Well - as someone who has written a book on programming, I can tell you that nothing has helped me better to master the details. The drawback is that it turned out to be a multi-year project, and I found myself constantly reshuffling things. There's a difficult trade-off between explaining everything in a simple linear fashion, and having "interesting" examples that use the material treated so far.
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macOS Am I too old to start programming?
- Thread starter WhiteIphone5
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Well - as someone who has written a book on programming, I can tell you that nothing has helped me better to master the details. The drawback is that it turned out to be a multi-year project, and I found myself constantly reshuffling things. There's a difficult trade-off between explaining everything in a simple linear fashion, and having "interesting" examples that use the material treated so far.
Take the online course of MIT (in iTunes U or MIT courseware) introduction to programming, they use python and is very straight forward.
Good Luck!
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here is the link
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/introduction-to-computer-science/id341597455
Good Luck!
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here is the link
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/introduction-to-computer-science/id341597455
Never too old....
when the need arrives or anyone wants to do something. Need to do programming? For me, there are no age for that. Want to live from programming? Need to start ASAP
when the need arrives or anyone wants to do something. Need to do programming? For me, there are no age for that. Want to live from programming? Need to start ASAP
I'm old as hell and just started a couple of weeks ago. I'd say start with Python. It's easy, fast, and no compiling. Plus everything you need is already on your Mac. Try thenewboston on Youtube, he has some very easy to understand tutorials on almost all programming languages. Also google Learn Python by Mark Lutz, its a book that is available as a pdf. If your heart is in it, you'll be producing code in a couple of days. Hell, I could have coded this post in Python!
Noob tip:Use TextWrangler/BBEdit to write your programs, then you can test and run your code with a keyboard command without even having to open terminal. Sweet!
Noob tip:Use TextWrangler/BBEdit to write your programs, then you can test and run your code with a keyboard command without even having to open terminal. Sweet!
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I think the basic ideea here is if OP is old enough to start learning programming and LIVE from it
of course we can start almost anything at almost any age but i think that OP should not waste any more time and learn hard I`m in a simillar position, where i really want to learn programming, i like it but i think that at my age(24) is the last train i can catch if i want to live from it, of course that there is freelancing and that stuff but dunno how long term is that
I think the basic ideea here is if OP is old enough to start learning programming and LIVE from it
I`m in a simillar position, where i really want to learn programming, i like it but i think that at my age(24) is the last train i can catch if i want to live from it, of course that there is freelancing and that stuff but dunno how long term is that
No, it's never too late for a career shift. You can be 60 and retired and learn how to program and rejoin the workforce as a software engineer... You'll probably be the oldest one on a team, but if you're capable, no one is going to stop you. (At least I've never seen a programmer past 50... And only two past 40.)
Howdy,
Age is never really a limitation. I'm 58 and I've been programming and selling plugins since 2005. Of course I dabbled in programming for years in my spare time with BASIC, GFA BASIC (Atari), but didn't start learning C until I got my first Mac when I was in my 40's. Then didn't start learning C++ until I started programming plugins.
Learning a programming language's syntax is the easy part.
On the other hand, learning how to do creative problem solving is much harder and might not be something everyone can learn. It takes a lot of creative problem solving to be a good enough programmer to make a living at it. Which programming language you use is determined by what you're programming. For me, since I'm bound by the application's API for which I program the plugins, I had to learn C++.
Adios,
Cactus Dan
Age is never really a limitation. I'm 58 and I've been programming and selling plugins since 2005. Of course I dabbled in programming for years in my spare time with BASIC, GFA BASIC (Atari), but didn't start learning C until I got my first Mac when I was in my 40's. Then didn't start learning C++ until I started programming plugins.
Learning a programming language's syntax is the easy part.
On the other hand, learning how to do creative problem solving is much harder and might not be something everyone can learn. It takes a lot of creative problem solving to be a good enough programmer to make a living at it. Which programming language you use is determined by what you're programming. For me, since I'm bound by the application's API for which I program the plugins, I had to learn C++.
Adios,
Cactus Dan
Buck Rogers of Code
I am going through the exact same thing and I am 42.
The difference is that I am some sort of Buck Rogers* of Code. I started programming when I was 12 and continued up to my graduation in engineering. I started with BASIC on an Apple II, took Pascal, Fortran, Clipper, SQL and mostly C. Wrote complex software such as Compilers, interpreters, etc... But that was before the widespread of GUI, objects, and server/client internet apps. Then my career took a different direction. Now, some 20 years later, for fun, here I am trying to start over.
Like you, I want to write stuff that works on the devices I use, my iPad, iPhone, Mac and PC. But which language? Where to start?
I am finding it extremely difficult! Today is a lot more complex. To write a interactive web page you need to use at least 3 languages (Javascript, Html, and CSS) and make them interact together. How come this mess came out to be is a mystery...
What I did and found so far...
Languages are all very much alike. They have really some few 30-50 commands and a few syntax rules to learn. It is all about loops, variables, functions, If-then-else logical decisions. Amazingly, languages haven't evolved much since C. I may be wrong, but I can't see what objects can do that functions alone couldn't.
I found that more important than choosing the language is choosing the Framework. Sure, one is related to the other as each framework is really just a package of objects and code to easy your job in working with buttons, forms, grids, i/o, file, servers and objects on the screen. In today's world, you can't really do much with only standard C. It is not practical.
The problem is that most frameworks are OS / device related. Learning Object C will likely force you to develop to iOS OSX only. Even Java today, once seen as a language for all platforms, is more and more going into the direction of having the same fate of Flash.
While languages are mostly similar, once having learned one, you can easily jump to another without much effort. The core is similar. Frameworks, on the other range, are a almost infinite series of new objects. You need to invest a lot of time learning them. At the end of the day, these objects behave like new commands added to the initial language core.
I finally decided to go to jQuery, javascript path. Javascript frameworks like jQuery have eased the HTML,CSS interaction mess. Besides, Web apps can run anywhere without plugins. Ajax seems to be fulfilling the promise Java seemed to have lost.
There's plenty of jQuery and Javascript dummies books out there.
*Buck Rogers is the character that was frozen in the 80's only to wake up few centuries later and find a completely different world.
I am going through the exact same thing and I am 42.
The difference is that I am some sort of Buck Rogers* of Code. I started programming when I was 12 and continued up to my graduation in engineering. I started with BASIC on an Apple II, took Pascal, Fortran, Clipper, SQL and mostly C. Wrote complex software such as Compilers, interpreters, etc... But that was before the widespread of GUI, objects, and server/client internet apps. Then my career took a different direction. Now, some 20 years later, for fun, here I am trying to start over.
Like you, I want to write stuff that works on the devices I use, my iPad, iPhone, Mac and PC. But which language? Where to start?
I am finding it extremely difficult! Today is a lot more complex. To write a interactive web page you need to use at least 3 languages (Javascript, Html, and CSS) and make them interact together. How come this mess came out to be is a mystery...
What I did and found so far...
Languages are all very much alike. They have really some few 30-50 commands and a few syntax rules to learn. It is all about loops, variables, functions, If-then-else logical decisions. Amazingly, languages haven't evolved much since C. I may be wrong, but I can't see what objects can do that functions alone couldn't.
I found that more important than choosing the language is choosing the Framework. Sure, one is related to the other as each framework is really just a package of objects and code to easy your job in working with buttons, forms, grids, i/o, file, servers and objects on the screen. In today's world, you can't really do much with only standard C. It is not practical.
The problem is that most frameworks are OS / device related. Learning Object C will likely force you to develop to iOS OSX only. Even Java today, once seen as a language for all platforms, is more and more going into the direction of having the same fate of Flash.
While languages are mostly similar, once having learned one, you can easily jump to another without much effort. The core is similar. Frameworks, on the other range, are a almost infinite series of new objects. You need to invest a lot of time learning them. At the end of the day, these objects behave like new commands added to the initial language core.
I finally decided to go to jQuery, javascript path. Javascript frameworks like jQuery have eased the HTML,CSS interaction mess. Besides, Web apps can run anywhere without plugins. Ajax seems to be fulfilling the promise Java seemed to have lost.
There's plenty of jQuery and Javascript dummies books out there.
*Buck Rogers is the character that was frozen in the 80's only to wake up few centuries later and find a completely different world.
Clipper! Ah, the memories.
I started out similar to you, but kept on in coding.
What?!?
Where are you looking??? I guess there are companies that skew younger or older. There are plenty of us older developers out there!I think the basic ideea here is if OP is old enough to start learning programming and LIVE from it
I`m in a simillar position, where i really want to learn programming, i like it but i think that at my age(24) is the last train i can catch if i want to live from it, of course that there is freelancing and that stuff but dunno how long term is that
I don't think too many employers care if you started when you were 24 or 18 or whatever. (I've been involved in hiring software developers many times over the years and it hasn't really come up.) Mostly they care if you can do the job competently and how much you will cost.
Whether or not you can ultimately make a living at programming depends mainly on your aptitude for the work, whether you are temperamentally suited to it, and, of course, how hard you work at it. I don't believe it's something anyone can do (just my opinion), but I don't see how the age you start could be a major factor.
I think the question that you and the OP should be asking yourselves is if you think you have the ability and inclication to become good programmers. If you aren't sure, get a well-recommended book or take a well-recommended course and work your way through it to the end. If you encounter problems that are very difficult for you but ultimately you are able to solve, then you will be a successful programmer. (If you don't encounter problems that are very difficult for you, then you are probably very smart! Great! But you should try something harder before deciding to become a programmer, because the real fundemental skill you will need is the ability to ultimately solve problems that you initially find to be very difficult. You need to find out if you can do this.)
Hey Dude, totally get into the art of programming with all the passion and zeal you can muster up every day. Trust me, five years from now you'll be proud of what you can do. And if a flash of creative insight comes your way in the future, all the tools needed to make turn it into a success will be right in your head. Doesn't get any better.
This is quite true. Just like there are only 7 basic plot structures/stories. Like Buck Rogers, who was already old news in film when my parents were young adults in the 40s.
That's almost like saying I can't see what C can do that I can't do in Assembly language. For me, the main value of objects is in code reuse. Using objects makes code far more reusable.
What?!?
I couldn't agree more. I think all the devs at the company i work for are 40+.
B
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did some searching, but still have a question... I started with the learning python the hard way and the MIT itunesU courses. I thing I've found helpful is the command line color coding for string and numbers. So is there a simple way to get this structure into terminal? The MIT course is currently typing in python terminal, but the PTHW class uses textwrangler to write to a file then execute it in python. for the purposes of the MIT direct type method I would prefer to do that since we are typing very simple one line expressions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
A lot of the ones past 50 don't have much tolerance for stupid company management. Thus, the ones who haven't moved up to be stupid managers themselves usually aren't employees, but out consulting on projects the less experienced programmers can't figure out, and sometimes for really big consulting fees.
Thank you for your insight. I eventually went with the way you suggested and python is a blast to learn. it really is at the right level to explain the basics of structure and usage before C and Obj-C get way to advanced in their similar syntax usage. very good pacing and complexity to start with. I also tied PLTHW with the MIT series and it is awesome. thanks again.
I think the basic ideea here is if OP is old enough to start learning programming and LIVE from it
I`m in a simillar position, where i really want to learn programming, i like it but i think that at my age(24) is the last train i can catch if i want to live from it, of course that there is freelancing and that stuff but dunno how long term is that
So there is an age limit for when people can start making a living doing programming???
I didn't know that.
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People always say this.
Why isn't it something that everybody can do?? Why isn't programming something something you can pick up like learning a language or how to work a forklift??
I believe it's like math. Everyone can do it but you need to be taught in the right way. Many people are convinced that they can't be taught math or science or programming because they haven't had the right teacher who could engage them the right way. Some people find a certain style of book is just right for them - others need to have a more conversational kind of learning experience, and still other people learn other ways.
I'd argue that just like learning a language or working a forklift, everyone can get the basics but it takes a particular type of person to become really good at it.
If you've ever seen the difference between someone who can work a forklift and someone who and work a forklift efficiently and even artfully, you'll see it's night and day.
Even driving a car is this way. Everyone can learn the basics, few are truly excellent at it.
B
But 90% of people think they're above average at it: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=you-are-less-beautiful-than-you-think
Definitely. TopCoder's statistics says I'm better than 52.59% of algorithm competitors worldwide, which means I'm above average. The website seems a little wonky right now and won't tell me what my ranking is in the nation, but last I checked (when the website was working) I think it said I was somewhere around better than 60% of algorithm competitors in the US...