on your own big project from scratch, it's much easier than reading somebody else' big project because you will know what each line of code is.

Atleast I'm not the only one! big_smile Yea I would love to actually create a big project from scratch.

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#10 2004-06-18 16:15:35

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
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Re: Programmers Block

famavolat wrote:

Yea I would love to actually create a big project from scratch.

How bout a GUI frontend to pacman?

lol:lol::lol:

Dusty

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#11 2004-06-18 17:01:21

i3839
Member
Registered: 2004-02-04
Posts: 1,185

Re: Programmers Block

Dusty wrote:

How bout a GUI frontend to pacman?

That's a small project, you were talking about something big...

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#12 2004-06-18 17:02:39

dpb
Member
From: Cyperspace?
Registered: 2004-04-11
Posts: 231

Re: Programmers Block

Dusty wrote:

How bout a GUI frontend to pacman?

Doesn't sound like a big project to me... o.O

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#13 2004-06-18 17:03:41

dpb
Member
From: Cyperspace?
Registered: 2004-04-11
Posts: 231

Re: Programmers Block

And i3839 beat me to answer...  :?

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#14 2004-06-18 18:06:04

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
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Re: Programmers Block

It's a freaking *huge* project. Haven't you seen how much design discussion it gets?  tongue   Only a mammoth project would receive so much attention...

Besides I wanted to start something in the way of interesting discussion. wink

Dusty

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#15 2004-06-18 18:22:33

afu
Member
From: Tuscalooser, Alabummer
Registered: 2004-02-19
Posts: 155

Re: Programmers Block

famavolat,

So you don't code anymore then?

Well, only very small amounts of mostly perl for some sysadmin stuff at school. I like programming but just not enough to want to do it as a job. All being well, I'll be using the computer skills for research before too long.
-Shawn

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#16 2004-06-18 18:52:07

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

afu wrote:

famavolat,

So you don't code anymore then?

Well, only very small amounts of mostly perl for some sysadmin stuff at school. I like programming but just not enough to want to do it as a job. All being well, I'll be using the computer skills for research before too long.
-Shawn

What are you studying in school?

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#17 2004-06-18 19:07:32

xerxes2
Member
From: Malmoe, Sweden
Registered: 2004-04-23
Posts: 1,249
Website

Re: Programmers Block

pacman -S bluefish pygtk

arch + gentoo + initng + python = enlisy

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#18 2004-06-19 02:56:16

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Dusty wrote:
famavolat wrote:

Yea I would love to actually create a big project from scratch.

How bout a GUI frontend to pacman?

lol:lol::lol:

Dusty

That would be really nice to be able to work on a project like that... If I knew more about python/gtk i would give it a try.  :?
I saw that some people have alright been giving it a whirl, but as you guys said.. I has seemed like more talk and less action. Personally I would like to be able to use a GUI pacman and a CLI pacman. I think both have their pros and cons.

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#19 2004-06-19 04:48:02

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
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Re: Programmers Block

Oh Goody, I did it!!! The discussion is opened again.

Does my trouble-seeking heart proud!

Dusty

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#20 2004-06-19 19:21:46

afu
Member
From: Tuscalooser, Alabummer
Registered: 2004-02-19
Posts: 155

Re: Programmers Block

famavolat,
One year left for BA in fitness management. Then hopefully start toward a doctorate in exercise physiology the following fall.

How's the SUN project working out? (or was that not you? can't keep stuff in my strait in my brain nowadays. School screws with old brain matter).
-Shawn

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#21 2004-06-19 20:05:39

Dusty
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From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
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Re: Programmers Block

afu wrote:

How's the SUN project working out? (or was that not you? can't keep stuff in my strait in my brain nowadays. School screws with old brain matter).

My brain is no less roasted, but that might have been fragelik.

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#22 2004-06-20 02:45:22

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

afu wrote:

famavolat,
One year left for BA in fitness management. Then hopefully start toward a doctorate in exercise physiology the following fall.

How's the SUN project working out? (or was that not you? can't keep stuff in my strait in my brain nowadays. School screws with old brain matter).
-Shawn

Awesome, I love physical fitness! Getting away from the computer every now and again for a good run is wonderful.

As for the Solaris... I haven't been messing with it much since I have been working on other skills. But I really do need to step it up and get my ethernet card working. Sometimes it seems like its alot easier to learn about something when you have an internet connection to get more info and such.  wink

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#23 2004-06-20 04:00:13

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Hehehehe it was you!  8)

I don't think it should be allowed to have users on the forum with the same first initial. really, 26 users is plenty, no? lol

Big programming project: write a ethernet driver from scratch and kill two birds with one stone, eh? smile

Dusty

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#24 2004-06-20 15:24:52

famavolat
Member
From: Louisville, KY
Registered: 2003-09-22
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Dusty wrote:

Hehehehe it was you!  8)

I don't think it should be allowed to have users on the forum with the same first initial. really, 26 users is plenty, no? lol

Big programming project: write a ethernet driver from scratch and kill two birds with one stone, eh? smile

Dusty

Oh no, what did I do now?  sad  heh
You think writing an ethernet module for Solaris would be hard?

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#25 2004-06-20 19:09:30

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: Programmers Block

Hmmm, you've done nothing wrong? smile

ethernet module... *I* think it would be hard, but I absolutely hate working with hardware...

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