New to computer programming
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Hi everyone, I was searching the net for some programming resources and I stumbled upon this site. I'm looking to eventually get a posistion in the game developing business, but firstly I need to gain experience in programming. I'm 19, and going to college next fall, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could help me out. What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? I'm very computer literate, but have no knowledge of programming. The most well known language to me, or atleast most heard of, is C++. Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? It would seem advantageous to me, if I know a bit of computer programming even before I went to college for my degree. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Or is it just Microsoft that makes the product? Thanks, Brandon
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Hi everyone, I was searching the net for some programming resources and I stumbled upon this site. I'm looking to eventually get a posistion in the game developing business, but firstly I need to gain experience in programming. I'm 19, and going to college next fall, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could help me out. What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? I'm very computer literate, but have no knowledge of programming. The most well known language to me, or atleast most heard of, is C++. Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? It would seem advantageous to me, if I know a bit of computer programming even before I went to college for my degree. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Or is it just Microsoft that makes the product? Thanks, Brandon
What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? Computer Science, I guess. At least in my country, electrical engineers do quite a bit of programming work, too. If you're good at programming, I don't think the degree you take will make any significative difference when it comes to finding a job in the game industry (but definitely having a degree is better than not having it). Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? Very wise. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Well, for Windows platform, VC++ is almost the only actual choice. There are other products, but they don't receive as much attention as VC++ does, by far. Joaquín M López Muñoz Telefónica, Investigación y Desarrollo
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Hi everyone, I was searching the net for some programming resources and I stumbled upon this site. I'm looking to eventually get a posistion in the game developing business, but firstly I need to gain experience in programming. I'm 19, and going to college next fall, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could help me out. What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? I'm very computer literate, but have no knowledge of programming. The most well known language to me, or atleast most heard of, is C++. Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? It would seem advantageous to me, if I know a bit of computer programming even before I went to college for my degree. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Or is it just Microsoft that makes the product? Thanks, Brandon
The standard in the gaming industry is still C++ at this point. There are several options to programming out there as far as languages and I have heard of some games programming done in every language that exists. I would recommend Computer Science, although Electrical Engineers are good as well. However I think in Electrical Engineering you may learn more fun stuff (I am an electrical Engineer) you lose some of the theory of programming that may give you an edge over other candiates if all you want to do is software. However you may want to look at a software engineer program if one is available as that would merge more of the two disciplines. In my honest opinion for what you hope to accomplish studying C++ would be your best choice. Getting used to the Microsoft Visual C++ will get you closet to most gaming environments that are out there, but once again it is not the only flavor of c++ on the market. Linux has gcc. There is borland c++. Each of these will allow you to learn the language and get you in to programming and give you experience. Another approach for entering the gaming industry and one that I have been exploring is to download the tools for modifying a current game. These modifications often have a script language which is very similiar to C/C++. These are good tools to let you see what is ahead of you, however they may be a little confusing to start with. Don't worry too much about that, but they are good demos. Lastly, coding or programming to me is a skill that translate well accross boundaries more readily than most. I have worked in Visual C++ for many years now, but after I was laid off and started my new job, I was forced to support Visual Basic code for a while. The reason I say this is that even studying visual basic will help you learn to code and understand object oriented programming. The syntax however will be different, but if you learn to understand outside the syntax and understand the concepts, any language will work for you. Brian If you start a fire for a man, he will be warm for a day. If you start that same man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.
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Hi everyone, I was searching the net for some programming resources and I stumbled upon this site. I'm looking to eventually get a posistion in the game developing business, but firstly I need to gain experience in programming. I'm 19, and going to college next fall, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could help me out. What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? I'm very computer literate, but have no knowledge of programming. The most well known language to me, or atleast most heard of, is C++. Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? It would seem advantageous to me, if I know a bit of computer programming even before I went to college for my degree. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Or is it just Microsoft that makes the product? Thanks, Brandon
Since you're interested in game development, search the microsoft website for directX. Get the sdk and documentation. The programming language would be C/C++, but that's not very important. It's something you learn as you experiment with the technology you're interested in, in this case gaming. I hope you're a dedicated geek:), computer science is not for career minded people. You have to love it to succeed in it. Most aspects of it can be very fustrating, only a passion can get you to where you want to be. Especially something like game programming.
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The standard in the gaming industry is still C++ at this point. There are several options to programming out there as far as languages and I have heard of some games programming done in every language that exists. I would recommend Computer Science, although Electrical Engineers are good as well. However I think in Electrical Engineering you may learn more fun stuff (I am an electrical Engineer) you lose some of the theory of programming that may give you an edge over other candiates if all you want to do is software. However you may want to look at a software engineer program if one is available as that would merge more of the two disciplines. In my honest opinion for what you hope to accomplish studying C++ would be your best choice. Getting used to the Microsoft Visual C++ will get you closet to most gaming environments that are out there, but once again it is not the only flavor of c++ on the market. Linux has gcc. There is borland c++. Each of these will allow you to learn the language and get you in to programming and give you experience. Another approach for entering the gaming industry and one that I have been exploring is to download the tools for modifying a current game. These modifications often have a script language which is very similiar to C/C++. These are good tools to let you see what is ahead of you, however they may be a little confusing to start with. Don't worry too much about that, but they are good demos. Lastly, coding or programming to me is a skill that translate well accross boundaries more readily than most. I have worked in Visual C++ for many years now, but after I was laid off and started my new job, I was forced to support Visual Basic code for a while. The reason I say this is that even studying visual basic will help you learn to code and understand object oriented programming. The syntax however will be different, but if you learn to understand outside the syntax and understand the concepts, any language will work for you. Brian If you start a fire for a man, he will be warm for a day. If you start that same man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.
SanShou wrote: However I think in Electrical Engineering you may learn more fun stuff (I am an electrical Engineer) :wtf::wtf: You're saying that doing all those circuits analyses and Fourier transforms are fun! It's *because* of all my analog circuits that I'm in software development! bleh. That was some evil stuff. :mad: (end rant)
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Since you're interested in game development, search the microsoft website for directX. Get the sdk and documentation. The programming language would be C/C++, but that's not very important. It's something you learn as you experiment with the technology you're interested in, in this case gaming. I hope you're a dedicated geek:), computer science is not for career minded people. You have to love it to succeed in it. Most aspects of it can be very fustrating, only a passion can get you to where you want to be. Especially something like game programming.
What? Computer Science Degrees aren't for the career-minded? And what inspires that comment? :) James A Beggs Microsoft MSN Mobile Component Test Team
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What? Computer Science Degrees aren't for the career-minded? And what inspires that comment? :) James A Beggs Microsoft MSN Mobile Component Test Team
What i meant was, that computer science is not for people whose main motive is a high paying job. It is usually more difficult than such people anticipate.
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What i meant was, that computer science is not for people whose main motive is a high paying job. It is usually more difficult than such people anticipate.
Ah! Thats cool. I loved CS and programming myself. Can be technical, creative, really use your brain, and still make a decent living. Well, except in the current market. With all the dot.com collapses that Washington had in the last two years, the IT market really suffered. I haven't worked anything but short term contracts averaging 3 months each in the last two years because of it. And that with an average of a month or so between each contract. Ugh. :( James A Beggs Microsoft MSN Mobile Component Test Team
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Hi everyone, I was searching the net for some programming resources and I stumbled upon this site. I'm looking to eventually get a posistion in the game developing business, but firstly I need to gain experience in programming. I'm 19, and going to college next fall, and I was wondering if maybe you guys could help me out. What is the ideal degree to have for a job in the programming field? I'm very computer literate, but have no knowledge of programming. The most well known language to me, or atleast most heard of, is C++. Would it be wise to perhaps buy Visual C++ and start working with it on my own? It would seem advantageous to me, if I know a bit of computer programming even before I went to college for my degree. Lastly, are there different programs to write C++? Or is it just Microsoft that makes the product? Thanks, Brandon
Start making mods for games. A lot of mod developers get jobs because of their work. There are lots of C++ "compilers". A lot of games run on Macs, consoles, etc. and use compilers other than Microsoft. CodeWarrior and gcc are two examples. Computer Science or an Engineering degree are good for programming. If your highly self motivated you might find CS a bit slow or uninteresting. If that's the case then look into something Engineering related where you can get a good math backgroud. There are also some schools now that offer game development degrees such as DigiPen. Also have a look at http://www.flipcode.com[^] http://www.gamedev.net[^] http://www.gamasutra.com[^] Todd Smith