Some questions about software development

F

Hi all,
Recently my little cousin asked me on what he should learn to be a good software developer. Being the only person who is in the IT field in the family, now his folks expect me to guide him.... The problem is Im basically part of a helpdesk and dont have much experience with software development

.

Id appreciate if anyone could shed some light on this. Naturally Id say go learn C and C++ as I did in college but beyond that Im clueless. The kid is really smart and hes really interested in computers too.

If some one could provide me some kind of information like from C --> C++ --> to java --> .Net or any kind of site that I could give him which would guide him. That would be greatly apreciated.

Down the line, some day, he will have to dabble with C/C++ if he wants to advance in software industry! If he is new to programming, I don't think there is anything better than Visual Basic (or GAMBAS

) THen once he has his fundas of variables, loops, objects, classes, etc. clear he can start with C/C++. Let him finish this much

then think about more

F

Thank you for your response. I have a few books on C but could you recommend any book(s) on C++ , Vb 6.0 and if possible VB.NET .

Thanking you
exx_2000

I have read/referred following books for VB6
VB6 in 21 days
More VB6 in 21 days
VB6 How-to (little advanced and task oriented)
VB6 Database How-to (little advanced and task oriented)

If he is interested in Web Design/Development, he can learn HTML, JavaScript or VBScript at www.w3schools.com.

Also tuxfan,

Can you please provide the contact information of the books you have refered?

R

search amazon for books and if u want ebooks,search torrentspy

F

Yes Id appreciate the author name if possible. I just checked amazon and theres about 8 books which all mention Teach your self vb6 in 21 days

. Any suggestions for vb.net ?
Thanks
exx_2000

They are all available in India and are published by SAMS. Go to a nearby computer book stall and you will get it.

R

checkout book review sites like 'codeguru' and 'programming book reviews' and u'll will know which book u want.

Yes the SAMS teach yourself series is wonderful for learning any language.

First things first, there is nothing like a good language and nothing as a not-that-good language. Each of them have their own purposes and they fulfill them respectively. But taking the indian educational scenario into account, he should go for C/C++ and then switch to Java, PHP etc. (if required), because C/C++ is a very disciplined language and u need to have ur fundamentals and concepts clear to program C/C++. So it's very easy to move from C/C++ to php, but pretty difficult vice versa.

rohan said:
First things first, there is nothing like a good language and nothing as a not-that-good language. Each of them have their own purposes and they fulfill them respectively. But taking the indian educational scenario into account, he should go for C/C++ and then switch to Java, PHP etc. (if required), because C/C++ is a very disciplined language and u need to have ur fundamentals and concepts clear to program C/C++. So it's very easy to move from C/C++ to php, but pretty difficult vice versa.

Right, all languages have their purposes. But then there are some languages that are easier to learn and some a little difficult to learn. For example, C/C++ are not the easiest to learn! Even a missing ; will give errors at unexpected places (like the previous line

). Visual Basic that way is pretty easy to learn. So for a complete newbie to programming can start with something simpler. He can get his basics like variable (and their types and scopes), loops, arrays, conditions, procedure, functions, etc. cleared. Then start dabbling with something like C/C++.

IMHO, C/C++ are deep sea :))

you shouldn't learn how to swim there.

T

rahul_becks23 said:
search amazon for books and if u want ebooks,search torrentspy

Do one thing dont spread piracy. That was the lamest answer you gave to him.

exx_2000 said:
Any suggestions for vb.net ?

BEGINERS
Programming with C# by balaguruswam - (Excelent for college students , Covers only basic console apps + Syntax etc etc )
Teach Yourself C Sharp In 24 Hours - Sams Publication. (Good to kickstart Windows Programming)

Intermediate/Advanced.
C Sharp How to Program - Deitel and Deitel

( The best book i have come across)
Microsoft Visual C Sharp 2005 Unleashed - Sams Publication.(good book)
Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Step by Step - Microsoft Press

R

ok thunderbird,i dont need ur advice,buddy.u misunderstood me there.
when did i fuc*in say that to download ILLEGAL ebooks.Torrent can be legal and illegal stuff,and i did not comment on that.Even if i meant to say that,i did not MENTION it.
One can review an ebook and see if he likes it or not,and then buy the hard copy on Amazon.I think now u get it.If still not,then u cant forever.
Sorry for sounding hard,but i have to.

@rahul_becks23, thunderbird.117: make peace, not war.

As for the rest part of it, you make a choice of languages once you've selected the line of programming.

R

@rohan-
yeah,buddy i want peace.

F

Thank you for all your suggestions .

exx_2000

U can easily download e-books...
No need to buy books! I like downloading e-books, coz even if after reading some lang for a while i get bored...my money is not wasted.

Digit wll provide a free Java e-book in the August Isssue..
Java- A Beginner's Approach
It starts teaching Java from the lowest level, he can easily learn...

R

java.....uh oh....i wanted C++/Visual C++

Java sucks.. and is the past. Don't ever go for Java now. Go for C# and .net technologies. Although I hate them, they r the future...

For some1 new to programming, NEVER start with any GUI. So forget VB6/VB.NET for a while and go back to DOS based BASIC.

Let him enjoy the coding. Get familiar with programming structures, decisions, loops and functions.

After a while, move on to Turbo C, and then C++ which will make Object Oriented concepts clear. C++ can be skipped in favor of Java to learn Object Oriented programming, because Java is true object oriented, C++ is not.

After all this work in writing the code, it is a time to move on to GUI. So start with VB or C++ or Java GUI. Once you know how the language works, it is just a matter of learning new libraries. So moving to some other languages will not be big issue, if basics are very clear.