Help with programming?

Question

I am a completly new to programming but I know the basics like what it is and that you have to learn a programming language like C++ or something.

But what I couldent find is 1. what is the best place to program (like I know you can use notepad but I dont know if its best) and 2. after you write the command in notepad how do you make into a program? Like how do you save it so it will run as a program, because when I save it and then open it, it simply shows the code I wrote, and doesent run the program.

So yeh, If someone could answer these questions I would really appreciate it = )

Answer 1

First of all, you don't know anything about programming. Not even basics. Not trying to be rude, just stating the fact.



Basic process of making a program. Type code -> compile into program -> run program. The exact steps depend on the language that you're writing programs with.



Here's my suggestion. Go to a bookstore, grab beginner's book on the language of your choice, I'd go with BASIC. Buy the book, read it, and follow all the steps that it gives you.

Answer 2

If your going to learn a high-end programming language like C++, perhaps you should download visual studio. It's free and it will guide you in the right direction of writing code, and even finds where errors are and helps you write code faster.



Here's the download link:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/vc/



At that same link, you can get tutorials, starter kits, and more for C++. If you want some physical referances, buy a college book on Amazon is my best advice.

Using Visual Studio will also allow you to publish real programs and execute them. Notepad cannot accomplish this.



If you are uninterested in Visual Studio, you can try out Borland:

http://www.borland.com/downloads/index.html



Boreland cost money though, my High School used to use it.



I hope that helps.

Answer 3

ahh where to start.... how to teach a intro. to programming course in a paragraph...



wow, anyway here it goes, cause i don't have much time....



notepad won't do as an editor, unless you save it as raw text, as notepad will add chars to it for notepad formatting....



you need to use a programming editor, such as Visual C++, which will have commands to compile and build built in.



A program begins as a series of commands, which then have to be translated into assembly language (and then eventually into 1s and 0s so the computer can actually process them). This is accomplished with a compiler, which is what you are actually paying for (unless you use linux, in which case you can get a free GNU one).



So, you need a compiler to process your C++ into a program. I'm not sure if there is a free one for windows, may I reccomend you try linux (www.linux.org or www.linux.com or www.fedora.com to plug my fav) - you can get lots of free compilers on linux, and it is a great place to program.





Basically, when you program, you follow 3 steps...

1) write

You write the code.....

2) link

Your code is assembled into one piece (if it uses multiple files, such as includes, etc..)

3) compile

Your code is translated into machine language, so it can be read by OS/BIOS



Of course these are steps for programming languages such as C++, which are unlike JavaScript, which are scripting languages and are interpreted as they are run by an interpreter....



Good luck!

Answer 4

Here is a website that explains how to download & install MinGW (gcc for Linux ported to Windows.



http://ems.calumet.purdue.edu/mcss/kraftrl/cs302-2005/mingw-install.html



The instructions include how to download & configure Textpad. TextPad is a very powerful text editor. It has a lot of tools that make working with C, C++, Java, HTML, etc., files very easy. Editors like Notepad really pale in comparison to an editor like TextPad.



Steps 1thru 8 & 11.

===

Tutorials online:



http://www.programmingtutorials.com



http://www.cplusplus.com



http://www.freeprogrammingresources.com



======



Free Electronic Book



Thinking in C++ 2nd Edition by Bruce Eckel



Volume 1 & Volume 2



http://www.mindview.net/Books/TICPP/ThinkingInCPP2e.html

Answer 5

Just download visual studios 2005. It should be free and you can use C++, VB.net, C#, and others I can't remember at this moment. It's very helpful and provides internet help or suggestions if you type something wrong.

For saving something as the programming language you used I only know .vls is visual logic, .vb is VB.net, and lua is .lua.



Example is Program.vb