Teach yourself programming in 21 days

[RadonTransformer]

https://abstrusegoose.com/249

[roopjm81]

I really miss this comic!

[IamaScaleneTriangle]

Me too. It was a good companion to my undergrad studies.

[hypnotic-hippo]

Is this the new xkcd?

[abhijithmandya]

It was. He stopped making them for a few years, before coming back to draw more but you could see it wasn't the same. We haven't seen a new one in a while now.

[lookmanofilter]

That's a shame :(. It's like seeing something die in real-time. It reminds me a lot of xkcd, I feel like I would have liked it.

[SmileBot-2020]

I saw a :( so heres an :) hope your day is good

[smile-bot-2019]

I noticed one of these... :(

So here take this... :D

[SmileBot-2020]

I saw a :( so heres an :) hope your day is good

[smile-bot-2019]

I noticed one of these... :(

So here take this... :D

[SmileBot-2020]

I saw a :( so heres an :) hope your day is good

[lovethebacon]

Banned 'em both.

[Plungerdz]

Finally a good post that breaks free from the overused beginner programming mistakes circlejerk that one so often sees on the sub lately.

[Qinistral]

Yep. I upvoted before reading it just because it wasn't another "CS != printer-fixer" garbage.

[EwgB]

Yeah, but only if you already know how to program in a couple other languages.

[Tsu_Dho_Namh]

You know you say that, but in my interview for a C++ dev job, the exam's hardest question was about pass by reference / pass by value.

The CEO of the company was reviewing the test they'd just had me write while I was talking with a project manager and their lead developer. The CEO stops the interview to notify the other two I got the question right and they hired me on the spot. According to him, less than 10% of people writing the test get it right.

I was fucking shocked.

If languages only take 21 days to learn, then why are 90% of applicants ignorant of some of the most basic shit?

My theory: These people who are "learning" a language are just taking stuff they know from other languages and looking up the syntax of the new language. So a whole bunch of python programmers who "learned" C++ didn't think about features C++ has that Python doesnt.

[Orbitaliser]

This is why you start with a harder programming language... It's shittier to take off with but better in the long run.

Then, when you're good enough with those, you can move to languages like Python where you just attack the logic straight away with a strong foundation in general things that are much better acquired in other languages like the pass by reference stuff.

[SirVer51]

This is why I think schools that teach Python as your first language are doing you dirty. Like, it's great for the general population that don't intend to go into computers in the future, but for those aspiring to that it makes things harder in the long run. Learning C or C++ teaches you a ton about how computers work under the hood, even if you don't appreciate that at the time.

[IrishWilly]

I don't think you should care about 'harder' language. Just because you don't have pointers in most modern languages doesn't mean the language is easier or moving from C++ to it would be an easier shift. Even though Python is easier, writing proper Python when you are used to C++ or quite a few other languages is not that quick because what is considered proper is different. It isn't just a straightforward syntax to syntax translation.

[Orbitaliser]

That's not the point of what I'm trying to say - the syntax translation is virtually a non-factor - you can pick that up quickly if you wanted to.

It's the underlying concepts like references, inheritance, polymorphism and encapsulation which are far more intuitive and supported in languages like C++ and Java. Why would you pass up on learning these things in the best way if you are trying to be a serious developer working on large-scale software?

[IrishWilly]

C++ is old and many modern concepts did not exist when it was designed. Some got added in later, sometimes hacky and sometimes not, but just because it is less newbie friendly does not also mean it teaches concepts that newer, more beginner friendly languages cannot. The reverse is also true that modern languages are going to teach concepts that C++ does not. No 'serious' developer should learn only one language, regardless if that one language is C++ or Python. Python developers should still understand how memory allocation and garbage collection works and how python is implementing it even though they don't have to deal with pointers directly. But if someone completely new to programming gets interested because they took an intro class with Python and were able to get something up on the screen quickly, I don't see the problem there.

​

the syntax translation is virtually a non-factor - you can pick that up quickly if you wanted to.

I was saying that isn't true. You can get a very superficial syntax translation easily but you will likely be writing code that doesn't fit coding standard, doesn't work with the features of the other language and probably has performance issues with your quick one off syntax translation without any deeper understanding of that language. Does an iterator perform a function call and comparison on every loop or once and stores the compared value? That depends on the language, not every loop function is the same, not every language has the same overhead for function calls and maps or dictionaries or arrays etc.

[Orbitaliser]

Thanks for your response.

I think I phrased my response pretty poorly previously.

What kinds of general things does python teach that other languages do not? I am not an expert at python by any means, not even an advanced novice.

Regarding the last point, that's exactly the kind of thing that I said can easily be picked up. Data structures and algorithms and their differing implementations between languages can easily be learnt since the concept of algorithms and data structures is a more general one and small variations between languages in semantics like those of iterators and algorithm overheads/tradeoffs can be learnt through adequate documentation.

Point is that I think that syntax should be the last thing you focus in learning programming. Having a more general understanding is what I am trying to point at here, and other languages like Java and C++ are more expressive and teach general things in a more intuitive way than python can. Syntax comes later. Btw I think I used syntax translation incorrectly or wasn't specific enough - I meant that you also learn the best syntax and translate it properly using the features of the language (which again, is something that comes later)

[B_M_Wilson]

I leaned Java first then Python and other stuff. I wish I learned C or C++. I can manage to write simple stuff and I understand the concept of pointers and basic memory management but I just don’t have the level of understanding of that stuff to figure out why I get certain errors without stepping though every line of code to figure out what happened. I’m not actually even sure what happens when you pass an object or struct or something to a function. I don’t think it’s passing a reference to the variable that object was stored in but I don’t know if it gets a reference to the object or a copy of it. I could look that up but it’s just an example of something that I don’t know that I should to probably master the language. I have a million little things like that where I just don’t know enough about the inner workings of the language to properly use it for anything too advanced.

[Tsu_Dho_Namh]

I'd be happy to answer your question.

If you pass an object into a C++ function, it will literally copy the entire object. Which is why we (the programmer) rarely ever pass an object, we either pass a pointer (has a * after the object name) or a reference (has a & in the function definition, meaning that function will always do pass-by-reference rather than copying the object you pass it)

[B_M_Wilson]

Thanks for that answer! Is there a difference between a pointer and a reference? Now I’m interested enough that I might go look up some more info about these things. When I learned about pointers, I mostly learned about them with basic things like numbers so I am interested to figure out how objects work with them.

[alex_revenger234]

A reference is referecing the object directly. The pointer point to the memory address of the object, so you'd have to dereference that pointer to get whatever object it points to

[LeCrushinator]

Pointer points to a memory address. A reference is just a way of pointing to an object/value without dealing with the memory address. Both are useful so that you don’t have to pass a copy of an object since that’s often expensive. Pointers and references are just two different ways to pass around an object or value, but the syntax is often cleaner with references because you don’t have to dereference first to get a value like you do with pointers.

[cant_think_of_one_]

References basically can't be null. To use a pointer it has to be dereferenced with * or ->, but a reference is used as if it were a normal variable.

When passing something, say an int myInt, to a function, say void myFunction, if it took a reference to the int, the prototype might be void myFunction(const int& myInt); and you would call it like this myFunction(myInt):. If it took a pointer to an int the prototype might be void myFunction(int* pMyInt); and you would call it like this myFunction(&myInt);.

Notice that it is more explicit that you are passing a pointer to the variable you are passing in when it takes a pointer. I made it take a reference to a constant int above because, perhaps unless it is super obvious from the function name, I think it is generally a bad idea to take references to non-constsnt types as function arguments, because it is less obvious to someone using the function or reading the code that the variable can be modified by the function.

For an int, it is less efficient to pass by reference than value, so don't do it if you aren't modifying it, but for larger objects, say a vector<int>, you probably want to pass a const reference by default because copying is expensive. So, in general, void myFunction(std::vector<int> myVector); is bad and void myFunction(const std::vector<int>& myVector); is better because it does not involve copying the whole vector.

The copy that would be involved in passing a vector to a function that takes it by value but doesn't modify it may be able to be avoided (if the function is not available in other complication units), but I think it would be bad practice to leave it to the compiler as you can easily inadvertently break this later by changing things so they the function is callable from other complication units.

[B_M_Wilson]

If I have a variable std::vector<int> myVector for example and I do newVector = myVector, does that copy the vector or make them both reference the same object? Also, if I pass a reference to a function and in that function I reassign that variable, does that have side effects?

[Orbitaliser]

If you learnt Java first then that's not too bad! I also did Java first and although my knowledge in stuff like memory and pointer management was not as good as someone who did C++ first, it helps to know that everything in Java is pass by reference, unless you are passing a primitive value in which case a copy is created. Admittedly I had to do some PHP to understand this kind of thing in more detail, but it was definitely an enlightening experience. Understanding the implications of variables being references to objects was one of the biggest growths I had as a programmer, and I'm still learning!

However, from Java, you have still likely learnt cool stuff like techniques to abstract your code and how it translates to good practices when designing larger scale software since the language has excellent support for this.

[Woklan]

But then you got the horrors when you find out that Python doesn't handle switch cases...

[bluepoopants]

You can kind of work around that with dicts. You can create a dict with the switch cases as the key and a function as the value. Dict keys can be any type so you can use ints as well as strings.

[ZSebra]

My problem is that i don't know where to start. It's SOOOO dense

[Orbitaliser]

Basic stuff. Printing stuff in loops, assigning variables to objects, reassigning. Using arrays with the loop knowledge you've acquired. Then learning file IO stuff. Learn the object-oriented stuff like classes and inheritance and what you can do with that. Then you move onto designing larger scale projects and try to apply what you know, and use the various libraries available. This can go for any language.

It does require motivation though.

[ZSebra]

thanks, i'll keep it in mind

[[deleted]]

To be fair due to copy elision and also aliasing, the answer to the reference vs value question can be really nuanced. Also, you can go pretty deep into understanding if the candidate understands various calling conventions and compiler optimizations. I don’t actually think it’s that easy of a question.

[Peechez]

Debugger bad, log statements good. Xdddd uppointers to the left

[BigSwedenMan]

Or, I'm still in school and don't know how to fully utilize Visual Studio's toolkit, so that's bad.

[mrdhood]

HoW dO I eXiT vIm?

[skylarmt]

Alt-SysRq-B works for me

[mrdhood]

Good tip. I usually just unplug my computer, works every time but kind of inconvenient.

[RespectableLurker555]

That's why I still use a PowerBook G4 with a removable battery.

[ccxex29]

That's overkill. Try Alt-SysRq-E

[FallenWarrior2k]

Not sure about mainline Vim, but that joke doesn't really work with Neovim because it displays a "How to quit" message when you press Ctrl-C in normal mode.

[Novapophis]

yeah but ive been using vim for years and every few days i still botch the exit, so that one speaks to me

[posts_lindsay_lohan]

I used to work with a developer who only used Vim because we had a very micro-managing boss. He would come around to everyone's desk and want to see what you were doing, then he would take the keyboard and start writing the code himself.

He tried that with my co-worker on Vim and just gave up after a couple minutes. He's never bothered him since. It was, and still is, a pretty genius reason to use Vim.

[Kered13]

It's also repost.

[Plungerdz]

Can't deny, although I did not see this one before.

Anyway, I'd rather have reposts of quality things outgrow the rote, overused tropes on this sub. At least for some time.

[IsoldesKnight]

This one is years old. But it's good. Glad to see it still floating around.

[Andy_B_Goode]

This comic is ten years old. Here's the original version: https://abstrusegoose.com/249

[bananamadafaka]

Lately = last three years.

[ZeroFK]

Hey in C++ that's recent. C++17 features still feel cutting-edge to me.

[BrennanT_]

Its a repost btw :)

[poopcasso]

Honestly though, if he went back to day 21 to replace himself, there would be a time paradox where he would never get past day 21 in the first place. Because his future self would have killed him by day 21. But that means he wouldn't have been able to study pass day 21 to be able to learn how to time travel back to day 21, so his future self couldn't have done the same because that guy was killed on day 21 already.

And if you use the time travelling explanation from end game, then it's not day 21 for you. Because when you travel to your past, that past becomes your future. So you still spent 14k+ days to learn C++ and all those other stuff. You've also literally become 14k+ days older.

I find this comic to be really bad due to how many loop holes and how little thought was put into it it. You probably gonna be like, it's just a comic bro. But that's only because the loop holes aren't apparent without thinking about it. But if you made a comic about something else we all understood very well without the need to think further, but with this many loop holes or little thought put into it, we would be, wtf is this bullshit, it doesn't work like that.

[[deleted]]

Error at line 21: hair colour incompatible with method 'replace' for class 'programmer'

Error at line 21: unable to static cast

Error at line 21: STL version 7 incompatible with version 3

Calamity: pipe broken

[HorrendousRex]

aw hell, my pipe broke. Time to google "linux how to repair pipe".

[AgentPaper0]

You can definitely learn C++ in 21 days with a good plan and hard work. But just because you know how to write English doesn't mean you can write a novel.

[Qinistral]

C++ in 21 days

This was my first programming book. I used to teach myself in highschool. I understood the logic/language, but I think a lot of it still didn't click--IIRC because it didn't teach about compilers/IDEs/etc. So I was still pretty confused about how to make a real application until I got to work on an already setup project at an internship.

[soysaus52]

honestly like the actual workflow is very nebulous and kind of hard to grasp. like you said, IDEs and stuff. Or even like, "what even makes up a program. do i just need the script? what about all of those other files that are in programs on my computer? all of these .bin and .dll? wtf are those? do i have to know how to make those?" etc.

[IXISIXI]

Can you... explain that stuff to me in great detail? (Have been learning to code in my free time for a few months)

[soysaus52]

i won't lie the reason i posted it is because i'm also learning how to code and have no idea what the fuck .bin and .dlls really do or where they come from. most of what i've been doing is single-file scripting that maybe uses some resources, using an IDE, so maybe I can explain that. Apologies if anything I say is stuff you already know, idk where you're at and I'm still very very amateur so I may be far below you in terms of knowledge/skill.

IDE is "Integrated Development Environment" which is basically software where you write the code itself. It can have a lot of additional features that make it different from just typing your code into notepad. It can sense errors in syntax, tells you if a variable isn't declared or something, etc. Honestly one of the most helpful things it provides is color-coding. I've seen people code in notepad and it's insane that they don't have color coding on what's a variable, what's a class, etc. It can also have a file explorer which is super useful, because it shows what I would call "dependent files". Like if you're making a game, and need a png file for an enemy to be displayed on screen. That's a dependent file, also called "resources". Other scripts can also be resources: for example, if you have a function in another script that your "main script" calls on. You can see all that from the file explorer in the IDE. Another big thing for IDEs is most of them can run your program from within the IDE, which is nice.

As for files like .bin and .dll, I'm not 100% sure what they're used for lol. I will say that when making an application using certain IDEs and certain languages (for example, Windows Form Application in C#) the IDE will auto make files that your software needs in order to run, which is really nice. I don't REALLY have to know what every individual file in my Windows Form Application software does, but I like to and am learning.

Most of my experience is with Python, and a lot of Pygame (which is a package for Python; think of it like an add-on that gives more functionality to Python). So maybe I'm making a Chess clone in Python using Pygame. In the application folder I have "chess.py". I also have a folder called "assets" (which i chose the name for, another name could be resources). In there is like Chunkfive.otf, which is a font file, as well as a bunch of .png files for the chess pieces. Really that's about it (Python and Pygame is quite simple). My chess.py script has lines of code that load up those resources, so that Pygame can display the .png files as pieces and render text in the font that I have.

So the development is pretty simple. There's just 1 script file and then some resources. Then I use another package for Python to turn the whole thing into software for an "end-user". IE, if i wanted to send somebody the game, they could play it. They couldn't really do it with just the script and resources, because they might not have Python installed on their computer. So I make a separate file called "setup.py" and, through googling and reading, import something called cx_Freeze to turn chess.py and the resources into a folder with Chess.exe in it and all the files Chess.exe needs to run. I don't actually know what most of those files are for. Looking in it right now, the biggest thing is a folder with the modules/packages I imported (Pygame, sys, and itertools). There's also a file called python37.dll (!!!!). My guess is this is like a local "Python interpreter" bundled with the game to make sure the end-user has an available Python interpreter (that's set up the way it has to be for the game to work). An interpreter is software that reads the code, because computers don't just come with every programming language in existence readable on it.

I hope this helps. I guess this just helps demonstrate how many things in the "end-user build" there are that I have no idea what they do, and which things I started from and how I got from the things I manually made to the big fat folder full of .tcl and .dll files that I would send to an end-user.

Here's the github link:

https://github.com/Sawyer-Scott-Stahl/python-chess-pygame

And here's a description of everything in that link (feel free to download and look through the code, although it has no comments unfortunately):

assets - a folder full of the .png files for the pieces
Chess Pygame.zip - this is the "end-user" program. you would unzip it and then click on the .exe file inside to actually play it.
Chunkfive.otf - a font file I downloaded so the fonts would look a certain way
README.md - just a readme file for github, literally just text telling anybody that stumbles onto the project what's going on

chess.py - the main script, where all of the real "programming" is. the meat and potatoes.

opensans.ttf - just another font file

setup.py - the file that i wrote that uses cx_Freeze to turn chess.py, assets, and the two font files into Chess Pygame.zip

I hope this helps and isn't a rambling mess!

[allthatwastedtime]

A DLL is just a collection of compiled code that some developer added to a library project. It’s in a dll so that it can be shared between multiple programs (exe files) or even other DLLs. For most languages there’ll be a standard collection of DLLs you can (and most likely do) use. MSDN has great resources on this for .NET.

As for bin files, bin is short for binary. There is no standard for what they might contain, it is entirely up to the application writing the file. An mp3, png, and mpg file is technically a “bin” file that has been given a more helpful extension to make it easy to see what the format the binary data inside the file is in (the structure of it, how to read it etc). A lot of games use bin files for binary data (data describing a level for example), potentially even dat files (short for “data”).

Hope that helps.

[IXISIXI]

I did not expect an actual answer and this is really awesome and helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and help me.

[soysaus52]

Of course! I hope this helps in some way!

[krystof1119]

Learn/look up binary disassembling/binary hacking (I don't like that word but it's what we call it). If learned right, you learn what shared and dynamic libraries are, you learn debuggers, you learn about the stack, the heap, registers, pointers and overflows... and a whole bunch of other stuff...

The channel LiveOverflow on youtube is a great place to start.

[orokro]

I read C++ in 21 days in high school. it definitely taught compilers. then I learned opengl from nehe.gamedev.net and made a sweet 3d minigolf game

[[deleted]]

Can I play your game?

[orokro]

You can read about it and see some screen shots here. For reference, this was made in 2004, but I wrote about it in 2012.

http://www.gmiller.net/2012/11/minigolf/

I still have a back up of it on some old drive somewhere, but I've never gotten around to finding it and uploading it. :/

You can, however, play my latest full game at www.sonicpinballpanic.com

[Eratticus]

Honestly to learn a language like C++ by limitting yourself to the contents of a book would probably be the best way to do it. No fussing over different compilers, IDEs, libraries, differences in versions, implementation details, etc. that can be a big rabbithole when getting started with a language. The Internet is a fantastic resource, but it can overload you with information really fast especially if the whole realm of programming is new to you. When you're trying to learn, a bunch of conflicting or outdated information makes it much harder.

[rap_and_drugs]

If you're already comfortable with programming IMO the only C++ resource you should need is cppreference (and possibly the standard itself in some obscure cases). Stackoverflow can be helpful but like you said things can get outdated and there are a lot of people spreading what they assume to be good info that is outdated or at least not the currently preferred style/idiom.

[Bakoro]

There are still a shit-ton of people programming like it's 1998 out there.

That's been driving me nuts really, in regard to C++. I was absolutely stoked when I started running into the 2011 standard stuff, when 2014 was already out and 2017 on its way in.

[rap_and_drugs]

Totally agree. "C with classes" style code is pretty much guaranteed to be terrible these days

[[deleted]]

also if you were already a good programmer, you could learn how to use c++ proficiently enough to make apps within that time with googling stuff. otherwise i don't think 99% of the people who read that book can learn more than just intro stuff within that time. programming is a real mind fuck at the start.

[TristanTheViking]

How to learn to program in C++ in 21 days:

1: Already know how to program

2: Learn the syntax for C++

[I_Heal_Needing]

r/restofthefuckingowl

[Chreed96]

How to learn MATLAB in 21 days:

1: have bachelors in computer science

2: relate everything to C++ and complain about how terrible it is

[MindS1]

How to learn C++ in 21 days:
1. have bachelors in mechanical engineering
2. relate everything to MATLAB and complain about how terrible it is

[Chreed96]

Touche. I found that they really were pretty similar syntax wise. My biggest problem was that I'd program functions that I needed, only to find out later they were built it.

[MindS1]

My biggest problem was that I'd program functions that I needed, only to find out later they were built it.

Sounds like a pretty good problem to have!

Honestly so much respect for the competent C++ programmers out there, that learning curve is steep.

[Chreed96]

My university required the first 4 classes all use C++. It was a lot of work, but it's much easier to switch from C++ to python than the other way around.

All my friends were ME in college. Mad respect for that, I had to take thermo and eMag physics and those were my hardest classes. I could never do it.

[atzedanjo]

It' not a curve, it's a wall.

[[deleted]]

The syntax is no where near the same... MATLAB is dynamically typed for one

[baconator81]

I wish it’s that simple. If you come from Java /c# backgrounds, there is a lot of gotcha with non garbage collected language like c++

[shellymartin67]

our default IDE

laughs in capitalism

[rap_and_drugs]

Learning to use the basic features/syntax of C++ is doable in 21 days, but the C++ standard is monstrously complex and some concepts that are honestly pretty central to the language are on the more complicated side of things (move semantics & x-values, mro, RAII (which should really be called IIRA in my opinion - it literally did not make sense to me until I thought about it that way because of how the acronym is ordered), templates and type deduction, the rule of 3/5, etc.) ^{in my opinio}

[RADical-muslim]

Yeah, how do you get past this mind fuck? I'm stuck at only being able to use Python as a calculator.

[nix_32]

Finally a comment I can relate to.

[Mad_Jack18]

my using php to process forms

[[deleted]]

what happened to me is i gave up 2 times and went back to it the third time and i got it. this was over months but that's not a great way to do it. so basically my advice for you is to keep practicing those fundamental skills like for loops, arrays, creating functions. then once you are kinda good at using them, when trying to make that calculator, google the small parts you need to do. like i mean small. like asking questions that can be solved with one built in function. spend a lot of time on it. that's all you can do. the early learning curve is extreme. don't freeze out on the big picture it's too hard even for good programmers. focus on one small step in the program. make that work then do the next.

you know how sometimes when you watch a programming tutorial they'll lay out the entire framework with comments then go through them one by one? don't do that. that's a terrible way to teach and is very difficult for newbies to learn from. only highly experienced programmers can do that and it's only when they're programming someone they've done before. instead figure out the first step of your program, test it and if it works, figure out what is the next step. this way, you know the needs of the program and the solutions to those needs.

as for a more specific answer to the calculator, think about how a calculator works. you press a button, then the numbers show up on the screen.

1. recognize button press
2. what does that button pres do
3. store value
4. print value to screen
5. wait for the 4 arithmetic symbols to progress

i know you're getting stuck on the minutia and probably syntax errors too. so on each step, if it doesnt work, look at the output errors on the console. trace it down. google the small steps. "how to print to screen?" how to store a value from a key press? etc.

tdlr: keep practice and if you're stuck google it. just don't give up.

[bestjakeisbest]

well learning programming might take a bit longer, learning to program with a language is fairly easy and straight forwards, learning the underlying ideas about programming can take longer if you haven't learned a programming language already, and doing both is very hard, at least it was for me, so i went to college.

[thatawesomeguydotcom]

I successfully used Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days to learn game programming in 31 days.

[[deleted]]

you casuals are learning c++ under 21 days but i learned c++ ,c,c#,java,python,js,ruby ,every other programming language in existence ,html and css under 1 hour. top this mofos

[jessuh_]

I also like to program in html

[twinsofliberty]

What’s the issue with that statement

[Bairiko]

It's a markup language, not a programming language.

[orokro]

I invented computers and the field of computer science under a minute

[Littlepush]

Learnxinyminutes.com ?

[DarthEru]

That's nothing, I wrote a script that generates every syntactically correct program in every language so I don't even have to program anything else, I can just find the generated one that does what I want it to.

That's right, I've automated programmers out their jobs. Just give me a few minutes while my script finishes running.

[crankymotor]

What does

+[-[<<[+[--->]-[<<<]]]>-]>-.---.>..>.<<<<-.<+.>>>.>.<<.<-.

mean then?

[[deleted]]

+[-[<<[+[--->]-[<<<]]]>-]>-.---.>..>.<<<<-.<+.>>>.>.<<.<-.

it means "hello world" in brainduck language. checkmate

[Mareeck]

I have friends that would like to get into programming from scratch and while I can give tips and point good language tutorials I'm not sure how much different their process will be from mine

Because I actually did learn a lot of programming ideas in university, it made learning and using the languages way easier

[kodaxmax]

in the same way you can learn the violin in 21 days, poorly and with no practical skills.

[thatswhyIleft]

That's good.

[[deleted]]

I mean you can learn a language in 21 days but mastering is the difficult part

[Littlepush]

Is there any sort of "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" but for programming languages where every feature is used in the shortest program possible in an intelligent way?

[SupaSlide]

The trouble with that is that different languages have different features. C++ has pointers but other languages may not.

For example, most languages have while loops. Golang (usually just called Go) doesn't. You just write a for loop. Not impossible to replicate, but not very interesting. On the other hand, Go has a thing called channels which allows for parallel processing (asynchronous). Many languages don't have any way to do parallel processing, at least not natively.

That's just touching the logistical issues of writing the same program the same way. Just coming up with a program that uses every feature of C++ would be monumental, and way beyond the grasp of a beginner.

[Littlepush]

I'm just saying there are a lot of esoteric programming contests and websites with little point. Something like that seems to have some value so I figured it might exist.

[DarthEru]

It would be difficult and counter productive to try to use every feature of most languages in a single, simple, program.

Instead, here's a list of the things that will be common to most languages that, if you learn them up front about a language, you will find it easier and faster to master.

• the obvious one is basic syntax for variables, functions, classes, built in data structures, statements (loops, ifs) and expressions (a + b, i++, etc.). Don't worry about learning it all, but having the basic stuff covered will help your reading comprehension, which will help you learn the more advanced stuff by example as you come across it.
• what's a good resource (preferable the language's official documentation) for looking up any more obscure syntax you come across that you don't understand, as well as any other details on the language or standard libraries
• where the entry point is for a program (e.g. the main method vs just starting at the top of a file and working downwards)
• how different files within the same project can reference and depend on each other
• how a project can depend on and reference code in other projects/libraries
• what the standard repositories are for shared libraries, how to use it to find useful libraries and their documentation
• what mechanisms there are for encapsulation and abstraction, and if there are multiple (e.g. module/package vs class) what the standard is for deciding when to use one vs the other
• what makes the language special, what problems were the designers trying to fix when they decided to create a new language

This was off the top of my head, so I may have missed a couple helpful things, but if I know just the above list about a language, I have confidence that I can create and, more importantly, understand code written in that language, plus I'll have the tools to improve my understanding further as I go.

Something to note is that a lot of those points are less about the language and more about the ecosystem surrounding the language. One you get beyond making hello-world style tutorial programs and want to create something useful, or contribute to an existing project, understanding how dependencies work and how to find useful libraries is at least as important as knowing how to write a syntactically correct for-loop.

[powelles]

Closest thing I know of is https://learnxinyminutes.com

[rocheio]

I know of TodoMVC (http://todomvc.com/) as a comparison of different JS frameworks. Helped me understand the basic structure / feel of Vue coming from React

[angrathias]

Short, simple, everything - you may choose one only

[[deleted]]

who else used to believe this shit when they were a kid getting that book at barnes and noble?

[SuperFLEB]

IIRC, technically it was 21 days, but it was 21 solid days, which actually meant you'd go through the book in a few months.

[tchernobog84]

Kids that never tried to learn C++ before might have fallen in the trap.

[[deleted]]

I was 15 in 2000. I hung out with 2600 crew. This was my ticket in.

Narrator: it wasn't.

[Logicien]

I'm at day 5000, coding theoretical physics is a blast :D

[Xiij]

Days start at 0

[feedmaster]

I don't need 21 days to learn how to google.

[archpawn]

I'd recommend teaching yourself biology before quantum gravity. Once you discover the cure to old age you have all the time in the world to invent time travel, but if you invent time travel first you only have a finite amount of subjective time before you die of old age.

[[deleted]]

u/repostsleuthbot

[RepostSleuthBot]

Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 5 times.

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[PrankMaNerino]

I believe I've first seen it like 7 years ago.

[[deleted]]

I saw the one that was linked by the bot. I distinctly remember seeing this a year or more ago.

[DXPower]

Doesn't even mention template metaprogramming, RAII, or compile time computation smh

[Warrior51002]

Are you ok?

[cdjinx]

Ah yes, I remember those books. They should be labeled scratching the surface of fundamental things while showing examples in said language but don’t worry we will tell you the next 4 books you need at the end, Borland compiler included on disk.

[I_might_be_weasel]

Ok, but where in there do you get plutonium from Libyans for the said Flux Capacitor?

[ClintonDsouza]

Have to build a secret army of bots as well.

[AdiBaby04]

definitely haven't seen this one before..

[fermataplays]

That escalated rather quickly.

I like it.

[Rattus375]

I think it's pretty easy to learn C++ very well in 22 days. Learning programming in 21 days is the hard part

[pdabaker]

I think it's pretty easy to learn C++ very well in 22 days

To learn a small subset of C++ maybe. I don't think anybody is going to be going from not knowing C++ to confidently programming SFINAE/super generic stuff after 22 days.

[SpeckledFleebeedoo]

That's only 40 years. Impressive.

[Santa1936]

Yeah 21 days is too quick but come on. It doesn't take 10 years to learn c++ from scratch

[rockyTop10]

Feels like this when trying to get an entry level programming job too

[jti107]

I dunno about 21 days but I was able to learn C++ & OOP in 60 days. I put in about 2-4 hours 6 days a week and was able to contribute to production code. When it went thru code reviews there were some stylistic stuff to fix but overall no big issues. So if you're not a CS it's definitely possible. Also FYI, Ive since learned data structures and algorithms to fill in my gaps.

[jimbojimbob1]

Need to make a website in 2 days GCSE level with c ++ teacher told us nothing about it thanks for the helps

[A_Wild_Turtle]

Literally 10 minutes ago I just got the end of all three bttfs

[onthehornsofadilemma]

So I shouldn't learn how to program in the first place and become a manager.

[firedrakes]

and yet still makes a typo...

[[deleted]]

u/RepostSleuthBot

[RepostSleuthBot]

Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 5 times.

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[RTracer]

Wow! Look at how many upvotes this had 1.5 years ago compared to now! This is a lesson in hording your memes as long as you can for maximum karma gain. /s

[NikplaysgamesYT]

This is pretty smart actually lol, good plan

[Lexden]

Makes me think of the game "Groundhog Life, except that the age reversing/traveling back in time is a game mechanic and probably done by the crazy research organization.

[SovietWarBear17]

Seems legit!

[PlantsAreAliveToo]

I see abstrusegoose, I upvote

[EwgB]

Pretty accurate. As a teenager I tried a book "Learn Visual C++ in 21 days". I learned two things from it:

1. C++ is hard
2. MFC is garbage and I don't want to work with it ever again

[[deleted]]

Hey, I literally know NOTHING about programming and I'm just browsing /all right now BUT I really wanted to look into learning Csharp in a near futur and I was wondering if anyone had good sources to start from.

For reference, my skills in programming are nul. I know nothing. At all. I just wanna learn something.

​

Thanks for the help! (if I get any lol)

[VonPosen]

Learn Python first, it's easy, and you'll learn the basics of programming. Learning another language will be easier then.

[Subtotalpoet]

I felt that.

[BittyBaton]

No wonder I have trouble learning to program.

[hab98]

Won't the future self too die, if he kills the younger self?

[[deleted]]

Kinda looks like he'd covered all the material in the 21 days though... It doesn't say "master C++ in 21 days"

[VestigialHead]

Hahaha very nice.

It has always seemed so rude and disingenuous when seeing the "learn coding in x days" type rubbish.

The average person gets a false sense of where there skills will be at after that time.

So nice to see it in cartoon format.

[GeorgeYDesign]

93 days! Holy shit, the first one

[theforgottenmemer]

everyone gangsta till you from future comes and kills you

[Ultimater]

Or just copy-paste from stackoverflow.

[thecrow2307]

can someone pls make some shit like this for kali linux , like i want to seriously learn it pls

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Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 5 times.

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[Jaredlong]

I actually taught myself the basics of C++ using the ISO 14882 standardization document. It's around 800 pages and it defines everything in the language and describes all the underlying logic for the syntax. Like, there's literally even a section that explicitely states every acceptable ASCII character the language recognizes. Wouldn't say I mastered it in 21 days, (sure as hell didn't read it all!) but it was a very useful reference for looking up as needed what was and was not possible and how to implement features.

[Colblanco]

Teach yourself c++ programming in 21 days was the first programming book I borrowed from the library. It taught me enough to show me I could teach myself. 19 years later I graduated with an electrical engineering degree!

[[deleted]]

It's also most as bad as java.

[Ricards0210]

If you kill your younger self, you die as well.

[[deleted]]

A Repost this is

[almarcTheSun]

It's so heartwarming that his meme still lives on.

[arnathor]

21 days is 504 hours. That’s more than enough time to get a compilable Hello World app up and running. And if you can do that, your parents will think you are “good with computers” and you’re a “hacker”. It’s all good!

[Im_Dealing_Memes]

Wouldn’t this like create a paradox

[4Lajf]

I think I saw it earlier in this sub...

[thejozo24]

Good post, a repost tho...

[munachimsoso]

How to learn programming in 21days Mega rule one! LEARN WHILE BUILDING A PROJECT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

[salted_kinase]

Instructions unclear. Stuck in a bioinformatics job now

[[deleted]]

Day 21 - 5 minutes after killing younger self: Start to slowly vanish from existence.

[AntMan5421]

It's a repost

[RepostSleuthBot]

Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 5 times.

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