Noobiest Programming Question Ever!

This may be a stupid question but I was wondering what exactly coding does, for example what does it do for a game? How do you code? Does it tell an object what to do, or does it tell what an object should look like or is that something completely different?

I really want a thorough answer because coding and programming is something I really want to pursue as I get older, so any info from someone who knows what there talking about would be nice but anything helps. I appreciate everyone's help and if you are knowledgeable about coding for games, what language should I start coding with?

 

it does precisely both of those things.

Its hard to explain everything in full context for an absolute beginner beings that there is so many aspects of it.

I suggest taking tutorials, in Visual Basic.net, but only to get the basic jist of everything, then i recommend java, or C#. My preference would be java. The reason for JAVA is because it gets you used to using a relatively complex language, thats still easy to use and understand.


That way you pick up C++/pretty much any other language with relative ease.

 

Alright, thanks for this information any thing helps.

I knew it was going to be difficult for someone to explain but it's all good.

I was looking into java and c++ wondering which one i should start with so thanks for that.

Any more information from anyone is still appreciated.

 

So, you are a beginner?

There are many different types of programming, such as languages. Such as, we have Spanish, English, Chinese, ect.

In programming, the main languages are,

HTML, XHTML, XML(You want to peruse this if you want to learn gaming),PHP, CSS, C++.

You can find many good tutorials on the internet.

 

Yes, I'm new to programming.

As for XML what do you mean it is for gaming.

 

Yes, I'm new to programming.

As for XML what do you mean it is for gaming.

 

XML is a flash file language, it's often used in games like Runescape where it involves 3D coding.

It's not too hard to learn, but if want to code such as something like a 3d game, you need to know a lot which would take years.

 

Don't listen to this moron. He knows little of what he talks about. HTML is not a programming language. Take a java class online. It will all start kicking in eventually. If you don't get it at first dont worry. Just keep practicing and take classes in school if they offer them.

 

HTML is a programming language, just not used for what he wants, it's incredibility basic programming.

 

its a markup language. Not logic or math involed. Its all about presentation and display. it can not do anything but show things.

 

HTML is not a programming language. It's a markup language.

Are you the biggest dumbass ever or something? Have you even googled XML?? It stands for eXtensible Markup Language dumbass, and it has nothing to do with 3D coding specifically.

Please get your facts right before advising beginners. In fact, with your level of knowledge I wouldn't recommend trying to answer any questions.

 

Understanding the purpose of something is usually the best place to start. Don't pay much attention to anything else, as most people don't understand what it means to be a true beginner when they know something.

Basically, programming is composed of a series of basically 'lightswitches'. Think of a lightswitch in your house. When the switch is down, the light is off. When the switch is up, the light is on.

Programming is this in its simplest form. If a is true, then b. If c is true, then d. We use programming to perform automatic functions that would take a person a long time to do, which also allows us to make sure the function is done correctly.

For instance, if you were to want to write a program to pour water from a bottle onto the floor every 20 seconds, you could do that. So instead of you having to do it every 20 seconds, the machine would do it while being controlled by the series of commands (the program you wrote).

There are indeed a multitude of different languages. These are all used to simplify the basics of programming, machine code, which is quite literally nothing but a series of true and false (which gets very confusing). Languages like C, PHP, Java, etc... they take this language which performs these tasks, and they simplify it so it's easier to understand and to work with.

Lets say you wanna make a program to do the above example. (I'll do this in pseudocode which is not an actual language but moreso an incredibly easy to understand learning tool).

'Pour water onto the floor every 20 seconds' code:

basically, we run a loop every twenty seconds in which we check if we have water in the cup, if we do, we pour it on the floor, if we don't, we stop the loop.


BTW: Do not start with games. Biggest mistake of any person's future career. Start with math, algorithms, logic. It may all sound boring, but the only way you'll learn anything is if you go with the fundamentals, and not try to base your entire career off of something so minutely important. You'll also find it easier to get a job .

 

I would have to agree with Deacon Frost.
Never start with making games. I am not much of a explain person, but I would recommend starting with C rather than java (IMHO Java is not much for beginners with buffers and the main method, and with case sensitive, a beginner might crack if they were to look for errors). Try reading e-books for dummies as what they say.
And programming and coding is more logical thinking rather than memorizing your history books.
As for making games, when you think you're good enough to leave the beginner's level, try learning VB.NET.
It is a good practice for the simplest game you could ever think.
I hope I explained myself well enough (I'm not really good at explaining, bah!)

 

I have to say that was a really nice answer!

I too am new to programming, and scripting, and web design and all of that fancy language stuff.

I started by learning HTML, and CSS and once I got that I started to use PHP. Now these 3 languages go together nicely to make websites, HTML for the layout, CSS for the visual and PHP for functions.

I guess what I am wondering is where I should go from here? I would much prefer to make programs / games etc. then web pages. Should I continue learning PHP? Will it help in learning other things? Which language should I pick up first?

If you are making a program (say, a calculator for online, like the one that comes with windows) what types of languages will you need? Do you need to have one to do the visual (like HTML/CSS do for web pages) and one to do the functions (like PHP in web pages) or can it all be done in a single language? If it is a single one, what works best?

Also, providing specific (not overly detailed) information on a list of languages would be helpful.
IE:

• Java - Used for - Level of difficulty
• C# - Used for - Level of difficulty
• C++ - Used for - Level of difficulty
• Action Script - Used for - Level of difficulty

I apologize if this appears as thread hijacking, however I am too interested in this sort of information!

 

Forgive if I am butting in from the convo. If you already known PHP and CSS, may I suggest VB.NET
But unlike web languages, C#, C++, Java and VB.NET needs a compiler to run.
As for C++ and Java, you can download free compilers.
As for C#, I'm not sure but I have C# in my VS. And for VB.NET, well, microsoft....
VB.Net is almost an english term in terms of codes.
C# is mix C and Java as far as I know.

 

You suggest starting with VB.net, I'll give it a shot!
Thanks!