pls help this noob

Hello to all I'm 20 and I really want to become a programmer. The only problem is that I know nothing at all. I bought a raspberry pi and the guide but I'm still lost. I'm also a computer science major going into my second year. Does anyone know anything that can help me get stared on the right path.

shabaz over 12 years ago

Hi Christopher,

For R-pi there is an online magazine (Magpi) that will help, however I suspect you may need to learn faster than that, so flick through it maybe, but you're better off looking at your syllabus, and then finding some books to help you with each area. Also, you're better off learning on a normal PC (e.g. with a VM running Linux), and then making use of your R-pi at a later date for embedded applications. How are the recommended textbooks? Could you paste your syllabus?

Possibly you'll need to know something about computer architectures, logic, number systems, and start gaining the ability to begin writing your own code through trying out some simple tasks first. I didn't study Computer Science, but I know my friends who did definitely covered an extremely wide set of topics. Some computer languages have like 30 commands or so, so the good news is that it is not hard to pick a language and fairly rapidly begin to write code that does 'something', but computer science covers things like how to break down a problem, maths, AI, simulations etc, so it's important you know what your syllabus is otherwise you'll cover very little.
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alanwood over 12 years ago in reply to shabaz

Hi shabaz, thanks for mentioning MagPi, I didn't know about that. It looks like a very useful magazine.
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alanwood over 12 years ago

Hi technopath,

Have a word with your course tutors and find out from them what languages are needed or are being taught during the course. There may also be a programming club on campus run by the students that can give you a guiding hand.
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Former Member over 12 years ago

thank you both, i didnt know about magpi and some of the courses i have to take include computer science 1 and 2; physics1 and 2; calc 1,2; liner math,descreat math; i have also been using a website called codeacadamy
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Former Member over 12 years ago in reply to Former Member

some of the courses i have to take include ...

I think you meant some of the courses I look forward to taking include ... (particularly the discrete math hopefully)

some quotes you might like:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ralphwaldo101478.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pythagoras385147.html
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johnbeetem over 12 years ago in reply to Former Member

coder27 wrote:

some quotes you might like:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ralphwaldo101478.html
What about the Great Depression?
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Former Member over 12 years ago in reply to johnbeetem

What about the Great Depression?

That comes in the Formal Languages and Automata class.
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