How To Get Into Programming?

My name is Hunter, I'm 15 and a sophomore in High School. I want to learn Java and be able to make botting scripts. I'm not setting my goals too high of yet. I'm also not hoping to achieve it right now. I'm taking only one technologic class at the moment, which is Digital Interactive Media. Its an "advanced" course at my school, I never took the P-Req for it but I got in I guess. What are some classes I can take while i'm still in High School so I can excel when i'm on the college level? I plan on going to a 4 year university and maybe a few extra years.

What can I do as of now to start learning languages and "How To Program?"

Have any questions? Pm me please.

Thanks in advance, Hunter.

 

Take a class in your high school if they have it. Or buy a good book to teach you such as Beginning Java Programming for Dummies. That book helped me when I first started.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the book. I won't be able to take another class until next year.

 

I would steer clear of anything For Dummies, except C For Dummies FIRST EDITION. Some information in that book is outdated (it was written in the Win16/DOS days), but it's very educational.

 

Thanks, so which series should I look into? And correct me if i'm wrong but its Java I want to learn to make RS scripts right?

 

Depends on what you are trying to make. Interfacing directly with the Runescape client is not something a beginner should try to do.

Are you planning on making, say, autotypers/clickers/bankers, etc?

Depends on what you are trying to make. Communicating directly with the Runescape client is not something a beginner should try to do.

Are you planning on making, say, autotypers/clickers/bankers, etc? If so, start with Visual Basic instead. It's much simpler and gives you a decent foundation for moving on to other languages.

 

Just like other people recommended, if no classes are offered in your school, you should start learning on your own. However, I would like to add that you would be much better off if you can find some mentor. Learning programming from books can be very tedious if you are completely unfamiliar with programming. I remember when I was a kid, my family was not of technological background, but I liked the idea of programming so I started to learn on my own with books too. Then one day, before college of course, I was able to meet people who had same age with high background in programming (like their families had people working in programming field, or they had friends or siblings who were pro programmers) and found out that their programming skill was far superior compared to mine. Mainly because I was alone and had no one to compare myself to. Moreover, I had no standard that I had to reach, like I would spend days on just about 10 lines of codes while the usual time frame for 10 lines of codes is just 2 mins, you move on even if the 10 lines are not perfect, so that you will come back to the 10 lines to fix later. It's the kind of programming habit that is never mentioned about in books. There are many things that you miss when you do not have a mentor next to you to tell you. So look for a friend who has high programming background, or join a club somewhere, or a programming group, or volunteer, or just take programming classes in a community college as a high school student and learn from people around you beside the books.

 

On top of using books or classes some of the greatest teachers are online.
I personally dislike learning through reading; visually learning something helps me none.
However; on YouTube, or any other video site for that matter, for any given language there are hundreds of well done tutorials! These allow you to have guidance; without the need to enroll in outside programs.

 

True, I forgot about video sites. People who upload their own tutorial videos are very down to earth and "for dummy" like too.

 

Yeah. The other upside to online videos is the fact that there are so many, and so many teachers out there.

If you decide to take a class, and you cannot relate to the teaching style, you will not learn or enjoy it as much as you could. With online teachers, you can test it out through a 10 minute video, if you don't like it .. Move on to the next. This way you can also take in code from a number of sources, and learn tips and tricks from each!

You can also work at your own pace, and cator to your specific projects: learn what you want, when you want to!

 

Thanks for you help guys. Im going to look into classes for 2nd Semester and see if they have any.

 

Good luck with your study.

 

Maybe learn python first. I hear it's very similar to java, but a bit easier to learn. Then when you go to learn java you will learn quickly because python is pretty much the same I think.

 

Do you know python and java?

 

I wouldn't strive to learn a language solely to make a bot. If you want bots it's much less work to simply buy them. If you're actually thinking of going to college for this then I'd suggest learning on your own. I did AP java in school, and that was good if your school offers it but if not then I'd buy a book. I used "Java Concepts" by cay horstmann. I liked it so much I actually ended up buying the book after passing the AP test.. nerd i know. And now I'm buying "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML" so we'll see how that works out for me - learning with no one there. Also someone told me that if I learn alone that I should join a forum solely for programming, sounds like a good idea so I'd suggest that to you. Hope that helps.

 

I'm in an intro to programming course this semester in university. The first semester we learn python and the second semester we start java. The prof said there is a reason why they do it this way, but I wasn't paying attention lol.

 

Do a computer related course at college/university. Computer Science is the most generic, but you can get more specific courses if you want.