I need help creating a computer program

[GreNME]

If you want to learn programming take the time to learn C++. If you just want the simplest and easiest to learn programming language for windows (95 and newer) go with AutoIt.

With the exception of the part about C++, I agree 100% about AutoIT. You can either create very nice automation programs or you can go the extra step and actually create UI for the program you're working on. Very cool stuff.

 

[my_wan]

With the exception of the part about C++, I agree 100% about AutoIT. You can either create very nice automation programs or you can go the extra step and actually create UI for the program you're working on. Very cool stuff.

Yes for most of us learning C++ is unnecessary with an unnecessarily steep learning curve. On the other hand your not going to develop drivers, programs like AutoIt, high level games, etc. with programs like AutoIt.

 

[my_wan]

Dustin, if you install AutoIt and want some sample programs that do what you want just explain what it needs to do and I'll write some demonstration scripts for you. Sometimes it it easier to learn when you have small working sections of scripts that you can copy and/or reverse engineer. You might want to PM me to get my attention.

 

[GreNME]

Yes for most of us learning C++ is unnecessary with an unnecessarily steep learning curve. On the other hand your not going to develop drivers, programs like AutoIt, high level games, etc. with programs like AutoIt.

Very true. However, I usually tell kids today wanting to learn a lower level programming language (than AutoIT) to look into C#.

Of course, I took C++ for my programming classes when I was learning the basics of programming. I can agree C++ (or C) makes a good starter language. I never went very far with it, but I did get to learn to apply concepts of programming logic that now allow me to look at a wide variety of code and at least know the basics of what I'm looking at.

 

[Furi]

I would certainly if starting from a fresh brain, start of with c++ (or similar in structure variant)

yes it is a bit of a curve but would be worth it, many languages are based upon C roots and the basics will allow you to assimilate other languages almost effortlessly

If you want something quick and dirty to get into and also to teach you to write tight memory efficient code whilst picking up a whole bucketload of bad habits, might I recommend a Vic20 or C64 emulator, good old MS basic repackaged, and you can dive into hardware 6502 asm through a shell, won't teach you diddly about programming windows, but will allow you to mess around quite happily and teach you core functions of what a computer actually does, who says you can't write a decent programs in <3.5k of interpreted basic (bwahahaha)

if you have access to office products, I find VBA running behind excel will suit quick and dirty solutions for most needs, depends what you want to do on your website, Right tool for right job, C and it's derivatives will prob be your best bet, that is what I would choose if starting afresh.

as for books, there are so many excellent books and resources out there, I haven't been to a library or charity shop yet that doesn't have good C++ or VB bibles knocking around in it

 

[shadron]

Do you know what an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is? Visual Studio is an IDE that attempts to help you program in several different languages. The IDE itself is a program itself and completely separate from the language. Think of it as a complicated editor.

Do you have enough experience to know if you like IDEs or do you prefer a more nuts and bolts approach such as editing with notepad?

It's a matter of taste and preference but I think beginners should begin writing programs in notepad (or other simple editor) to learn the language. I think big IDEs can be overwhelming to newcomers.

I have to differ with this conclusion. I learned programming starting with FORTRAN II on paper tape in 1964, and walked right up the ladder from there. By the time I got to MS C++ v6, I still wanted to go the manual edit -standalone compile route because I understood it. The thing that forced me to stop and take several weeks out to learn the MSVC IDE (sorry about all the jargon) is the debugger. You can do much debugging faster with the debugger than with embedded output statements and the like.

It's like this - you'll spend a fair amount of time learning to use any editor well. If you learn the editor in the IDE instead, then that's a third or more of the learning curve defeated, and you'll have a great start with the rest if the IDE's features. Learning new and different text editors has been the bane of my existence.

Of course, that doesn't help much when the boss walks in and says he wants to replace your existing setup with IBM's WAS or some such...

As far as all-around programming goes, the easiest language to learn is probably Visual Basic, though purists will grumble about it. In turn, it will give you at least the flavor of, say, C++ or C#, particularly in that the library calls will be familiar to you (library calls are at least half of learning how to use a language, and its simply rote memorization, or at least familiarization). Javascript is for web pages, Java will likely snow you - it certainly did me. I've never tried AutoIt; sounds like it may be a good start point. PHP, mySQL and SQL in general, and all the "4GL" languages are for databases; it would be best to start with some database theory before trying them out, as they may be significantly different in form and style (you can also parlay your VB skills into MS Access and work into databases that way, learning SQL).

Lots of ways to go, so go get your feet wet. BTW, looking on eBay for one of the MSVC packages is an easy way to get started and avoid the short lifespan of te MS freebie package. You should be able to get MSVC .NET (2002) Pro version for not much, as it is two versions back, but the differences won't mean much until you can earn the money for the latest using the skills you learn.

 

[my_wan]

Personally I hate nearly all IDEs. VB6 was ok because it did a lot of work for you but could also be a pain for the same reason. I now use SciTE for everything. It allows the pure text of notepad with a fully customizable lexer to give it the power of the VB6 IDE. In the AutoIt tools is a graphical GUI designer written in AutoIt that attempts to do what the VB6 graphical designer did. I never use it. 99% of all programs I've ever written in VB was simpler, easier, and faster in AutoIt without worrying about support DLLs.

 

[sphenisc]

I am totally new to creating computer programs and I wanted to know where I could start to learn about them. I want to create a Windows program that can work with an online website. How would I go about creating such a program? Remember, I am totally new to creating programs and have no idea where to start. What programs are good for this? What computer languages are best to use for such things?

Also please post other threads from this forum that explain similar things to this. I would search but I think that I would get better results this way.

Thanks.

If you want to hold one conversation with someone in a foreign language, you don't learn their language you get an interpreter. Frankly unless you expect to do more than write one program it's not worth the effort of learning how to program yourself.
I'd suggest you outline here exactly what you'd like your program to do and others can advise you on whether it's a major project, or something they'd be happy to knock together for you in a few hours. If it's a slightly bigger project then computing students are usually willing to demonstrate their expertise for beer money.

 

[Wowbagger]

Incidentally, Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions are NO LONGER in Beta! The final release versions are now available to download:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/product/default.aspx

(Man, that was sooner than even I thought it would be. I must be slipping in my news update reading habits.)

 

[Bill Thompson]

I am totally new to creating computer programs and I wanted to know where I could start to learn about them. I want to create a Windows program that can work with an online website. How would I go about creating such a program? Remember, I am totally new to creating programs and have no idea where to start. What programs are good for this? What computer languages are best to use for such things?

Also please post other threads from this forum that explain similar things to this. I would search but I think that I would get better results this way.

Thanks.

I will do it if you pay me.

I will teach you if you pay me.

 

[jmontecillo01]

I know this is an old thread but I would like to put in my 2 cents if you down mind.

I was introduced to computers way back 1974. I passed a gov't exam for a 4 week training in Cobol. The course involved us writing a sort algorithm and a simple payroll application. I got a job in the private sector then after six months, was assigned to maintain assembly applications running in Univac 9300 (similar to S360 with a 4K memory).

I stayed in that job for 2 years then started to do contracting. Bexause of my experience in assembly, majority of my contracts were designing/writing S370 operating system components. The other was porting one language to another language. I bought an Amiga computer which required me to learn M6800 assembly and C. I bought a C primer (Ritchie and Kerningham) and wrote my first C program after 3 days. I then bought my first intel based machine and learned intel assembly.

This is based on experience.

First, you must understand that all machines work in the same manner. You must be able to visualize what is happening inside the CPU, that inside are only switches that can be turned off and on, depending on the machines instructions.

You can use any language to achieve a purpose, although some languages are designed to lean more to a particular scenario. For the conversion job that I did, I used Cobol. The requirement was to parse the existing language and come up with the new language. This is basically what a compiler does. I made that decision to use Cobol as all mid-range/mainframe machines implements Cobol so it was easy for me to just take it from one contract to the next.

It is necessary that you understand binary/hexa/octal arithmetic. You must also understand boolean arithmetic (or,and,xor,...).

You must also keep in mind that arithemetic and boolean are parsed according to priorities. That is:

1+2*3. The multiplication has higher priority that plus, so it becomes 2*3 first, then add 1 to the result/ This is true for boolean expression. That is, and has a higher priority than or.

To override this, you use parenthesis so
(1+2)*3 is resolved as 1+2 first, then multiply the result by 3.

Boolean bits (or switches) are merely the state of bit (or byte). a binary zero signifies false while a non zero signifies true.

Internal ordering of numeric data should also be taken into consideration, if required. There is what is called LSB/MSB (intel) which means the least significant byte preceeds the most significant byte.

So

if the actual value is X'1234', then internally, it is represented as X'34' first, then X'12'. (visually X'3412') Other CPU's represent the internal data as MSB/LSB. That is the most significat byte first, followed by the least significant. Also, as I understand it, the representation for numeric data passed in the web (net) is MSB/LSB (please somebody correct me if I'm wrong).

There are two types of programming. There is what you call procedural, which you start, then wait until it ends (does not involve user interaction). The other is object oriented which is the approach used in modern programming because of the necessity of user interaction.

Finally,

I suggest that you try your hand first using C. Create a little application that would read an input file and come up with an output. It is a lot easier to create a procedural type of program. GNU has a lot of projects using the implementation of Ritche and Kerningham's C. You can download the source if you want to take a look at them. Afterwards, when you have learned the C syntax, you can then move to C#. I have enjoyed using C#. The disadvantage is the the C# modules will only run under .NET. (To be honest, I haven't tried MONO under Linux) Being object oriented, there are a lot of things to learn. (TreeView, Panel, ListView,...), but the language is quite powerful.

Arm yourself with a good manual. It is hopelessly difficult to find the object you require using the help facility without knowing what you are looking for. For example, If I need to find the help for an object that can input text, I will have to know first that what I am looking for is called textbox.

After you have familiarized yourself with C, it would be very easy to learn other languages.A good example is Java.


Good luck