Anyone on here a "professional" coder?

[0x0010]

Hey lads, so I'm gonna get this out of the way and I hope it explains what I'm looking for.

I'm a student under 18 right now who's pretty good with I.T related subjects. Anyway, next year (2017) I was accepted into participating in an accelerated I.T class but we don't do any programming/developing until the second semester and I believe all we are going to use is VB.NET. I've tried to learn some languages such as:

* Python
* HTML
* C++ (lol didn't get past Hello World)
* etc

I've used some sites like w3schools, codeacademy, etc but I gave up on those when they weren't exactly teaching what I wanted to know. I have read that big Python book (lost the name of it in my head just now, mind went blank lol) and learned most of the basics of Python but yeah I'd like to get deeper into the languages.

I guess what I'd like to have in the future (personal things in the next 1-2 years would be a good time frame) would be the ability to make things such as bots, tools, programs, etc. Then from there apps for iOS. And then [spoiler]jailbreak [/spoiler]

Anyway I was wondering if any of you professionals have any advice? On how you started, or what exactly you did to learn. Would be really cool

Thanks. - 0x0011.

[Spoetnik]

My answer is.. 0x90

And my advice is focus on ONE language hard.
And that should be c++  

When you get really good with that you can walk into another other pussy language and own it.

Need a break from c++ ? Then dabble in ASM !

[0x0010]

My answer is.. 0x90

And my advice is focus on ONE language hard.
And that should be c++  

When you get really good with that you can walk into another other pussy language and own it.

Need a break from c++ ? Then dabble in ASM !

I've tried to get into c++ but it's so... aghhhhhh it just blows my head in

Do you have any suggestions on where to start learning? If not, I'll just go back to google heheh

and thanks for the advice 

[Joel_Jantsen]

Coming from an Engineering background,most of the IT courses taught professionally don't teach you how to code applications you have mentioned rather they're keen on working your basics where in future you can get adjusted to any platform,any language and any architecture you choose to work on.IT schools put more weight on concepts like Data Structures,Algorithms,Code resuability,Object Oriented Programming,Code optimization and so on.They teach you enough to get familiar with any language which is used in the real world projects.

Once your basics are solid in any modern programming language,you can pretty much learn or get started programming your real application like say bots.You can start by learning C,learn the basics of programming without using object oriented structure (so you would realize how important is object oriented programming).After getting your basics solid with Loops,conditions,variables,files you can move to learn any Object Oriented Programming language that is Java or C++ (I'd say learn both!).When I say learning,the best way to learn a programming language by is coding as much as possible and by coding I mean solving as many programming questions as possible ! You can find these challenges easily online.The activity is just a process for getting your brains used to solve real world problems when you write an actual application.

Let the process take a few weeks.Once your basics are solid (not in any language but just object oriented programming in general) you can start with coding your actual apps.

The language you choose depends on your application,for example,if you're writing a mail sending bot,you'd use python because it's fast and has smtp libraries readily available.For any automation python is the best choice because C++ fails here.
Usually,I learn a language by writing a project in it.Since my programming basics are strong,I can just learn the right functions at the right time instead of having to read the entire programming book before writing an application in that particular language.
Once you start getting deeper into it,you would know how code optimization,code scalability or writing efficient code is more important than just coding.
Few things I'd suggest to do on daily basis :
-Read Hacker News Blogs
-Follow good authors on GitHub.
-Pick a language of your choice and start contributing to open source projects on github.
-Learn Command Line tool such as Git/SVN.
-Get used to terminal as much as you can.
-Read the content on this website as much as you can www.geeksforgeeks.com.

I could write a lot more but just saving it for your next question.

[0x0010]

Coming from an Engineering background,most of the IT courses taught professionally don't teach you how to code applications you have mentioned rather they're keen on working your basics where in future you can get adjusted to any platform,any language and any architecture you choose to work on.IT schools put more weight on concepts like Data Structures,Algorithms,Code resuability,Object Oriented Programming,Code optimization and so on.They teach you enough to get familiar with any language which is used in the real world projects.

Once your basics are solid in any modern programming language,you can pretty much learn or get started programming your real application like say bots.You can start by learning C,learn the basics of programming without using object oriented structure (so you would realize how important is object oriented programming).After getting your basics solid with Loops,conditions,variables,files you can move to learn any Object Oriented Programming language that is Java or C++ (I'd say learn both!).When I say learning,the best way to learn a programming language by is coding as much as possible and by coding I mean solving as many programming questions as possible ! You can find these challenges easily online.The activity is just a process for getting your brains used to solve real world problems when you write an actual application.

Let the process take a few weeks.Once your basics are solid (not in any language but just object oriented programming in general) you can start with coding your actual apps.

The language you choose depends on your application,for example,if you're writing a mail sending bot,you'd use python because it's fast and has smtp libraries readily available.For any automation python is the best choice because C++ fails here.
Usually,I learn a language by writing a project in it.Since my programming basics are strong,I can just learn the right functions at the right time instead of having to read the entire programming book before writing an application in that particular language.
Once you start getting deeper into it,you would know how code optimization,code scalability or writing efficient code is more important than just coding.
Few things I'd suggest to do on daily basis :
-Read Hacker News Blogs
-Follow good authors on GitHub.
-Pick a language of your choice and start contributing to open source projects on github.
-Learn Command Line tool such as Git/SVN.
-Get used to terminal as much as you can.
-Read the content on this website as much as you can www.geeksforgeeks.com.

I could write a lot more but just saving it for your next question.

I never understood GitHub but I do know a bit about terminals lol. I did try learning Python and used "learn python the hard way" and learned how to do things like this:

Code:

from sys import argv 2
3 script, user_name = argv
4 prompt = '> '
5
6 print "Hi %s, I'm the %s script." % (user_name, script)
7 print "I'd like to ask you a few questions."
8 print "Do you like me %s?" % user_name
9 likes = raw_input(prompt)
10
11 print "Where do you live %s?" % user_name
12 lives = raw_input(prompt)
13
14 print "What kind of computer do you have?"
15 computer = raw_input(prompt)
16
17 print """
18 Alright, so you said %r about liking me.
19 You live in %r. Not sure where that is.
20 And you have a %r computer. Nice.
21 """ % (likes, lives, computer)

It was a pretty good language imo but I figured I should learn a more complicated language that would set a foundation for the other languages. How long did it take you to get to where you are now?

I think I'm going to study C & python for now, really get into the solids you mentioned like loops, variables, etc.

Thank you very much for the detailed reply, it's really helpful 

[Spoetnik]

Agreed with BobLawblaw

My advice for c++ is..
I started by learning by getting an idea for a program first.
Then i learned the language to accomplish that goal.

Side stepping a lot of stuff i did not need to know right away.
I sure as hell have never mastered c or c++  

Focus is the key.
What areas would you potentially want to work in with a language ?
That should help you narrow down the direction and then where to focus the learning.
For example do you want to work with hardware ?
Want to work with Mobile stuff or web related services ?

I started by having ideas for my own desktop and making programs that would work for me offline.

Once i created a program to transfer mp3's to a portable media player via MTP.
Because i wanted improvements in some ares i found lacking in every other program i tried.

I was a pioneer in DLL emulation in cracking too
The concept of dropping in my own dll into a program's directory to crack it and control it how i want.

I also created a program before because i wanted my cell phone hacked.
People on the web said my phone could not be cracked / jailbroke.
They literally said it was "impossible" because of DRM etc.
Turns out they were wrong.. and all it took was some minor effort to figure that out.
I identified what the problem was and from there i just had to create a program for my PC.
And i did too..
I created a GUI based program with MFC on windows that added pirated games to my cell phone.
It works great.. still many years later.
Later i wanted to add more features though..
I still had to use another program to put the hacked custom system files onto the phone
So i eventually wanted to learn how to interact with the phone via USB on my Windows PC.
But i never bothered getting into learning THAT ASPECT of c++ coding.

See what i am driving at ?

Your goals should be the driving force of what direction to take.
Not learning for the sake of learning.

[PokerDiceMan]

iam PHP programing and MYSQL programing

[Vod]

I believe all we are going to use is VB.NET.

Good choice to use a .net technology.  VB is easier to learn, but is considered the "baby brother" of C#.

With .net you can use the same code to write webpages as you can mobile programs.

Don't use php - the language is in decline and there are more than enough php coders.

[Gleb Gamow]

My answer is.. 0x90

And my advice is focus on ONE language hard.
And that should be c++  

When you get really good with that you can walk into another other pussy language and own it.

Need a break from c++ ? Then dabble in ASM !

"Sheriff Spoetnik, I didn't know you string."

[CC-Resurgam]

professional coder is such a blanket statement. i am a professional web developer and designer however i do not know a quarter of the languages out there. some are experts in C# but fall on their face when looking at Css3, and vice cersa. so by saying professional coder maybe you should specify code or by resource. like professional app developer, professional Mobile developer, professional software programmer, professional web developer, etc.

[BitcoinBarrel]

If you are more into Application development then follow others' advice about C++ and ASM.

For Web development learn PHP, MySQL, Bootstrap and Javascript and you can build just about *any site.

[Gleb Gamow]

If you are more into Application development then follow others' advice about C++ and ASM.

For Web development learn PHP, MySQL, Bootstrap and Javascript and you can build just about site.

Personally, I'm well-versed with Wordpress, and even changed something once in PHP, ergo me's a professional coder. 

[CC-Resurgam]

Personally, I'm well-versed with Wordpress, and even changed something once in PHP, ergo me's a professional coder. 

wordpress is gross, its like mac of web development. so simple its retarded.

i code in HTML, CSS, PHP, JS, and SQL. i have used wordpress, but dont like it, drupal is better if you must use a CMS

[Gleb Gamow]

Personally, I'm well-versed with Wordpress, and even changed something once in PHP, ergo me's a professional coder.  

wordpress is gross, its like mac of web development. so simple its retarded.

i code in HTML, CSS, PHP, JS, and SQL. i have used wordpress, but dont like it, drupal is better if you must use a CMS

"SuperCoder! That spells W O R D P R E S S, or is it M O O N?"

[Spoetnik]

The web design aspect is a fucking beast !
I was learning to make sites with PHP in 2003..
Back then i was always chasing exploits and trying to patch them on sites i started.
I always did find Javascript a bit tricky to learn.
I stopped for a while and got left in the dust.. i know nothing about it NOW.

Two points though.. web design / web app's world of tech etc is fast paced.
I do not envy the people who have to keep up with it all.. must be a bitch.
If you are going that route stay focused on it and keep up with the scene.
(don't delve too much into making win32 programs with c++ etc)

And i mentioned ASM before because if you delve into the area of cracking and hacking ASM becomes more relevant.

My advice before was.. FOCUS !

No idea what a pro coder is.
Many get out of school 100% inept.

I don't object to learning c sharp .net either.
After spending years trying to learn C / C++ it was a lot easier to jump into that after.

My point i want to harp here is way back trying to teach myself.
I decided i had to narrow it down.
You are not doing yourself any favors by trying to learn multiple languages all at once.
And math itself may become a massive barrier.
It became an issue for me more and more in time.

Figure out what area / aspect of coding you want then FOCUS hard on being efficient learning.
You only have so much time and effort to learn.. pick the hard route too !
I chose to have c++ as my main focus long ago knowing it would be a bit easier to go from there to others lang's later. (usually anyway)

And yeah ASM is used to optimize code too.
I never bothered writing programs with it.. i learned it to crack software with dissemblers mostly.
It's nice being able to patch a trial program when ever i want LOL
I don't pay for software  

[0x0010]

I don't pay for software  

I don't pay for website subscriptions

thanks sentrymba

thanks for the advice everyone, I have decided to learn how to use Gimp and Photoshop

[inTech]

I have been writing PHP code for a few years already. When I first started out, I am like you, a self-teach programmer umm, whatever.

I have a goal. I want to write a Pokemon browser-based game. I asked around what languages do I need to learn. Someone on an internet chatroom told me, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and most importantly PHP.

With that set in mind, I went ahead to W3Schools and learn HTML. It took me a week or so (can't really remember) to learn this markup language (not programming!). Then I know that CSS is a styling language and I don't really want to do front-end work, so I skipped. I get onto JavaScript and learnt that this scripting language is client-based and my RPG game do not need it, I skipped it.

Now that I am at PHP level (congrats!), I gone through a few chapters and stuck at .. I think loops. And then I stopped for a few months because loops is hard. One day I come back and think that maybe I should just skip the loops part, my RPG don't really need it. So I develop my own PHP based RPG game using on simple PHP statement and IF/ELSE and SQL code that I copy and pasted.

Published my game on the web. Guess what? It is hackable with XSS and SQL injection! Some kind person told me about it. With that, I shutdown the game and continue to learn PHP

Well, I wanted to write a short story of mine but it is getting longer and longer. If you didn't read it, it is okay, because I don't proof-read it too.

Anyway, what I have learn so far as a self-taught web developer.

1. Never give up - I stopped and learnt PHP twice before I get it.

2. Have a goal - develop something you have interest in.

3. Always go the extra miles - don't stop because you think you're done. Think of something new to add onto it.

4. Start building your portfolio early - you are still under 18, you have plenty of time to build a nice looking portfolio.

5. Learn to say no - don't take on too many projects. Take one at a time.

Three or four years ago, I was still a newbie without any PHP experience. Today, I am a good PHP application developer. I've developed a few MyBB plugins and Joomla modules. To add on, I also have my own websites that I made from scratch which is getting more and more users everyday.

I just started my own Bitcoin & Crypto forums with custom plugins with my friend, look at my signature if you are interested.

(Oh! And have an idea of what type of developer do you want to be. If you want to do games, go with C++ or C#. If you want to make web application, go with PHP. Go is another language that is getting more and more popular and you may wish to check it out. .)

[SkycityVictorians]

No one mentioned NodeJS yet?

I really like it and the big list of available plugins. NodeJS is really good for building fast backends / APIs, but also frontend applications (the text editor Atom was build using NodeJS and some frameworks).
NodeJS is good for bot's too
If you want to build apps, you should learn the native language for the platform (Android = Java | iOS = Swift), for games it's C++ / C# I think.

And the advices from inTech are really great. You should regard them

Friendly Regards
- SkycityVictorians

[Hydrogen]

I guess what I'd like to have in the future (personal things in the next 1-2 years would be a good time frame) would be the ability to make things such as bots, tools, programs, etc. Then from there apps for iOS. And then [spoiler]jailbreak [/spoiler]

If you want to make apps for iphones or android.

There are people who start out making actual iphone/android apps.

That's a legit starting point.

[jackg]

I guess what I'd like to have in the future (personal things in the next 1-2 years would be a good time frame) would be the ability to make things such as bots, tools, programs, etc. Then from there apps for iOS. And then [spoiler]jailbreak [/spoiler]
My answer is.. 0x90

And my advice is focus on ONE language hard.
And that should be c++  

When you get really good with that you can walk into another other pussy language and own it.

Need a break from c++ ? Then dabble in ASM !

I've tried to get into c++ but it's so... aghhhhhh it just blows my head in

Do you have any suggestions on where to start learning? If not, I'll just go back to google heheh

and thanks for the advice 

I'd say to start with Python personally. It's a little more forgiving than the other programming languages as you don't need to worry too much about data types and how information is stored as the program is designed to take care of that itself. (if you pick python, and once you learn the basics, you could look at this and see if any of these are of interest for you to use?

If you can't handle Python, I'd then say to start with scratch just to help you visualise everything.