[Simen236]

For some time now I've wanted to start programming, but I didn't find the motivation for getting me going. Nor did I find a good book for beginners (never programmed before. After a lot of thinking about which language to choose, after telling some guys what I really wanted to do I have decided to learn C#. What do you guys think about this language? What do you think about programming in general? Is it fun? I hope programming gets to be funny when I've learned the basics and such. From a total noob's point, it doesn't seem that funny when looking at code.

[eclipsed4utoo]

At times it can be great and fun, and other times it can be frustrating.

Funny? Well you aren't going to be laughing all day. You will laugh later on when you look back at some of your old code and think "what the hell was I thinking?". You might laugh at other's code.

It takes a special kind of mind to be a programmer. It's not something that anybody and everybody can do.

[erik.price]

Trust me, the first language you learn is the hardest. Once you get the first down, learning another is a piece of cake.

You really have to push through though, and force yourself to practice the concepts, write code until it breaks, and then fix it again. I know this sounds corny, but you really have to apply yourself. Don't get too frustrated if you don't understand something at once (pointers in C took me a few tries to learn).

Once you get beyond that initial hurdle, programming becomes fun (no, I'm not just saying that ). Trust me, stick with it, and you'll grow to love it.

As for C#, I would say it's a great language to begin with, although my experience with it has been fairly limited, it seems like an easy language to pick up, while still extremely useful

[jens]

Fun to program... Well, yes! But, it depends very much on your self.

First off I think you've done a good choice in choosing C#. It's a language that will teach you many good habits even thou the learning curve is a little steeper and the first uphill maybe a little higher than for some other languages. I'm not telling you this to discourage you - it's to cheer you up when it feels like you're not getting anywhere.

A lot of programmers here on D.I.C will not agree with the following but I'd suggest you start out by making some small windows applications to begin with. Many books start out with "console applications" and they feel kind of dull.

The fun of programming then... Well, I'd say that programming is a lot of things. One of the things I think it is, is a craft, a little like woodworking. You start out with an idea and you have your tools and you start shaping something rough. Then you work on it and work on it and improve a little here and a little there. Sooner or later you have a result that looks good or fills some purpose. And just like wood craft there are beautiful pieces of work and other items that don't look much but still fill their purpose. You can do the same in programming, become an artist or a person who creates useful stuff.

A part of programming that I like is problem solving. Sure, at times when the tools don't agree with me I get a bit bored, spending hours and hours trying to fix a problem with the tools (i.e. the language) it isn't any fun, just annoying. At other times when I don't have to think about the tool but can concentrate at the task at hand and solve some complex question of how things really interact or figure out how some (math/science) problem can be solved by programming it feels great.

I'm not a game or graphics programmer. I program to solve problems like issue tracking, inventory systems and stuff like that. To me that's fun because I have to understand the processes in the real world and I have the opportunity to make great programs that make life easier for people and lead to less confusion and mistakes.

Fun? Do you like to learn and think, then I'm sure you'll enjoy programming. When talking to my mom I sometimes say that the feeling is a little like solving a hard but manageable cross word puzzle (which she likes but I don't).

Well, that's my take on this.

Or, as some people say, even if it's a little too hard core for me: Live to code, don't code to live. But really, there's definitely artistry in programming.

Regards
Jens

[Core]

Let's put it this way first: fun != funny

For me, programming is always fun. I find it interesting to work with various technologies, tools, languages (although I focus on .NET) as well as solve various problems. I find it fun to simplify my daily tasks with the software I create, no matter how small and insignificant it is.

C# is a good language to start with. So is any other language. It all depends on personal abilities, skills and willingness to learn (which is the key here).

Second, this belongs to Corner Cubicle, so I am moving it there.

[SwiftStriker00]

if you want funny i would try the language Whitespace

C# is simple enough to pick up with good OOP practices, and you got Microsoft continually updating it for when you get advanced enough. Its a solid language to know

[Simen236]

Thanks a lot guys. This is something that I really want to learn and I hope I will make it eventually. Sorry, funny was not the correct word to use. I'm not dumb either, my classmates tell me I'm pretty smart so.

[raziel_]

i find it funny spec. if i do something i want to do not some one told me to do. and satisfaction that you get when you're ready is amazing.

[calvinthedestroyer]

Programing is fun. especially when you have examples to try. One time my friend and I wrote a mad-libs game in Apple-soft. All the game did was make fun of the user. (well it was fun for us).

One time in high school they let my class (electronics) program the big LED display sign that hung in the lobby. While it was in the shop we would program it to say funny things about other class mates. We get our buts kicked but it still was fun.

The best was that robot we had, we figured out how to make it talk. We made it say all sorts of things

[LetMeFinclOut]

SwiftStriker00, on 07 April 2010 - 01:08 PM, said:

if you want funny i would try the language Whitespace

Heh. And I thought lolcode was bad.

[Randomlogic]

I thought lolcode was some kinda joke when i first saw it