Took it this semester and have been regretting it! It is a 7-10pm class so I am already tired, and if we actually finish learning at 8 or 9, the teacher rambles on for the rest of class until exactly 10, plus its the first time she taught this class. Right now I am working on "module 4" and its a complete pita. I thought I would understand it, lol, but its ended up being more like a foreign language to me. She has given us example files, but without enough comments, so I am not exactly sure what is going on when.

Anyone actually understand it?

 

im on a 2nd year of java...but its a HS course, so i dunno if we move slower than college or what.

but- i hate it.

i used to be into computers more and thought programming would be a cool thing to learn, maybe pursue it and get a career....NO MORE. it's the most boring pointless class. dont even ask why i opted to take a second year, i dont know what i was thinking. so far, i have learned close to nothing that i can actually use outside the classroom.

it is also my earliest class, so that doesn't help either....

 

i took java programing last year. i didnt mind it. but i kinda slid through the class, easy prof type thing

 

I'm not taking one now but I am thinking about it...

 

post it up. i'm sure people here might be able to help shed some light. i took several java courses back years ago but rem some so who knows

 

i took FORTRAN for my programming requirement for my B.S. It was alot easier than the stories i heard from the JAVA folks. Courses like that are all about how good and/or easy the teacher is.

 

Some people have the knack for programming languages, others have to work really hard at it. It's very much a left brain/right brain split.

If you can't bail on the class (sounds like you're too far in) then one thing that may help is to pick up one of the "____ For Dummies" books. They're all REALLY great, there's one for Java (link below) and you may want to look at the C++ book as well.

I would bet that the concept you're having issues with are variables, loop control and how "classes" fit into the picture. The Dummy books can make those basics easier to grab.

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...764504177.html

 

Post it up and I'll see what I can do. I took Java about two years ago (engineering school) and did pretty well with it. It's one of those things that really builds on itself, so if you don't get one of the first parts, you're toast for the later stuff. I guess that can be said for most programming languages though... Post up, and let's see what we can do.

 

Programing is often a love it hate it kind of thing, ether you love it or you hate it. But it's worth takeing a class to see if it is something you really like and are good at. keep at it. sometimes it get's funner when you can start makeing cool stuff for yourself

 

I say get this book and spend a weekend doing nothing but reading and comprehending the concepts in it (or whatever it was you didn't understand). I learn languages much quicker when I teach them to myself, and have the ability to meddle around with them a little and actually see what they do, rather than sit there in a lecture with a pencil and paper.

I can't write code out on paper for the life of me, but I can pound it out on a keyboard much easier.

 

big old ditto!

 

went to borders today to look at the "for dummies" book its a great book, I took a while to look at it already and seems to have lots of examples

 

YAY! YAY! YAY!

I've always thought that intro classes (to just about everything!) should be taught by just handing out copies of the respective book in the series.

Glad you're diggin' it!

 

leo's rules of learning a new programming language:

1. you have to know a language already.

2. learn the basics of the language:

• variables
• control structures
• conditionals
• functions/procedures

3. learn how to "HELLO WORLD" because it does a few things:

1. assign a variable with something
2. and it does an output

4. find a GREAT BOOK. when i first started to learn PHP, i sat in a B&N for a couple hours. i looked at a few books. then i saw this white and red book from WROX. what was nice about it is the first part of the book showed you how to install PHP on a machine. most books i checked out placed this at the end. and becuase it was a book on BEGINNING PHP 4, it introduced the basics.

i was never good in learning a new programming language by just jumping into it by getting examples. i'm better at learning the basics first, then start with the examples.

5. code, code, code...

 

i psuedo code on paper. heck i even flowchart by hand to design the workflow of the app.

since these days, everything i do is web based though, i normally start with dreamweaver designing how each screen look like and then start pounding on my IDE to make that screen come alive...

i'm more of a top down programmer than a bottom up...

 

nah...its not slow b/c its HS...its slow b/c its in Texas...

 

I'll add a trick I use...

Take an app that you've already written and port it to the new target language. Little stuff, I'm not talking word processors, but anything that you know inside and out. I like using things like directory searches, input handlers, network toys (ping, tracert, etc).

I did this a lot when moving from Pascal, forth, various asm's, C...

 

exactly. that's why i mentioned, one should know a previous programming app.

it makes it easier to compare one language to another...

i was so surprised with the C like structure of PHP that made it really easy for me to grasp.