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Best way to learn java
book 17%  17%  [ 1 ]
videos 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
other [post in forums other answer] 83%  83%  [ 5 ]
Total votes : 6

Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 11:36 am

I was wondering if anyone knew what would be the best way for an aspie and someone with ADD would learn java:?: I'm in jr high and there is no java classes so what would be the best way to learn java :?:



wavefreak58
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10 Feb 2011, 11:40 am

Just do it.

A book and online references can help. I can't imagine how a video would. But you best learn to code a programming language by doing it over and over and making a huge number of mistakes early on.

Or at least that's been my experience.

Reading and analyzing other people's code is very useful too.

I am NOT a good coder. Maybe someone that is will have a different strategy.


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Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 11:43 am

well i like videos because i see someone doing it and that helps me alot but i want to see what other people think before i go on youtube some more and search for a while finding a perfect tutorial
i only know the print line command so i'm doing good.



wavefreak58
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10 Feb 2011, 11:47 am

Dgosling wrote:
well i like videos because i see someone doing it and that helps me alot but i want to see what other people think before i go on youtube some more and search for a while finding a perfect tutorial
i only know the print line command so i'm doing good.


Maybe that would work for you. I just can't visualize anyway that a video would be useful to learn coding. Maybe because I'm thinking writing actual classes, functions, etc, not just tweaking interface elements written by someone else. Coding is text and text is not exiting video. Maybe it's my learning style.


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Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 11:50 am

ya maybe or it can be that you watched some bad tutorial videos there's some [a series i found which helped me a bit] that the person pulls up a code they made says what everyline does and how it does it then runs it.
i would like to find one that's just like taking a class but that might be what i will have to try :/



wavefreak58
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10 Feb 2011, 12:06 pm

Dgosling wrote:
ya maybe or it can be that you watched some bad tutorial videos there's some [a series i found which helped me a bit] that the person pulls up a code they made says what everyline does and how it does it then runs it.
i would like to find one that's just like taking a class but that might be what i will have to try :/


That might be good - analyzing pieces of code like that where there is verbal feedback as to what it does. But you still have to actually write a lot to get it down. There's multiple levels of debugging as well. There are the obvious problems found by the compiler then levels of less and less obvious problems. You can avoid a lot of these less obvious problems by forming good habits early on. Things like good naming conventions and always using the same indenting and bracketing styles.


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Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 12:07 pm

well i guess it's back to youtube :D
[good thing during this period it's TA and the teacher let's me watch java videos and do stuff since she usually doesn't need help :D]



wavefreak58
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10 Feb 2011, 12:10 pm

Regarding AS and ADD, you have to assess your own learning style. I am easily distracted by noise so I need a very quit environment. I also have difficulty scanning lists or switching my visual focus from one thing to another when the "seeing" is not the primary focus (source code is symbolic so there is an extra level of processing beyond just seeing it), So looking at code in a book then looking at it on my computer screen tends to confuse my thinking.


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Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 12:13 pm

well maybe i should try reading an actual book then reading an e-book or watching videos idk i'll just try these tutorials [watching them over and over] and if i don't learn much i'll try books on paper :/



cdlu
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10 Feb 2011, 12:23 pm

The easiest way to learn to code is by setting yourself a programming objective and forcing yourself to accomplish it. There are tons of on-line references for every conceivable language so finding specific functionality and basic examples is fairly trivial.

Personally I find object oriented languages difficult to grok and prefer procedural languages.



Dgosling
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10 Feb 2011, 12:44 pm

thanks guys i found a better video series of tutorials :D



theexternvoid
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10 Feb 2011, 12:55 pm

It depends. Are you already an expert on C#, C++, or Smalltalk? If so, looking at other code examples and diving into writing your own code might work best. Do you only know a procedural language like BASIC or COBOL? If so then a book on object-oriented programming concepts generally would be a better start before getting into Java itself (or Smalltalk or C#, etc.). Do you know OO programming, just not an expert, and want to get into Java? I recommend a book on Java over a video. Depending on your learning style, a CD with the book's code example could be nice so that you can load the code into Eclipse and play around with it rather than just staring at the code on paper. The problem with a video is that it's linear. When I study a programming language, I need to refer back to past things to make them connect with what I'm currently learning, etc.

For me, I was already an expert in C++. So when I wanted to learn C# (similar to Java), I just went on-line and read the most raw description of the language's grammar / syntax, started writing code, and used Google to get an answer whenever I became stuck on something.