Newbie Coders Chat

OP

Original post by mobbsy91

Visual Basic - you can use it on stuff like Excel to write macros, real neat for automating spreadsheets...

So, when we had about 10,000 rows of data that needed checking, we wrote a macro using VBA to automate it... its real neat!

Wicked! I need to learn that. I love spreadsheets :drool:

Original post by BananaConqueror

I'm currently working on 3 different visual novels using renpy, has anyone heard of it?

'Fraid not :no:

Reply 82

Original post by Craghyrax

What's VBA @mobbsy91?

Wait... what's wrong with a language being web focused? :confused:

The internet is the only reason I have any interest in coding :tongue:

Have you tried? :tongue:

I think that there are probably things that you knew, or information that you had that you are taking for granted. You might have been in an environment where people in your network coded, or you might have been in a work place where it was needed, or a hobby, etc. etc.
But for some people, myself included, we know nothing about programming and coding other than what - e.g. - my D in IGCSE Computer Science taught me. E.g. what an algorithm is. When I started the only thing I knew was that there are different programming languages. Codecademy gives me the basics and gives me the reassurance that I know enough to begin googling things independently based on my needs, without being hindered by huge chasms in my understanding. And anyway... googling does lead you to very newbie ish articles that point you to tools like Codecademy, Khan etc.
It's as good a place to start as any, as long as you don't think you're going to finish a tutorial like that and then be able to walk away and actually do stuff with it. That's why I have my own projects in mind, and I intend to give myself a lot of hours of tinkering independently after being taught the syntax and underlying logic behind different languages. As somebody doing a social science PhD... which is very independent and largely unstructured, you also learn the value of the kind of structure and gamification that a site like Codecademy offers. It is enormously helpful for motivation if you can see easily how far you're progressing on a module, and to have regular feedback and reassurance that you're getting things right. Many people also don't have direction or goals to work on when they first decide to try learning programming. If you don't have direction then it is very overwhelming to have to randomly google about programming. Things like Codecademy give you bite sized pieces to worth through while you figure out what you're doing and why.

Bruh direct reply to the bit in bold red: I'm only 16. Fair enough that at the time I had good Java knowledge, which probably aided me in learning vb, however I used the method listed above when learning Java (my first programming language). I guess we all learn differently. Me and a lot of my friends used the method I mentioned (with no prior programming experience), and we all were easily able to learn multiple languages. I personally just don't like Codecademy. I like getting straight into things, I find that reading API docs are more beneficial for me then an on screen tutorial. We all learn differently though....

Reply 83

OP

Original post by Aklaol

Bruh direct reply to the bit in bold red: I'm only 16. Fair enough that at the time I had good Java knowledge, which probably aided me in learning vb, however I used the method listed above when learning Java (my first programming language). I guess we all learn differently. Me and a lot of my friends used the method I mentioned (with no prior programming experience), and we all were easily able to learn multiple languages. I personally just don't like Codecademy. I like getting straight into things, I find that reading API docs are more beneficial for me then an on screen tutorial. We all learn differently though....

That's the bit I meant :wink:

I'm 'sis', not 'bruh' FYI :teehee:

Reply 84

Original post by Craghyrax

That's the bit I meant :wink:

I'm 'sis', not 'bruh' FYI :teehee:

Can you be both? :frown:

Reply 85

OP

Original post by Aklaol

Can you be both? :frown:

Hmm... perhaps we should switch to 'sib' for 'sibling' :tongue:

Less room for error :lol:

Although in my case it's probably more like 'Aunt', so you'd have been doomed either way.

Anyhow with the post before.. I meant more that you wouldn't have come across coding on your own. You had people around you to provide motivation, feedback, encouragement... even if it was only by virtue of the fact that you were learning and making mistakes together.

If people are completely on their own they don't necessarily have that, which is where the hand-holding approach of something like Codecademy can be useful.

Reply 86

Original post by Craghyrax

Hmm... perhaps we should switch to 'sib' for 'sibling' :tongue:

Less room for error :lol:

Although in my case it's probably more like 'Aunt', so you'd have been doomed either way.

Anyhow with the post before.. I meant more that you wouldn't have come across coding on your own. You had people around you to provide motivation, feedback, encouragement... even if it was only by virtue of the fact that you were learning and making mistakes together.

If people are completely on their own they don't necessarily have that, which is where the hand-holding approach of something like Codecademy can be useful.

No honey... I was on my own when learning programming. No motivation, no feedback and no encouragement. Nobody even knew I was into coding until like a year ago.....

Reply 87

OP

Original post by Aklaol

No honey... I was on my own when learning programming. No motivation, no feedback and no encouragement. Nobody even knew I was into coding until like a year ago.....

Fair enough. Well done you :smile:

Reply 88

Original post by Craghyrax

Fair enough. Well done you :smile:

Thanks.

Reply 89

OP

Supposed to start the next programming language tonight but this heat has completely wiped me out :sigh:

I have kept up at least an hour of coding a day for 10 days now. Yesterday was the first day I didn't. I need to try not to fall out of the habit.
But for tonight I think I'll work on my vector drawing instead.

Reply 90

Original post by Craghyrax

Supposed to start the next programming language tonight but this heat has completely wiped me out :sigh:

I have kept up at least an hour of coding a day for 10 days now. Yesterday was the first day I didn't. I need to try not to fall out of the habit.
But for tonight I think I'll work on my vector drawing instead.

Rip. I program at least 1-2 hours a day (my computer science teacher sets us 3-4 programming tasks daily), along with that I spend another 15-30 minutes shell scripting, which is pretty damn fun. Have you ever used a Linux server? It's great fun.

Reply 91

OP

Original post by Aklaol

Rip. I program at least 1-2 hours a day (my computer science teacher sets us 3-4 programming tasks daily), along with that I spend another 15-30 minutes shell scripting, which is pretty damn fun. Have you ever used a Linux server? It's great fun.

No... I thought it was just an OS? What's shell scripting?
Sounds like a really good routine to have! Yeh I've been closer to 2 hours the last 10 days, but 1hour is just an arbitrary minimum I've set for myself because the bootcamp I want to go on expects 1-200hours of independent practice before they consider your application.
I'm trying to improve my graphic design skill on the side on top of that. But I tend to do that when my brain is tired, as it's more of a hobby.

Reply 92

Original post by Craghyrax

No... I thought it was just an OS? What's shell scripting?
Sounds like a really good routine to have! Yeh I've been closer to 2 hours the last 10 days, but 1hour is just an arbitrary minimum I've set for myself because the bootcamp I want to go on expects 1-200hours of independent practice before they consider your application.
I'm trying to improve my graphic design skill on the side on top of that. But I tend to do that when my brain is tired, as it's more of a hobby.

Yeah it is an OS. You can have a Linux server though and mess around with it. Shell scripting is " a computer program designed to be run by the Unix shell, a command-line interpreter". Aka, creating programs on e.g. a Linux OS. A Linux OS VPS is pretty cheap (£2.99 @ OVH). If you're really into programming/computer science, then you should look into buying one. Knowing how to use a Linux shell/server can be really advantageous if you ever want to get into the computer science industry professionally. On the side note, I wish I learnt graphics designing :frown:

. Best combination is somebody who has good knowledge on website programming + has good graphics desgining skills. Unfortuntely, I'm missing the latter. I hope to learn somebody (with my cracked photoshop :teehee:

).

Reply 93

OP

Original post by Aklaol

Yeah it is an OS. You can have a Linux server though and mess around with it. Shell scripting is " a computer program designed to be run by the Unix shell, a command-line interpreter". Aka, creating programs on e.g. a Linux OS. A Linux OS VPS is pretty cheap (£2.99 @ OVH). If you're really into programming/computer science, then you should look into buying one. Knowing how to use a Linux shell/server can be really advantageous if you ever want to get into the computer science industry professionally.

Thanks! Yeh I probably will somewhen down the line. My wee little Macbook Air is rather stretched, so it would probably be round about the time I found the money to buy another computer tbh.

On the side note, I wish I learnt graphics designing :frown:

. Best combination is somebody who has good knowledge on website programming + has good graphics desgining skills. Unfortuntely, I'm missing the latter. I hope to learn somebody (with my cracked photoshop :teehee:

).

That's my logic too, but it's also partly because I've always enjoyed art, and so I'd like to be able to translate my traditional skill into stuff I do online :smile:

The PhD is hard work, so it's good to have side projects to wind down with.
Here's a pencil sketch I did recently and then some of the stuff I've been doing with vectors.

Spoiler

I think vectors could be something good to learn if you want to create images from scratch. Inkscape is free (that's what I'm using) and even if a person doesn't have any natural drawing talent, you can create quite a few things very logically just by assembling shapes and making good colour choices.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 94

Original post by Craghyrax

Thanks! Yeh I probably will somewhen down the line. My wee little MBA is rather stretched, so it would probably be round about the time I found the money to buy another computer tbh.

That's my logic too, but it's also partly because I've always enjoyed art, and so I'd like to be able to translate my traditional skill into stuff I do online :smile:

The PhD is hard work, so it's good to have side projects to wind down with.
Here's a pencil sketch I did recently and then some of the stuff I've been doing with vectors.

Spoiler

I think vectors could be something good to learn if you want to create images from scratch. Inkscape is free (that's what I'm using) and even if a person doesn't have any natural drawing talent, you can create quite a few things very logically just by assembling shapes and making good colour choices.

MBA? PhD? Anything else...? Why all the extra degrees/qualifications?

Reply 95

OP

Original post by Aklaol

MBA? PhD? Anything else...? Why all the extra degrees/qualifications?

I wanted an academic career. You can't get one without a PhD. I had second thoughts recently, partly because of hanging out in some fandoms and really enjoying things like creating a badge system and other custom solutions for a group I was in. Partly because academia is very competitive right now with all the funding cuts and credential inflation. I haven't ruled out going in that direction (and my husband - also a PhD student - still is), but it's hard work, and I've watched too many friends work their asses off only to be still dealing with unemployment and stress months and years after graduating. From my side I just want a break and to do something different for awhile before I decide :smile:

Reply 96

OP

Oh wait @Aklaol... by MBA I meant 'Macbook Air' :pinch:

Reply 97

Original post by Craghyrax

Oh wait @Aklaol... by MBA I meant 'Macbook Air' :pinch:

Thank god lol. I was planning to invest in a Macbook Air, but I can't really justify spending £1000 on a laptop (even though the design of apple products are absolutely flawless). I literally would buy the MacBook only because of its design. It's so sexy...

Reply 98

OP

Original post by Aklaol

Thank god lol. I was planning to invest in a Macbook Air, but I can't really justify spending £1000 on a laptop (even though the design of apple products are absolutely flawless). I literally would buy the MacBook only because of its design. It's so sexy...

Yeh, I sometimes think I must be crazy to be doing the PhD, but I'm not that crazy.
The other day I met a woman who was doing a second PhD :eyeball:

It scared me.

My mac was a gift from an amazingly kind family friend, or I'd not be able to afford one either. I'd probably have preferred a regular Macbook, only I travel so much that the sheer weight of carrying books and a laptop around everywhere was actually giving me musculoskeletal issues. So having an extremely lightweight laptop that doesn't gasp and die when asked to do more than one thing is a real godsend!

Reply 99