Interested in learning to program... Help?

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I am a teenager and I really enjoy technology, I have good math skills and think that programming might be really interesting, you know something constructive to do with my time. my issue is I live literally smack dab in the middle of Amish country. (seriously Lancaster, pa is my home town) There are very few technology focused people here (not that there are none but most of them are over the age of 20 and moved away from Lancaster) and I don't really know who to approach about learning how to program a computer. I would like to learn about how operating systems work. Like I said I really don't know where to begin. If anyone could give me some advice that would be awesome.

Seeing as it looks like you have access to the internet already, you should try codeacademy.com. It's a great place to get started with programming. You could probably find all sorts of information about operating systems and other things like that on the internet.

Hey, Techman! That's awesome that you want to learn how to code! (We always need fresh recruits, haha. )

Now then, if I had to give one specific piece of advice, it would be to have fun with the entire enterprise. Some guys get a computer with the latest hardware and ubuntu linux, and immediately set about proclaiming their leet status to everyone on 4chan who cares(tip: none of them do ).

But it doesn't work like that. There's so much information and knowledge about computer science, that you're not going to become anything like Linus Torvalds this side of a decade, so take your time and enjoy learning the stuff. You're still a teen, so you've got time on your side. If you treat the computer like a big toy, then you'll have fun playing with it, and you'll progress faster than you would otherwise.

A few basic reccomendations:

1. Order a book or two on C/C++. The C programming language is the de facto standard of computer science, and you can't go wrong with it. I myself prefer C++, because it can do everything C can do but has a little extra. It doesn't matter too much, though. If you learn C first, then learning C++ will be easy and doable. If you learn C++ first, it will be a bit more challenging, but you won't have to learn C(haha!).

2. If you're going to learn how to code/program, then I definitely recommend getting yourself a linux distribution. Windows 8 is dead, and windows 7/XP is on the way out. The entire Microsoft support system is collapsing around it. At the same time, Unix based platforms(e.g. Linux), are starting to come into their own, and development is switching over to the OpenSource Model.

Having said that, if you do decide to get a Linux Distribution, stay the hell away from Ubuntu Linux. I always reccomend Slackware Linux to anyone looking to actually learn how to code/program. Slackware has a reputation for being overly technical and hard to figure out, but don't listen to it. It's solid and stable as a rock, and gives you control over the system. Granted, that means you can blow your own foot off if you want to, but that's the name of the game, I suppose.

Of course, if you don't want to dive into the technical command line that is Slackware, then you might like Arch Linux or Mint Linux. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just look up Slackware Linux.

Finally, learning about computer science/programming is all inclusive. So don't be afraid to experiment. If you have any questions, pm me and I'll give you my e-mail. Good luck!

No doubt you're going to get a lot of high-level advice(mixed with irrelevant information) here that's going to fly right over your head. It's best to keep it simple and focus on learning the principles and making the simplest possible programs.

Yes, C++ is a good language and everything, but IMO it's not beginner-friendly. Pascal was invented to teach people to program, and has evolved into a powerful language of its own. It's much harder to make mistakes in Pascal, and is much easier to understand what's going on. It generally has better diagnostics.

Turbo Pascal helped me with programming a lot when I was a teenager. Using Pascal, I wrote a hack for an online service back then, a front-end for Doom, and a cheat for Alone In The Dark.

These days there's something called "Free Pascal", which works on most operating systems, and allows you to write a simple program very easily. Just a few lines in its simple editor, hit a button, and you get your "Hello world".

Then you can expand and experiment in a safe environment with a verbose, understandable language that won't let you get away with grievous mistakes. C/C++ would.

Pascal is still being used to great degree, mostly as part of Delphi - rapid development environment. Which is very cool. Skype was written in Pascal. I wrote and published a small game in Pascal, too.

In short... try it.

This book is where I started: http://www.openbookproject.net/thinkcs/ ... english2e/
It has an introduction to basic computing principles as well as teaching you how to actually code. The tasks are pretty fun. Highly recommended! In general, there's a lot of material out there on the internet and many professional programmers are self-taught, at least to start with.

Pascal?! Why, Monsterland, WHY?? (I am joking, of course.)

I get what you are saying about the user-unfriendless of C/C++. Although, I admit that I am biased in this regard. I got my first book on C++ when I was about 12-14 years old, and kind of ran with it, so to speak. So I usually scoff at people who say that C/C++ is a bad starting route.

Indeed. I find that all the mistakes the beginner might make in C/C++ is good reason in itself to learn the languages. But at the moment, it is early morning, and I'm a bit groggy. Hurgle gurgle, and all that. Techman, do whatever you want.

thanks guys, I will definitely look in to what you suggested!

If you do codecademey, be aware that the parser that checks your code is dumb, so you have to anticipate the terms it is looking for.

Also, you may find it useful to supplement codecademey with khan Academry. There are some good videos there om basic structures, concepts etc.

Have fun!

I don't agree at all with getting linux is good idea, it can have some benefits, of course it can, but you'll have to learn to code and to deal with the system. Saying windows is dead (even in servers) is just ridiculous.

As you're just beginning I don't really see important that you learn a solid programming base and get concepts right on one platform or another, by now the only important thing.

I agree that c++ is a good way to start but if you won't have a teacher I think python could be better, and if I'm not wrong you can learn it through codeacademy.

I specially suggest NOT starting coding in java.

PS: I'm not only against linux, I think linux in professional environments is often way better than windows, in my personal laptop (where I write this) I use fedora linux.

Pascal sounds good. I want to learn programming too. Where can it download it and what canyoiu do with it?

I like Python.
There are lots of tutorials and resources out there.

A link for dev pascal it's an IDE (it has an interface AND a compiler)

http://www.bloodshed.net/dev/devpas192.exe

I started learning to program being 14, now I'm 21, next year is my last year studying, I know what I'm talking about and although pascal is a good option I think python is even better to learn because:

Pascal's standard is very small and depending on the compiler changes a lot
Nobody uses pascal nowadays and python is more and more used everyday although Delphi is used (not as much as python) and if I'm not wrong it's pretty similar
Python's documentation is WAY better.
MIT and many universities are using python to teach

If you want to learn python you can installing it following this order:
Python

If you need any help during the process feel free to PM me.

PS: I still like pascal and it has some advantages over python but I think there are more cons than pros.

You guys are focusing more on applicability while the OP is asking about learning to code from ZERO. He isn't concerned with writing commercial applications just yet, and is far away from that point. Therefore my Pascal advice is based on what's best to LEARN from, as that is the main question of the OP.

As far as Pascal not being used, look up Lazarus project - it's a crossplatform Pascal compiler and IDE under active development. A great RAD tool for all intents and purposes.

I am also writing a game in C++ and at one point introduced an insidious graphics corruption bug that took me 2 months to find. By default, C++ lets you corrupt memory and it has a lot of unintuitive and unspecified assumptions. It is probably one of the worst languages to start with.

Meanwhile, to the OP - Free Pascal.