Howzit!

I'm moving forward as I'm studying programming but I need to know something that will negatively influence my learning if not answered.

How do you program these very advanced stuff like: mp3 converters, picture editors etc etc etc. I understand most of the syntax I'm getting, but the bigger picture is very blurry!! Which language to use when you do what, for instance; will java be able to do mp3 conversion or would c++ be best.

How far are you in your studies? What have you programed before? If the picture is blurry then you will never be able to do it from the ground up. I suggest that you download some source code of an open source program like GIMP (a picture editor) or some other program and reverse engineer it. Then the picture might not be so blurry. I find it is best to learn off example.

You can't just dive into code with a big project like that...you have to understand the logic first. You could diagram it or write it out, but the logic must be understood before you can move forward. Its like a solving a puzzle, you have to know where every piece goes before you can put it together. Otherwise you will end up with a non-robust - non-scalable project.

As far as languages go, you can have these guys argue all day which is best for what. Do a little research on your own to find out what you can use for what you want to do and go with what you are most comfortable with.

Different problems, actually. An MP3 converter is the small picture, real small, like staring at bark. It's a single function that involved being intimately familiar with at least one very involved data format.

Picture editor is more big picture. That's lots of very little functions; more bark staring. Along with a challenging user GUI.

That said, programming is programming. Having a very firm grasp of the basics will help you in any project. By the time you're ready for the "big" projects, you'll know what to do.

No computer work you do will negatively impact your future work. No expirience is wasted.

[quote name='supersssweety' date='23 Oct, 2007 - 06:32 AM' post='270717']
[quote name='digital101' post='270608' date='23 Oct, 2007 - 12:08 AM']

How far are you in your studies? What have you programed before? If the picture is blurry then you will never be able to do it from the ground up. I suggest that you download some source code of an open source program like GIMP (a picture editor) or some other program and reverse engineer it. Then the picture might not be so blurry. I find it is best to learn off example. [/quote]


True, I must not be so impatient. I did some turbo pascal and basic, but nothing to write home about. I am now self teaching myself java. Maybe I should weight till I know a little bit more. But thanks for the tip: downloading other source and reverse engineering it. Do you have a couple of opensource websites that you might like to suggest

Enjoy

Howzit man.
If you want to download an open source picture / graphic editor try downloading Paint.NET. Its the re-written old microsoft paint program.

The code is mainly in C#, with a bit of C++ (I think). Its actually quite a good program and you can view all the code to see how to do different things. There is quite an active Paint.NET community online too, working on different plug-ins etc.