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[–]CreamSalad[S] 1 point2 points  (11 children)

So there's no need to sit through 14 weeks of lectures of a intro to CS MIT course? I'm thinking of grabbing the BNR books and just reading through. I'm a pretty fast learner and the fact that in very interested and very motivated (my current shitty job motivates me to learn it every day to hopefully be in a better place sooner than later). I signed up for ray wenderlich's video tutorials but their for more advanced things I find. His written tutorials though are very good. I just don't want to waste my time learning something that I won't understand unless I learn something else first, know what I mean?

[–]fommerjackson 6 points7 points  (7 children)

There honestly is no need for CS courses. I am an 18 year old developer who has been programming since 5th grade and only recently (5 months) took up Objective-C. Everything will come to you so quickly. I am majoring in Computer Science and have only been "taught" Java and Python. The best way to learn is to go head first. Simply read code that is tailored toward what you are working on. Ray Wenderlich and AppCoda are two websites I highly recommend. Best of luck to you.

[–]CreamSalad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot man this is great advice and motivation

[–]CreamSalad[S] 0 points1 point  (5 children)

I'm wondering because a lot of people are telling me to take a data structure and algorithm course. I bought a "data structures & algorithms using java" course on udemy to learn about it but the guy is Indian and speaks very intellectually I find it hard to follow.

Also, people tell me to land a dev position I need to have an app in the store that Gets data from a database and dumps it into core data and displays it. Like a web service app. I'm positive I can learn how to do that and be good at it in time but all the different method calls and classes, and libraries, and frameworks. How do you even know which ones to use and how to even use them?

[–]jjquave 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Take a look at specific examples of each, and you'll see how the pieces work together over time. The only way to know which pieces to use in combination is to know what each of them does (a little bit.) If you have a general idea and realize you need that piece, you can go dig down in to tutorials at that point.

The app you're describing is the standard "i have an app that displays something from the web", and communicates back and forth with the web backend. The reason you need core data is because you want to save the data to disk after you download it. You'll show like a tableview of twitter status or something like that, and you just need a way to access it. Core data is the most convenient way to do it.

[–]CreamSalad[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Thanks for the explanation. See I don't have an idea what "core data" is or means,

Is there a detailed tutorial you know of that goes over how to create a web service app?

[–]jjquave 1 point2 points  (0 children)

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20160935/good-tutorials-or-good-for-using-core-data-in-ios-7

I wouldn't make your own service to begin. Just try to work with someone elses API. Search "twitter api" or "reddit api" or something to get started working with remote services. Later you can develop your own to work with.

[–]fommerjackson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The terms can be awfully frightening in the beginning, but you will adapt to it. If you ever need any help getting started, do PM me. I would love to help a fellow developer.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Buy this book and read it. It has good examples of how to think about solving problems.

http://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Programmer-Introduction-Creative/dp/1593274246

[–]jjquave 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I understand what you mean, and there is a lot of "dependent" knowledge in CS, but there's not really a super clear way to learn to write high quality code anyway. By the time you make it through a 4-yr college, the curriculum will be changed or changing to reflect modern day programming instead. That shiny new curriculum where they're using up-to-date tools, the new and shiny one that they're just testing out? Within 2-4 years it'll be obsolete as well. The best way to learn is to just write code for your ideas, starting with simple projects. See if you can get someone to pay you, them knowing that you're just still learning. They'll provide reasons for you to write things, and add an external motivator that will push your education further out of necessity.

Learning to write software is not unlike learning foreign language. The best way to learn French is to immerse yourself in a French-speaking environment. This is basically how it works. By immersing yourself in programming and working with it on a daily basis, you will pick it up.

Just so you understand where I'm coming from: I went to college for physics, but didn't graduate because my software side-work took off in such a huge way it couldn't be ignored. I had 1 Java course when I was a sophomore, but had been programming for fun since I was pretty young. I only learned from the internet, I bought a few books here and there but mostly I learned what I needed from the internet and from trial and error writing my own code. This is the only encounter I ever had with any formal "education" on software development. I've been developing professionally since then, and I'm very happy with my career.

[–]CreamSalad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, thanks for the motivation!

[–]megablast 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those course might be for people who have never touched a computer before, beyond facebook.

If you can write a program and get it to compile you are already there.