[ale] I've decided again to learn programming again

[Byron Jeff]

On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 06:42:11AM -0400, Ron Frazier wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> Those of you that have read some of my prior posts know I've been 
> threatening for some time to relearn programming after 16 years out of 
> the loop.  I discussed it here before, and we had discussions about the 
> various merits, or unmerits of different languages.  I really was 
> planning to learn C++, after you guys convinced me to not target C#.  I 
> have, sitting next to me, some of the best C++ textbooks out there, 
> including one by the inventor of C++.  The problem is, no disrespect to 
> the authors, that these things are BORING, and intimidating.  I mean, I 
> have to go through 400 pages of for next loops, if then's, and variable 
> setting, etc. to even get to putting a GUI hello world program on the 
> screen.  And, that's IF they even discuss GUI programming.  Now, I know 
> you have to learn the basics, and I know these things are foundational, 
> but I think this is the least enticing way to teach it.

The real problem is that there is a functional disconnect between 
foundational programming concepts and GUI programming. GUIs are event
driven creatures that rarely have a linear flow. We run into this problem
all the time teaching introductory programming and invariably end up right
back at linear console programming to teach basic concepts. It's difficult
to branch out to non-linear event driven programming without a clear
understanding of basic programming concents.

>  Not only that, 
> programming desktop computers doesn't excite me nearly as much now as it 
> did a decade and a half ago when it was relatively new.  Embedded 
> programming interests me to a point, and I could do that in C++ 
> sometimes, but I don't necessarily want to be programming thermostats 
> and microwave ovens either.  Robotics interests me, but it can be very 
> difficult and expensive to develop your own robotics lab.
> 
> The other thing that interests me that I might be able to start 
> development for on my own, is mobile computing, specifically Android.  I 
> recently heard that Android is the most popular smart phone OS on the 
> planet.  And, it's pretty much the only game in town for non IOS 
> tablets.  The thing is, you program Android in Java.  So, I have to 
> choose between Java and C++ since I cannot really learn two languages at 
> once.  So, I've decided to jump over to Java, before investing lots of 
> time in C++, which I may come back to later.  By the way, my 
> introductory Java and Android books are just as boring as the C++ books, 
> but I guess I'll muddle through.
> 
> So, having said all that, do you guys have any thoughts on setting up a 
> cross platform Java development environment, learning Java, learning 
> Android, etc.  I'm thinking using the Sun / Oracle JDK on both Windows 
> and Linux, plus the Eclipse IDE, and whatever device emulators the 
> Android books recommend.  When I can, I'll get an Android tablet to try 
> things out on.  I have two good books on Android 2 from Apress.  They've 
> now come out with similar books on Android 3.  All of them say to learn 
> Java first though.  I think there will be a lot of Android 2 out there 
> for a while, so it might be fine to start with the books I have.  Any 
> thoughts and advice are appreciated.
> 
> Maybe, someday 8-( I'll see a GUI hello world that I created on a tablet 
> device.  The very large learning curve for this is intimidating and 
> frustrating.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ron
> 
> -- 
> 
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

I have to run. I'll come back to the rest of this thread a bit later.

BAJ

> 
> Ron Frazier
> 
> 770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT c3energy.com
> 
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-- 
Byron A. Jeff
Department Chair: IT/CS/CNET
College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
Clayton State University
http://cims.clayton.edu/bjeff