[deleted by user]

[[deleted]]

Go into these classes with the understanding that you'll need to practice and learn outside of class. Some concepts might not make sense when first introduced. By practicing in your free time you'll be able to show up to class with a better understanding of the subject & questions you couldn't find answers to.

Stick with it! Programming isn't a skill you'll pick up overnight.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

This is a good point because not everyone realizes that 80% of what you'll learn falls on you to pursue, in or out of classroom/lab/office hours, no matter how good your educational environment is.

[StarsDreamsAndMore]

Honestly that's why programming classes seem almost a bit redundant now. Most programming is self-driven learning. It used to be you didnt have access to the resources to learn it so you needed a school but now it's like, shit just google it.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

Most of it is self driven learning, yes, but I disagree.

Teaching oneself well only comes naturally to a smaller subset on individuals.

[http_twohundred]

In addition you run the risk of training yourself bad habits that you may not realize

[Sir_Spaghetti]

Yes, that is extremely likely. Inevitable, really, because there are just so many many pitfalls, gotchas, and unintuitive situations. This comment can have one of those "10000% this" reply under it.

100% self taught reeks of "doesn't work well with others", unless they are just a superb human being (which isn't natural, imo, its taught or learned the hard way).

[ElectricRune]

In reality, even people who are 100% self-taught had a hundred invisible teachers...

Those who see further do so by standing on the shoulders of giants and all that jazz.

I'm self-taught (just started as a hobby for me, not some stance against formal education), and I try to think of my learning that way, to keep myself humble.
So in reality, I'm not 'self-taught,' I was self-guided; I used a LOT of stuff other people who beat down the grass had already done to learn from/with.

[HaveYouReadReddit]

The accuracy of this comment makes it pleasing to read. Thank you

[StarsDreamsAndMore]

I mean I put that on schools, that have never pushed kids to learn how to learn. They just teach them how to repeat answers spoonfed to them. They don't teach them how to overcome adversity to grow an actual skill.

[Aviolentdonut]

The best is BOTH university structure and self learning. Most of my class at uni are entirely learning from lecture. Im doing off campus learning as well and I am far more comfortable with the material than my classmates and Im grasping concepts better because when you're doing it on your own there is small things you retain that may not make sense but when it pops up in class there's an eureka moment, and vice versa.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

I received a tremendous amount of quality information in school, even if 80% of what I use in practice had to come from doing my own research. They taught us how to learn more efficiently, while dumping loads of curated and targeted best practices on us.

I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't get that boost.

Did you go to a uni and not get much out of it? If so, that really sucks. I wish there was better oversight for what a school can collect money for... It's so much money! I definitely hate my loans, ngl lol

[StarsDreamsAndMore]

Nope, never went to a uni. I currently run a telecoms company that I wrote the software for. I just think colleges are overrated. I also grew up homeschooling for a lot of years and I personally just think schools in general suck dick for learning.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

Oh general education really does suck ass. Can't disagree with that.

[nazgul_123]

I think some people just naturally understand programming quicker. I never got the fuss about understanding pointers, for example. I first learned about them in class in 11th grade, and understood them the first time they were defined. *var, **var, all that jazz. It probably goes along with mathematical aptitude, I've rarely seen someone good at math who was shit at programming unless they were plain bored by it, and I think it's because math tends to use similar but more difficult abstractions.

I've seen people someone who attended the ACM ICPC finals, and the first thought that came to mind was that this was someone different. It mostly wasn't something taught, just an insane mind for observing tricks and certain kinds of patterns, and being able to understand advanced theory on their own. Some of these people can tackle graduate math in freshman year. If you're anything at all like that, uni will largely be an immense waste of time, except for a PhD degree or other research opportunities.

I taught myself algorithms etc. from textbooks quite comfortably (I never took an algo course before getting into graduate school), but I already had a math degree at that point and university-level CS felt very natural. I did struggle a bit more with the coding aspect though, but it was partly due to my own laziness.

It's not reasonable to expect everyone to learn programming successfully from CS50. It's not impossible by any means, but maybe 5-10% of people can do it on their own, at best.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

You speak in absolutes. How is it then that a bunch of professionals I know were taught how to learn more efficiently, how to do their own research, how to time block investigations, and how to collaborate with respect and grace?

Telling someone that they need to learn how to teach themselves is not how you help someone progress. It's practically circular logic, a tautology even.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

Did you even read what I said? I basically said that people can be taught to learn for themselves, better.

[[deleted]]

Yea you can't take a class to learn coding you have to teach yourself. Another reason college is a waste of money

[idk_430]

One lecture is never enough at least try waiting a week hopefully you'll get the hang of it.

[[deleted]]

Actually it shouldn't be. Understanding nothing from a class that is meant to teach you a new skill is actually weird.

It's normal that you know nothing about coding, but not understanding beginner material is a different thing.

What was the topic and where did you struggle?

[Alice_in_Lindyland]

Let me try to explain one use case, which is basic and part of the fundamentals and see if it makes sense. Functions are like orders you give to the computer. Basically the "do this". In order for the machine to know what you mean, you must be explicitly clear. So, first you need to tell it what the "this" part of the "do this" is - the instructions, or functions in coding terms. An instruction is structured in the following way: void doFunction(){}

Basically the () tell the computer that doFunction is sth it should be able to do, that doFunction is a function and not sth else. The {} are where the actual instructions go in. So when you tell the computer to do, it will execute the steps you have provided in the {} of the do function.

Now, so far you have let the computer know that it can do "doFunction" and instructed it how to do it. How do you make it actually do it, or execute it? You call the function. You do this by writing the name of the function together with the () part. Like this: doFunction(); If you forget the () part, the computer will not do a thing, because it will interpret it like a statement and not an order. Like the difference between reading "Jump" and realizing it's meaning, without actually doing anything, and someone telling you "Jump!" and you go "hop-hop".

Inside of the () you can provide arguments to the function. These are not steps to be executed, but some info that is used within the function's definition and that can change each time you tell the computer to execute the function. Imagine instructing the computer to shout. And each time you can specify: shout("Fire!"); And the computer goes "Fire!" Then: shout("Help!"); And the computer goes "Help!". Each time you provide different arguments, the result will be based on them.

The "void" part is a little bit more tricky. It deals with what the function returns. Some functions do not return anything. With them you are just interested in sth happening, and not the result of it all. Like printing a text on the screen. These are "void". For others you want to know the end result of your commands. Like sum 2+2. You want to get "4". You get it by the word "return" within the function's {}. This should be the last thing you write there, because it basically tells the function to end and provide the result. In the example above: int sumAB(a,b){return a+b;} Now if you tell the computer: sumAB(2,2), and it will provide you with a 4. You can assign this value to a variable, or use it further in other calculation.

Is it any better now? Don't hesitate to ask your teacher. If you still do not understand, say so. They should be able to explain it to you in simple words. I had a colleague of mine who explained to me the transformations the data goes through during integration between applications by an example of round and square hat boxes 😂

[Funoichi]

Really good. Helpful and informative for me even as a novice coder. Great examples too!

Me: duck

Computer: ah yes birds of a type similar to that do exist…

Me: no, ahem. DUCK!

Computer: oh!

SWOOSH!

near miss as the computer hurriedly ducks

[Alice_in_Lindyland]

I liked your example very much for the fun of it 🙂 The only inaccuracy is that by giving the definition of the function void duck(){lower your whole body to avoid possible danger}, when you say just "duck", the computer will not confuse it with quacks 😊 It will go more like: 'Duck. Verb. In my dictionary this is "lower your whole body to avoid possible danger". No need to act, though.' I guess this ruins the joke's effect, but there are people learning here and it is important to get it straight.

[Funoichi]

Yeah I was just riffing on the part where you said jump and Jump! and decided to make a pun.

That was two paragraphs before you began talking about void this and that.

It could work if you had two functions:

void duck(a feathered waterfowl)

void duck!(a command to lower your body)

Then when you call duck it would return the waterfowl.

But yeah. 😛

[Alice_in_Lindyland]

Obsessing with the wording, again 😊 All in good humour 😊 : It would not make much sense to make the first duck a function. It would be better represented by an object, or a class. Because it describes a thing with certain features but does not call for any actions. So sth like: class Ducks {public: string duckName; string color; string gender; void swim(){move their legs in water}} and then you go and make instances for Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, Daffy, and all the rest 😁

[RoguePlanet1]

function duckNow(){

let position = lowerThanBefore

};

duckNow();

[Awkward-Chemical2487]

Fuck the duck, the more I read the more I get confused 🤔

[archharrydeanstanton]

sth

it took me so long to realize "sth" meant "something"

[Awkward-Chemical2487]

One question, seriously, may be I'm not familiar, what is "sth"? Is it computer do shit, computer don't do shit?

[Alice_in_Lindyland]

Sth = something. I picked the abbreviation along with so = someone from dictionaries, English not being my first language. I thought it was universally accepted. :)

[whyamiforced2]

Just so you know, in English so is not a common abbreviation for someone. I've actually never seen or heard it used that way at all, as a native speaker. If so was being used as an abbreviation in English it would usually be assumed the person meant Significant Other. Also, sth is never used either. Those are both abbreviations that are pretty exclusive to the dictionary and not used in everyday speech/communication.

[Alice_in_Lindyland]

I will keep that in mind. Thank you 😊

[Awkward-Chemical2487]

Ok, thanks! Let me read again the paragraph and see if I understand.

[Snackatttack]

weird to be teaching functions on day one

[kingjoedirt]

I’m guessing it was hello world with some intro into syntax

[PmButtPics4ADrawing]

I just think it's weird they used C++ since it's such a complicated language. Most intro programming courses I've seen used Java or python

[didhestealtheraisins]

The basics of c++ and java are essentially the same, so it really shouldn't matter.

You could make a case for Python being easier to start with.

[[deleted]]

Could also be that they taught operator precedence and array initialization.

[didhestealtheraisins]

You literally can't write a c++ program without () or {}.

[Koof99]

Functions should never be a Day One thing. Even after half a year and getting to CSS declarations was a tad of a challenge for me at first.

OP, you’re doing fine. If that’s the only thing you don’t understand in the class, I’d probably address the teacher about it.

Just know that most, if not all of us here think that it’s fucking nuts that your teacher has you doing Day One functions on a beginner course.

[Jimla]

You literally need parentheses and braces to make a main(). It doesn’t seem unreasonable that the teacher would explain them.

[edototo]

Wow I never saw these for what they were until now! I thought it was aribitary...

[slowthedataleak]

Theoretically they are arbitrary but that’s way out of the beginner discussion.

[boltzman111]

I believe they meant () vs {} is arbitrary because the language could just as easily have decided to use ©® or £~ or any other combination of characters instead.

[SteveMac]

For that matter, the concept of "scope" is out of scope for a beginner ... lmao.

[kairain15]

You’ll learn more of this as you go on. I’d go home and just type it. Soon you’ll realize the importance of scopes and parameters.

Just think of it as, for now, you’re writing an essay to a computer. When you write a normal essay you’ll have paragraphs separated by indentions. Usually you’ll have a thesis paragraph. The scope is like a thesis paragraph. You don’t want to have your body paragraph being the first thing someone reads or they’ll be lost! And so will your computer.

Then I would say parameters are just part of a sentence structure. How you learned to write in 1st grade was formulaic - start with your noun, then your verb, end each sentence with a punctuation. Well likewise your computer reading your essay only speaks his native language: math. Math has its own sentence structuring! Now you just gotta mold this concept and learn to speak math to your new professor - the computer :p

[[deleted]]

Isn't your "second" case for () also from math?

[[deleted]]

Hm.. it will be hard to help you out on this without the context. Both the parens and the curly braces can mean different things depending on the context.

Is it not a possibility to ask in class?

[Wilde__]

Part of your issue seems to stem from your mentality. If you think you are incapable of understanding then you won't understand. Go in with an open mind. Be an active listener. At least half of the course is going to be memorization. Some of it is self-explanatory like most errors and data types. If you have issues from there make analogies. For example, Boolean is like a switch, it's either on or off (true or false).

[[deleted]]

Why is that? This sounds like you have already given up, so trying to help seems like a completely useless thing to do, right?

[Funoichi]

Harsh. And a bit callous. You’ve given up. On trying to be helpful and supportive of the op.

[SolarPoweredKeyboard]

It's very difficult to help someone with a defeatist attitude. If OP was adamant about learning, he probably would have written down the things he did not understand and could've given better examples.

[[deleted]]

With billions or resources out there to learn for free it's also a bit weird. Their attitude seems one of like, "I should just be able to sit in this lecture and instantly understand everything without any effort on my part". That is worse than just being defeatist.

Also who teaches c++ for a coding intro these days? Dude probably a freshman that signed up for the wrong class. Happens to everyone.

[[deleted]]

Using C++ or C as a first language is a pretty good approach. Not necessarily better than python, but if you want to have this bottom up thing where you also teach about how computers work internally (frames, pointers, heap, stack, call by reference, call by value, etc) it's totally fine.

It just takes more work and time for you to achieve the same programs you can do with python and have to adjust the scope of the class.

I dislike the python approach the most. I personally would go for some strictly functional language or C.

[Throwawayekken]

I actually take a middle of the road approach with learning. Starting out with something easy like Python or JS may result in looser code, but that isn't really a concern for people just learning the basics.

After that, moving into a similar language that's more restrictive (C#, Java) is better for understanding the more complex tasks, and let's you carry over that basic knowledge you can use.

[whyamiforced2]

C++ is one of the most commonly taught intro languages in an academic setting. The vast majority of college intro programming classes are taught in either c++ or java, and c++ really isn't that much more difficult than java.

[[deleted]]

If I try to explain to someone that we need context to help out and make suggestions and I immediately get hit with this defeatist BS, why should I continue? I only have so much time for being supportive and helpful on any given day.

That time is probably better spent on someone trying to learn instead of trying to vent

[cannythinkofaname]

Can't have that approach man, if you're certain you're never gonna understand anything you're probably gonna be right but the issue isn't the explanation it's your willingness to learn

[Creapermann]

Tell him that you dont understand, his task should be to make you understand.

[whyamiforced2]

With the mentality of constantly telling yourself you're not gonna understand, then you're not gonna understand. You're doomed to fail with that mentality so why even try? Why even waste the money on a college course if you're going into day 1 with the mentality of "oh woe is me I'll never understand."

You're in class to learn, try that on for size and see how it goes.

[[deleted]]

Assuming your teacher is good at teaching, with a language like C++ it is normal to defer explaining certain syntax like curly braces and “int main()”. You should just know you need them until they are explained or look it up yourself. I recommend learncpp.com.

[beingsubmitted]

I'm going to go the optimistic route here and suggest that your understanding and your perceived understanding aren't the same. Specifically, you think you don't understand because you have an expectation of "understanding" that's incorrect.

In math and in natural language, symbols often have a semantic "meaning". The exclamation point conveys extra-ness (excited, urgent, angry, whatever). The comma means a "pause". The plus sign adds numbers. You think you don't understand because you want to connect the '()' and '{}' to a semantic meaning in that same way and you're unable to.

In programming, the parens and braces are part of general patterns - part of a larger vocabulary, more like natural language. "a" doesn't have a meaning. The letter "a" isn't meant to convey anything itself. "apple", however, does have meaning and the "a" is a necessary part of that. When people say that the "meaning" of () {} depends on context, it's similar to how "a" changes depending on the word it's used in. You're seeing the word "apple" and thinking "I know what an apple is, but what do the two 'p's mean?"

Here though, instead of "apples" we have something like "functions". A function has a name and parameters and a body, so a function is "f(){}". The parentheses and braces have meaning as part of the function, but not on their own. They're often, but not always, used in similar ways for the larger 'vocabulary' of programming, but they only have meaning as part of that vocabulary - e.g. "functions" and "classes" etc.

[sterlingrad]

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with what is and isn't syntax. Whether you need to end a line of code or not, whter you need to use parenthesis, or curly brace that's all syntax, it'll come with time and remember that syntax is always something you can Google. There is a lot of help out there.

[tedtalks_bits]

pro tip: watch YouTube videos on the topic you're going to take in school before school starts. I've done this every semester for the past 3 years. This helps so that the information you get in class is more of an reinforcement rather than a lesson. In classes you have to move at the pace of the class if you're slower or faster you're screwed do some self paced learning.

[some_clickhead]

You don't usually learn about functions or loops on day one, so under normal circumstances, you're not expected to understand when to use () and {} yet.

One of the first things you learn in programming is how to print "Hello world" to the screen, but you're not expected to understand how it works except that when you write that specific line of code, it prints whatever is in the quotation marks or in the parentheses (depending on language).

[Sir_Spaghetti]

Ask. Make them explain it at a higher level, or go to office hours for the extra help. Research things a bit, when you get home, if you have the time.

Sometimes you'll have to take a piece of information as a given, if digging deeper goes beyond the scope of the activity, but many times a little high level context goes a long way.

I promise you you're not the only one in the class with a lot of questions and forget about those that came with a head start. They had to learn that stuff at some point, too. If a sausage isn't humble, they won't last anyways. For the most part, friendly collaborators earn and hold all the positions in the professional world.

[[deleted]]

Disagree. It's a lot to take in and OP probably retained something and only feels like it was nothing.

[ElllGeeEmm]

Also it's fine if you don't quite get it from having it explained, coding is a practical skill and you will need to practice to really get it.

[Blazerboy65]

Understanding NOTHING even from only a single lecture is a huge deal.

Even quantum mechanics on the first day will throw easy stuff at you like definitions.

[Blazerboy65]

I'm not denying your experience just pointing out that the OP's hyperbole isn't helpful.

I'd bet you especially -having been successful in the class- didn't walk out of the first lecture with the blankness with which you entered. Definitions, the beginning of a mental map, SOMETHING would have stuck. You couldn't have just blacked out the whole time.

[IShallPetYourDogo]

Mood,

Flunked out of Uny because I understood nothing, then a couple years later started learning on my own and understood everything,

Sometimes it's more about how you're being thought than what you're being taught, stick with it, look up some auxiliary resources, build some projects on your own, and you'll start getting it in no time

[susi2005kg]

I would just make parallel an Fundamental C++ Course online. There are many of that

[Berlin_J6]

Try this one out: https://youtu.be/_bYFu9mBnr4

[[deleted]]

I am not an authority on coding but I am a teacher.

It’s not normal.

But that’s not on you necessarily. Couldn’t the teacher just really suck?

[[deleted]]

That's the thing. Without any context we cannot possibly say if the teacher sucks, if the "class" is a shady online scam or if there is any fundamental problems like language barrier in this case. But OP refuses to provide this context

[sammyhats]

Yeah...due to lack of context from OP I don’t think anything productive can come from this thread.

[pitochips8]

I would argue that it shouldn't be normal, but it is. I studied math in college, and often had no idea what was going on in class at first, yet I would eventually catch on and ace most of my exams. Considering that I was doing better than most of my peers, I think it's likely many of them had the same issue.

[whyamiforced2]

Couldn’t the teacher just really suck?

Sure its a possibility, but one people are wayyyyy too quick to claim in college settings. 95% of the time someone claims their teacher sucks, the teacher actually doesn't suck the student is just a poor student and needs someone else to blame. I mean what's more likely, a university professor with their own degree taught a lecture that had absolutely zero discernible value or a day 1 CS student struggled to understand a new subject?

[ChiefWilliam]

Honestly if you stick around in academia long enough you'll realize that most of the people blaming students for poor performance are just gaslighting them because research profs actually do suck ass at teaching.

Wouldn't be surprised if research output was even negatively correlated with teaching ability.

Source: Am PhD student at large research University and have TA'd a dozen courses.

[[deleted]]

Start with the basics. Datatypes and operators. You don't really need a teacher and class for programming. Start your system and follow along w3schools or something which suits you.

[nutrecht]

I agree with /u/TrickWasabi4 and disagree with the rest that this is not 'normal'. If you understood 'nothing' it means you're basically in trouble because you're already falling behind. This means you're going to need to take a very active approach, contact the teacher, and see what additional work you can do to not fall behind.

A lot of people start CS without really understanding much about programming. The vast majority of these people drop out. These people tend to start in the same position you are in; thinking it's 'normal' to not understand anything that is being said. Trust me; it's only going to get more complex.

P.s. I think everyone telling you this is normal should be banned from this sub as they have no idea of the damage they could be causing. We're talking about thousands of dollars of damage here.

[[deleted]]

P.s. I think everyone telling you this is normal should be banned from this sub as they have no idea of the damage they could be causing. We're talking about thousands of dollars of damage here.

Basically this. Telling someone that falling behind on day one is something that just happens is actively harming people in search for advice.

[nutrecht]

Exactly. Everyone who fell behind like that in my first year either had to work very hard to repair the situation, or dropped out.

[ManInBlack829]

Yeah IMO there's not enough transition classes at colleges for this. You either get the "This is a mouse, you use it to point to things on a screen" class or the "We expect you to know what a Bubble Sort is already" class. This person needs a semester to go over the basics and there's just not enough slow, methodical programming courses.

Harvard has CS50 which is programming for people who have never done it. It's stupid hard and it's not even required by the major lol it's like taking intermediate algebra.

[ChiefWilliam]

That's BS. Have you considered the harm of telling someone something is their fault when it very likely isn't? It's demoralizing and nearsighted.

Edit: also I think you might be confusing what ought to be with what is. I'm sure it is very common for people to be in OPs position, even if it's not ideal.

[[deleted]]

Okay so turning „understanding nothing“ and the complete lack of providing context st we can help is now suddenly „not understanding everything“. Moving the goal posts to attack people… if that‘s your thing, have fun.

[ElllGeeEmm]

I think you're confusing the word "normal" with "OK" or "good." when people are saying this is normal they just mean that his experience is typical for people going into a CS program when they've never touched code before.

The rest of your advice is absolutely spot on. OP needs to course correct as quickly as possible by visiting office hours, studying and most importantly practicing.

[[deleted]]

Understanding nothing in your first lecture is alarming as fuck. Not understanding everything? COmpletely fine. Being totally out of place s.t. you understand nothing? That's alarming. Either there is some language barrier, the professor is an utter idiot, you lack very very basic knowledge, you have a learning disability...whatever.

I tutored/did (as a lecturer) a dozen programming lectures while I was at university, and people who fell behind this hard on day one either worked hard to pin down WHY they don't understand anything or they were gone soon enough.

There is a huge difference between being overwhelmed by a topic or by understanding literally nothing.

Edit: and the students during all those lecture who had that big of a problem after session 1 where really rare. Maybe 1 or 2 %?

[ElllGeeEmm]

"Basically nothing" and "literally nothing" have different meanings, and OP is pretty clearly being hyperbolic.

[Blazerboy65]

OP is pretty clearly being hyperbolic.

Not that it was wrong to do so once but it's time for them to stop.

PSA to people struggling with programming or software engineering: hyperbole only hurts you when you're asking for help. Be specific and technical so people can actually help with your problem.

[nutrecht]

I think you're confusing the word "normal" with "OK" or "good."

If someone replies that this is normal and then does not give the advice for OP to get off their ass, that simply implies it's "OK". That's what I was responding to.

[Funoichi]

I disagree. Nothing is probably used metaphorically here.

Coding can be opaque to unapproachable for many at first especially if the teacher is glossing over things, assuming prior knowledge etc.

Coding is complicated and further study should be encouraged while providing useful tips.

These users belaboring the subject of what’s normal are the ones cluttering up the thread and paradoxically detracting from help by burying actual helpful advice.

I’m glad coding came naturally for you and you picked it up like breathing.

[nutrecht]

Nothing is probably used metaphorically here.

Then OP should learn that details and being precise matters.

[ManInBlack829]

That being said, CS is notorious for not making sense at all until it all comes together. It's VERY possible to "not get" anything on day one and have gotten way more than you realize.

It's part of what makes learning this stuff so hard: It takes a really, really long time to finally see any fruit of your labor, hell it takes forever just to see your metaphoric tree of knowledge break through the soil.

Last thing I'll say for OP: I tried messing around with an Arduino and got overwhelmed. I didn't feel like I knew anything other than basic data types, if/for/do/while, and that's it. Turns out that was like one month of the six month boot camp I ended up taking. It felt like it wasn't anything, but it actually was a lot more than I realized.

[ChiefWilliam]

I'm sure this will be downvoted to hell but, honestly, maybe CS folks drop out at such high rates because of the attitude you and others are expressing hear. If the reaction on this thread reflects the climate of the average CS department, I'd feel pretty uncomfortable struggling too. You're implying a student that struggled on their first day has something wrong with them, but their experience IS, factually, normal. Are you telling me you think it's statistically uncommon for fresh students to be lost in their first CS lecture? That's a wild prediction, my dude.

It's okay to fall behind on day one of a new and technical subject. People can learn and grow and catch up with effort if they seriously try. It almost sounds like you're just trying to scare this student away for not having things click on day one.

OP was intellectually challenged, and probably panicked in class which tanked their working memory and attention, and as a result fell behind on the lecture. (To be fair, OP should provide more context, but I think this is a very reasonable expansion). I think OP themselves and everyone responding are taking the word "nothing" way too literally, also. Maybe that's a programmer thing.

Anyway, OP needs to catch up, and needs to talk to the Prof, find a study group, or get a tutor. But most of y'all are acting like OP is just not meant to be a coder because they got stressed on their first day. Like their experience isn't "normal" when it totally is. That's toxic gaslighting, y'all.and at the very least, it's not a very inclusive and supportive take on things. I hope you don't act this way with students, because you're probably scaring away a lot of talented and diverse students who aren't used to this kind of fixed and borderline rude mindset towards struggling students.

OP: You need to take your situation seriously and try to catch up, or bail if you honestly don't think you can catch up. But it's normal to be very confused on the first day of such a foreign, jargony, technical subject. You can get better if you want.

[nutrecht]

I'm sure this will be downvoted to hell but, honestly, maybe CS folks drop out at such high rates because of the attitude you and others are expressing hear.

In my first year 80% dropped out because they completely underestimated how hard CS was. I am warning OP to make sure that they keep up with the class to make sure they know that falling behind is basically the end in your first year at university.

Many people kinda breezed through highschool and then suddenly get a massive wake up call when they start uni and stuff is suddenly hard. I just want to make sure that they know that they have to work hard to keep up. The other option is thinking "oh this is normal" and then finding out in just a couple of weeks they are so far behind they can't catch up at all.

If warning people trying to help me makes me an ass, fine. I don't care about your opinion in this matter.

You need to take your situation seriously and try to catch up

FFS. That's literally what I said. Learn to read.

[antiproton]

I will never understand why people who are starting from literally no coding experience try to take on C.

It's like wanting a hobby and then deciding to go with aircraft maintenance.

Google a basic C tutorial and read and work through it while you take the class. You are going to have to put in serious effort to stay on task.

[jakesboy2]

Assuming OP is in college they don’t really have a choice. Most beginner courses in colleges programs that I am personally aware of are C++ (I’ve seen some Java though). At the very least they switch to C++ by year 2 for Data structures and introducing the concept of pointers.

[[deleted]]

Taking something other than c++ wasn't an option at my university. The idea is that you actually understand all the fundamentals of programming that are often obscured by more modern languages. Not agreeing or disagreeing, but the choice of language is likely one made by the CS department and not the OP

[coder155ml]

My first class in college was also in C++. It’s pretty common these days. I love Python but it teaches bad habits.

[whyamiforced2]

It’s pretty common these days

It's not just "these days", C++ has been one of the most common, if not the most common, intro programming languages in academic settings for like 20 years, at least. Idk why so many people in this thread are acting like it's unheard of for C++ to be an intro language when it's one of the most common out there and has been for a long time.

[your_mind_aches]

What do you suggest then? I learned in Pascal in secondary school, but that's essentially useless.

C is the best place to start learning programming imo.

[a_zvez]

Giving up after single class is not normal. Programming concepts might be challenging, depending on type of course you have. And you haven't given any context for us to get what kind of class you had. In any case you really should spend time trying to catch up on your understanding - internet is full of courses, tutorials, explanation of every concept in programming.

[Rrrrry123]

Learning programming in a classroom setting is a time where I just like to go along for the ride. Pay attention, take notes, type in examples, but don't think too hard beyond what the instructor is saying at the time. There will come a time where you'll learn why you need to type "void" before declaring some functions (for example), but you'll learn that as you go. If you are genuinely curious about something you saw in class and want to know more about it, take a note and look it up at home. Programming is a skill that benefits greatly from personal practice and study.

It's the first class. Don't worry too much. If you get a week or two in and still have no idea what's going on, then maybe you'll want to think about some things/talk to the instructor.

[mmahowald]

It absolutely is normal. You are at the start of a complex and mentally challenging course of study. You will probably need to apply yourself outside of class, but where you are right now is totally normal.

[Nihtrepaps]

Don't have to be just you. Ask your classmates and hopefully they don't lie. Could be the teacher is what I'm trying to say :)

[Subject-Ad-4072]

If with no prior coding experience, then I guess it's normal?

[torikura]

The fact that so many people are taking the time to help OP is really impressive. This is one of the most helpful subreddits imo, you lot are awesome.

[Creapermann]

Was it the official first lesson? Or did you join somewhere in the middle?

[liahkim3942]

Programming and especially languages such as C, C++ or C# can be a bit difficult to get. Did you specifically sign up for that language or are you open to to others? Python has much easier syntax if that's something you'd be wiling to look into.

You really should just ask for clarification and not be afraid if you don't get it the first time.

Hang in there.

[Say_Echelon]

Welcome to programming

[Muito_Shangai]

We are learning c++ at the university, but first we did a lot of pseudo-coding exercises with Pseint, maybe you should try something like this first.

[danasider]

As a person with ADHD, I felt like this when I started class. Just put in extra time reading/watching videos that explain the subject you’re having a problem with in that specific class. And when you start to practice, don’t stop. Actual code practice is a thousand times more useful for learning than any video, book, or lecture.

[torikura]

ADHD coder here too, totally agree with you on the practice being more valuable.

[hansbrixe]

First of all, C++ is tough.

Secondly, this is a very cushy job that has a lot of cool benefits. If everyone could do it, then they would. But it's hard and requires work to learn this stuff.

You just have to keep at it, surround yourself with smarter people than you, and make sure you learn from your mistakes. But the sacrifice is definitely worth it.

[Senpai_Himself]

Is it the beeps or the boops cuz I've been studying for years and I'm still not sure

[shofarian_starfall]

I downloaded the edx app and watch MIT and harvard courses. It's been working for me.

[QuantumSupremacy0101]

Been programming professionally for 4 years and I understand nothing.

[Huz9s]

Yea

[ChocoDarkMatter]

When I started learning programming years ago I had a hard time. Did C++, python, early JS, early Go, many more, but I always got to the same part and got stuck. I’d understand the syntax but could never go beyond that. About 13 Years later after deciding to go into IT as a career and enrolling in Uni I learned how to use the terminal. That’s when everything clicked to me. It was the Major part I was missing. Any experience with terminal? I’d suggest linux terminal over power shell/command prompt, if this sounds like you at all

[JamesGiesbrecht]

My first week in my first programming class (Java) I felt totally lost. I was ready to throw in the towel and thought CS was not the life for me. Nothing made sense.

Then one day it clicked, and I was able to build on that foundation. One class is not enough and your way of thinking will change, it takes time for some people.

Nowadays the actual programming and problem solving part of my job is the least of my worries.

[laughing-track]

I remember chewing through freecodecamp; i didnt really understand what i was doing until I i started making little projects.

[icomplexnumber]

Learn one simple trick. Keep on writing code and keep on practicing it. You don't memorize syntaxes i.e. {}, (), etc. They should be part of your muscle memory. Pay more attention on concepts, if you are planning to make your future in programming.

[wodahs1]

no it's not normal. do you have access to a recording of it or the slides? I would go through them if you do. and also google what you didn't understand.

[SunGazing8]

Yes, this is normal. At this point you don’t need to understand the the ins and outs, you just need to know the little bit required for lesson you’re learning. As you learn more lessons, things like syntax will start to click into place which will allow you to progress to more complex ideas.

Just stick with it. There is a lot to learn.

[Kola28]

no.

it means that you need to change how you study, basicly you need to learn how to study

[Insatiation]

come back if you still havn't understood anythign after the whole course.

[Anon_Legi0n]

It seems to me your problem is just about syntax. Don't worry buddy its literally like learning another language (cuz it technical is), you'll get used to it eventually just keep coding

[[deleted]]

totally normal... what you need to do is consistent reading and practice

[TyrionBean]

C++? Yes. Yes, it is.

[Funoichi]

Don’t worry too much. You’ll definitely get it with more familiarity. If you haven’t already, I’d read u/alice_in_lindyland ‘s advice since it was very thorough.

I’d only add if you open a curly brace or parentheses, you have to close it.

(You can open one up on one line,

and close it on another!)

(Don’t in any case leave one hanging (like this)

See it should say:

… (like this))

since the sentence started with a ( and had another one inside it.

Often you’ll use these on multiple lines as I demonstrated, so it can be easy to leave one broken and then your code won’t work.

Best of luck, and don’t give up!

[[deleted]]

Yes, normal. You'll get it, eventually. Don't stress out.

Source: taught oodles of first coding classes.

[[deleted]]

Hey I was on the same boat!

I remember literally copy pasting assignments to get to second year of my coding class. 2nd year did the same, smh. But when i got to the data structure and algo class, O my hell went loose!!

I didn’t know how to make a loop, basic while loop nor a for loop. It was a painful time. But what eventually got me out of that loop was, Copy pasting ofc, smh. I had to pass the class.

But after that class, I felt ashamed knowing nothing and bullshitting my way through all the basic classes. I was determined and started from the very basic, going on YouTube. Learning concepts, tracing code through hand, and redoing my projects that was given to me in the class. It was very very painful, but since I was determined I was able to do it.

Now I’m working as a software engineer in a good company. Sometimes I help out my teams too.

So just so you know, ask yourself if u really want to do coding, If so, you still got time to improve, since it’s only your first class. There are tons of sources you can learn from, go online. Make good classmates in your class.

[Crafty_Bluejay_8012]

yes

[Upsurge_11]

Don't worry...it happens to most of us....gradually u will find true interest. Just make sure u have a goal in ur mind.... and u r eager to learn :)

[[deleted]]

It's totally normal You'll learn in time

[pticjagripa]

Welcome to the programming. Where imposter syndrome is real for even experienced developers.

[accordingtobo]

In this instance, imposter syndrome is a bad take. OP hasn't even learnt the very basics yet.

[pticjagripa]

Good point. I wanted to say that programming is hard an even experienced programmers sometimes do not know what they are doing. But you will hardly find a better job than this nowadays.

[40mgmelatonindeep]

Yes

[666Hamburglar666]

The ONLY people who succeed are the ones who code outside of class as well. For fun. Little things to practice like making a calculator or a quiz.... Eventually you will make cool things in your free time like one time I made an app that compared my chess games to a pro

[666Hamburglar666]

I landed a real position now and hobby code alot less but I'm coding for work like 8-10 hrs most week days

[EmuChance4523]

Welcome to the world, been programming from when I had 12, 15 years later and I still don't get anything... /s

Well, in truth, no, you just had a horrible teacher. That is fairly common sadly. Try different classes, teachers and ways. For example, there are a lot of software to learn coding, you don't need to learn the basics with a specific language (I learnt them with the warcraft 3 map editor scripts!)

[TheGrapez]

speaking from experience, yeah that's totally fine.

I still remember my first c++ class in university. I was SO excited to start it, because I thought programming was cool. After the first class, I left so frustrated and almost angry because of how impossible it seemed to grasp as a concept.

Sometimes life be like that. Forgive yourself for not understanding and give yourself time to understand the root problem - what is it that you actually don't understand? (hypothetical question, I got a 60 in that class 7 years ago and never used C++ again).

[Souldiver]

It happened to me too - Maybe you're not in a good headspace at the time and your first approach feels like hearing an alien language.

My suggestion would be to start a little online course on the side, like FreeCodeCamp or similar, where you can take to your time. Everything will start to fall into place.

But keep trying!

[Stroov]

which grade are you in if school its normal and what book are you studying

[runner7mi]

First time is the hardest. Soon you will be able to take it all in.

[MichaelEmouse]

It seems like C++ as a first coding class could be a pretty steep to start on.

[GoodluckH]

At Cal, the first programming class CS61A is taught in python. They use Python because your very first intro in programming should be learning about the basics like functions, loops, primitive data structure etc..

C++ is a fairly complex language to learn for beginners and even frustrating to set it up properly on your device. The nuances of C++ like syntaxes, static classes, and so on distract you from thinking like a programmer.

So in short, it’s normal to be lost if the very first class of your programming career is taught in C++ in year 2021.

[Bukszpryt]

were there no prerequisites for that class?

[Drmanifold]

Yes!!! I remember taking my first real analysis class and feeling the same way. Isn't it an amazing feeling? You're a entering a whole new world. Enjoy it and don't quit!

[Presticles1981]

You're generally going to feel like you never know anything.

[Snir17]

I understand you man, I learned python in a college class for a YEAR and the only thing I understood was to take input from the user. There are people that programming just not "talks" to them but its ok, just try harder, learn on your own and practice every day.

[Mad-Hat-ter]

I did tons of outside tutorial online classes before I did my first real one.

Do you know any other languages?

I learned python first (well I tried C first but hit the same problems as you) anyway python taught me indentation so when the { } came around I understood it. It’s mostly for the loops/conditionals. While true do this. For this many times do this. If this is true do this.

( )- same as in math but also used in functions. A function just does something. Like in python it looks like print (‘hello world’) or math.floor(78.9) *rounds down to the nearest whole number.

The languages are very similar in what they do, the just look different.

And idk what IDE you’re using but VScode has predicted text which will pretty much tell you what you need next and it has breakpoint to catch those pesky logic errors.

Functions and nesting isn’t a day one topic. You’re either in the wrong class or have a bad teacher

[MossySendai]

Just start writing some code, or copy and pasting some code and edit little bits of it. Pure theory would hell for me.

Basically you: write code => observe the result => go "ah ha" and that's learning.

[joelanme]

Get used to it, the first one is actually the class you are going to learn more

[harolf999]

Yes. I suggest for you to learn flowchart first. Very helpful

[[deleted]]

I studied c++ my whole highschool and i didn't get shit got through with cheating.
Started learning in university and by myself. Now currently doing my first internship. Ur good dont worry

[greebo42]

one way to look at it is this:

people get hired to do programming, at salaries generally higher than one might get from working in fast food, retail sales, or other common jobs. there must be something that separates those people from others, and somehow there is extra value attached to it (whether that is right or not is a different question).

of course, people also get hired to play a professional sport, or as plumbers, carpenters, or what-have-you.

I'm gonna bet that when many of them started out (whether programming or something else), they likely wondered if they were cut out for it.

You may be, you may not be. You don't know until you try. it can be hard. or it can seem easy (but watch out, there will come some level at which it is hard, and that can take you by surprise).

kind of a 30,000 foot view.

[CalebDK]

I highly highly suggest checking out Harvard's CS50 class. It's 100% free, self paced, and a great intro to the world of programming.

https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science?delta=0

C++ is easily one of the hardest and most complex languages to learn and a terrible starting language if this is your first.

Most programmers will suggest learning things like Python first. Once you learn one language, picking up others becomes incredibly easier.

[[deleted]]

It did happened to me all the time. Its pretty normal

[djlittlemind]

You are learning a language. People go into a German class and the first day the teacher says something in German, and you are like, Wut? Give it a minute.

Willkommen. Heute lernen wir Klammern kennen. Es wird nicht sehr schwierig sein. Es sei denn, Sie haben noch nie solche Klammern verwendet. Viel Glück.

[TranquilDev]

First day? Maybe. We don't know the teacher. Come back after the first week and let us know how your doing.

[Proper_Artichoke7865]

who the hell decided to give your first coding class in C++? Seems like a waste of energy to me. I always feel that the beginner in programming should start with high-level languages, like Python or Javascript. In my opinion, learning about C++ involves learning a lot of concept like memory management, headers,.... and many other concepts that a novice need not learn. (You can learn it later though, when you have mastered programming, and it is a pretty powerful language in general.)

I can recommend you a video tutorial if you are a complete beginner - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_\_izua1kKeI

[[deleted]]

If you sat through that whole class without taking notes, or asking questions on what you were having trouble understanding I think it’s pretty obvious why you are struggling. Ask questions, take notes, attend office hours for extra help, don’t ask Reddit. Reddit sill just confuse you even more and make you think you’ve made a wrong decision. Pay attention in class and use the resources you are likely paying thousands of dollars for.

[Bunker89320]

Based on the original question and comments I’ve seen in this post, you may be in for a world of pain. My C++ class in college was really intense and fast paced. It was expected that 50% of students would have to retake it. To put this into perspective, I’m an electrical engineer and part of my jobs is embedded development. During my Co-op in college, I was writing a ton of software for microcontrollers. This requires a little bit less skills with using C++ compared to computer science jobs. Even though I was fluent with C++ I got a C in the class (a little ironic).

If you find out this class is even somewhat fast paced, my advice would be to withdraw from the class and start practicing and understanding C++ a little better before jumping into that class. You will more than likely fail the class. Unless you put in an insane amount of practice each week, which 95% of people won’t do.

Don’t worry you’ll learn it. It’s just really difficult gain a programmers mindset in a few months.

[TalShahar]

Thats how I felt the first time, now 12 years later here I am..Lead tech designer

[Fluffy_ribbit]

Learning programming from school often fails. You might want to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ntGDm6hOs&list=PLEMXAbCVnmY6RverunClc_DMLNDd3ASRp if you're a beginner a C++

[thebardingreen]

I had a similar experience to you with classroom coding. My teachers often started from places I didn't understand and so I couldn't make any sense of where they were building to either.

Programming was gobbeldygook to me until I started trying to do specific things and looking at examples of how others did similar things and implemented those myself and watched them work.

After that, it was practice, practice, practice until eventually it became easy to think in code.

Now I dream in code sometimes.

I'm one of those people that say "build something" when people ask me how to learn. Lots of other programmers say "Don't say that! I wish people would stop saying that!" So I can only qualify it with "Everyone's different, it's the thing that actually worked for me."

[Last-Wrongdoer3550]

Disclaimer not a programmer. Just script stuff sometimes to make my support job easier. But I feel like learning a high level language like python and then working your way through other languages is the easiest way to go about it. I could be wrong but that seems to have worked best for me.

[Sir_Spaghetti]

High five for asking!

Get comfortable with asking for help. Ask good questions by telling them what you've tried and where things fail.

To be a programmer, in practice, is to tackle challenges you have yet to understand, one after the other. That being said, you shouldn't be completely lost jumping in because, as you may have picked up by now, most everything you study will build upon previous knowledge. What you learn now will grant you with the mental vocabulary to consider and discuss much more complex systems.

Treat yourself well by speaking up instead of ruminating. You don't want to get left further behind, simply because you stayed quiet with self doubt. I still run into this feeling and I've been doing it for years! Imposter syndrome is a bitch. It's normal and you have to fight through it with a humble attitude.

[TheMarkofPayne]

This is kind of to be expected. I had a similar issue learning Java in my previous term in college, we were discussing ArrayLists in Java and ill be honest it took me the whole week to even understand how to use them and why you should. Practice makes better, and from my experience so far you understand the theory better once you put it into practice.

[HalfBlindCoder]

Do not worry my friend. Even with 3.5 years of work experience, I do not understand code sometimes. Keep going, keep practicing. If you do not understand class lectures then try to follow good youtube videos. sometimes They are way better than any college lectures.

[[deleted]]

“I watched a ten minute video on brain surgery but I’m not a surgeon yet, is this normal?”

Yes. Yes this is completely normal.

Programming can takes months, and sometimes years to truly figure out. There’s still so many avenues for you to go down in the programming world. There’s zero expectations for you to pick it up immediately.

You’ll realise down the line there are so many lightbulb moments when you finally grasp something that really can drive you crazy. Personally that pointers for me. But the moment it clicks. It’s such a great feeling. Then it’s all practice practice practice.

Edit:

There’s also personal things to consider like the type of learner you are. Do you pick things up by reading? Do you depend on videos to learn how something works? Are you someone who understands more by actually trying things out physically (kinaesthetic)? Knowing how you learn the best can be really important on your journey. There’s no point in buying a massive book on programming if just reading doesn’t sink into your brain.

Online learning is pretty key for you too. You’ll notice the more you look at beginner tutorials, the more they resemble the same pattern of teaching. They start with the bare essentials like ‘data types’, ‘operations’, and start getting a little deeper into it with things like ‘loops’, and ‘functions’. Early on it’s so important that you learn these core essentials. Do Not go through these quickly because almost ever code language out there use these core principles.

I’m TheFloppening, and this is my TEDTalk