General question

[B.simp404@gmail.com]

I am really wanting to get into coding or programming. I have little to no experience past a basic visual basic course in college. But the idea is just facinating. You can build and create something from your mind...it is just cool! My problem is i have no idea where to start. The there are so many languages and tutorials out there. I seem to always go down several paths and never get really good at anything. Any advice or pointers?

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[pfeerick]

I am really wanting to get into coding or programming. ...  My problem is i have no idea where to start ... Any advice or pointers?

I haven't played with it too much myself for the programming aspect (too time poor at the moment), but I would strongly recommend (and I hope Mark will jump in here and add more on this/with some good guides  ) that you strongly consider Python. You can program stuff that manipulates the pine64 GPIO headers, does internet stuff, does local processing, all sorts of things. And it's easily transferable to other platforms like PCs, Raspberry Pi... there's even the MicroPython micro-controller board. Plus, once you learn the basics of one objected-oriented programming language, others (like C++, Java) are relatively easy to pick up.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

I am really wanting to get into coding or programming. ...  My problem is i have no idea where to start ... Any advice or pointers?

I haven't played with it too much myself for the programming aspect (too time poor at the moment), but I would strongly recommend (and I hope Mark will jump in here and add more on this/with some good guides  ) that you strongly consider Python.

Thanks for the invite, Pete. This question comes up all the time, and I have learned to stay out of 'em because all too often the OP is not sincere, ( no prejudice here ) and the whole thing boils down into my language is better than yours!  

I've gotten back into the discussions lately because 'programming' has morphed again;  back in the early '80(s) BASIC was ubiquitous and everyone was a kitchen table 'programmer' , and it was fun , before the dark times-- before the Empire !  

Because of the efforts primary of Microsoft ( and others, IBM ... ) 'programming' became "Software Engineering"  and we 'programmers'  became "Senior Staff Software Engineers" ( and other titles ) and through obfuscation and software idea patents ( and other evils ) the general public was cut-out of the 'programming' excitement and fun.  ( no prejudice, its just a true story and absolute fact ).

Then came the "awakening" and the knowledge of the 'force',  er,  I mean the source !  Open systems and scripting ( particularly Python scripting , and the REPL ) became ubiquitous and once again 'programming' was ripped from the grasping claws of the "Senior Staff Software Engineers" and placed back into the hands of We the People.

Programming is back, its exciting, and its fun again;  and that is all centered around Python ( and on the web PHP ).  Python3 is the place to dive into programming , even if you've never touched a line of code.  The python REPL ( Read Execute Print Loop ) can be found on almost every gnu+linux distro , windows , and Apples OSX , and many others ( it is truly ubiquitous and there are many many many resources on-line to help )

I recommend two books:

Miller, Bradley N. & David L. Ranum, "Python: Programming in Context"  , Jones and Bartlett Publishers; Boston, 2009.

Summerfield, Mark,  "Programming in Python 3: A Complete Introduction to the Python Language" , (developers library) , 2nd ed., Adison Wesley; New York , 2010.

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note of warning:  professionally, as a stuffy Senior Staff Software Engineer , with IBM for over 25 years (retired) I was a C | C++  programmer specializing in systems automation ( plus VM 370 REXX, and odds and ends of other stuff ) :  today I'm a fun-loving programmer having a great time with SBC(s) and Python programming of all kinds for hobby , robotics and just plain fun !  The former was profitable ( although a PITA  ) the latter is a blast fantastic !  

[pfeerick]

Thanks for the invite, Pete. This question comes up all the time, and I have learned to stay out of 'em because all too often the OP is not sincere, ( no prejudice here ) and the whole thing boils down into my language is better than yours!  

No problem Mark. It all comes down to preference... some people like C++ (including me... that is where I do most of my coding)... others like Python... Java... Pascal is still around... and other strange people still like LISP and COBOL.

As a beginning/learning recommendation though, you can't not recommend python, since it is so ubiquitous, and there is such much info about it. And since it is an interpreted language, rather than compiled language, you don't have to wait to see what the code does - you just run it for instant gratification (or instant fail!). And if you decide you just can't stand it/don't get it, just move on and try something else like Java/C++... just because it works (makes sense) for me... doesn't mean it works for you!

And I think someone has been watching too much Star Wars of late! :-P

[kflorek46]

Looks like the original poster was one of those "not sincere" people, because he has not given any feedback to the replies. Maybe he has not read them? Whatever. Other people are liable to read this.

He thinks programming looks cool because it does something, but he has never gotten anywhere with anything because of lack of focus. So Focus. Pick something you think a computer can do, and figure out how to program the computer so it will do that. If there is something a computer can do and you can't do it in Python I would be very surprised. Your problem will be learning how to use the packages which provide the facilities. Same with any language.

(BTW, I have never used Python. I have seen the endless list of Python packages in Synaptic.)

C++ is a language only a computer programmer would love, and they do. C++ is C with extra stuff bolted on all over it. Its syntax is as arcane and abstruse as any language ever devised. You can turn little parts of the syntax into the entire program if you want to. They have contests for the most obfuscated code. C++ is not actually that hard to use, once you have a boiler-plate with the correct syntax as a guide. You can also ignore all the out-the-wazoo cutsie-poo stuff and make it perfectly clear if you want to. The reason I use C++, although I would recommend anything but C++ to start, is my history. I too think programming is cool, because you can do things, but I never had even the slightest desire to do it for anything but fun. 8080 assembly language -> Turbo Pascal (on 8086) -> C++ (80386)

Anything not as loonie as C++ is a better way to start learning programming. Once you understand the logic of the syntax in this other language, you will understand what is going on in C++, which is liable to be completely ass-backwards seeming. If people are recommending Python; fine. There is Free Pascal, which is some version of Pascal that is supposed to be like the old Turbo Pascal. Pascal was actually a rethought version of original C, the idea being to circumvent common mistakes and obscurity. You could think of it as language in which to teach programming, but not over-simplified.