Any coders/programers here?

Hello everyone.
I have just started to take a programing course at my school and want to get some tips form those who can program really good
So the course I'm taking is a standard c++ where you learn the basics whit c++ (only programs that work in CMD). I have only just strted so Im not good or anything but I think its really fun.
Even before I started college I wanted to become a programer, and now Im reading technology/engineering.
Im only taking one computer sience class and thats the c++ one since I allready know most things the other courses offer. Im also planing on taking math 5 (witch is the hardest math you can take in swedish college).
So my questions is:
First if I keep taking programing courses later in university will I use my math or is it enught to know the four basic things (cant remeber the name but: +-/*) and a bit of logical thinking?
(Im really bad at formating questions but I just want to know if I will use my math skills later or if im only taking it because its fun and it will help me get in to a better university. and yes I think math is fun)
and the second question is, Do you have any tips/triks that I should start using and learn now when im starting?
Feel free to awnser any question and lets start some discussions going
Ideas is also wellcome
(sorry for my shitty English)

You will definitely need to utilize a lot of mathematics in programming. If you are considering taking something like game design in the future, you're going to need to derive mathematical functions for various things, like the physics of a character, the speed of objects moving, trajectories (etc). If you plan on software development, you'll still likely need to utilize mathematics, but you're looking more towards discrete/finite mathematics. You will most likely get a taste of both during your studies.

You'll probably be utilizing basic mathematics really quickly -- one of the biggest foundations of programming involves comparison, and you will occasionally use counters created by yourself to assign conditions based off of values. Just as a very quick example: in an early C# programming class, I had to make a program that calculated the price of purchased items from a stored list, and if the value was a certain amount (i.e. if the value of all of the variables was equal to something), it would output a message. The higher the value, the most positive the message was.

The biggest tip I can give you is to find something to do with your programming. Once you learn it, try to do your best to apply it to something. Seek to create something interesting, even if you don't have the necessary knowledge -- if you don't have the knowledge based off of what you have learned in school, you can take the time to learn it. The internet is a very bountiful resource for programming, and the number of documents with the intent to teach you are plentiful!

Finally: your English is quite acceptable coming from someone who does not speak it as their first language.

I'll just add some to what Halogen said.

1. Definitely more maths. But don't worry, It's not like you'll be applying all of them at once. It also depends on the "level" you're working on whether it's closer to human or machine language. Baby steps, and you'll be able to program stuff.

2. Tips:
- Have a consistent coding style. It helps when you're figuring out what's wrong with your code. Indention, capitalization, naming variables, etc.. You can check out the usual templates online, just search for sample codes.
- Comment as much as possible so you and other people can easily understand what certain parts of your code is for.
- It is good practice to have a documentation for your program. A good summary of how your program flows and what your variables are for.
- Be modular, try to cut up your code into smaller bits that you can test. Don't pressure yourself into making the whole thing work at once. Plan for a progression in your code. I especially like this because having shorter codes gives me an immediate sense of satisfaction (like, omg, it worked!) which helps me get more motivated to complete the whole thing.

Your English is fine, man. Would you like to practice speaking English with us? haha
We're a bunch of people whose first language isn't English. Here's the thread.

Nev wrote:

I'll just add some to what Halogen said.

1. Definitely more maths. But don't worry, It's not like you'll be applying all of them at once. It also depends on the "level" you're working on whether it's closer to human or machine language. Baby steps, and you'll be able to program stuff.

2. Tips:
- Have a consistent coding style. It helps when you're figuring out what's wrong with your code. Indention, capitalization, naming variables, etc.. You can check out the usual templates online, just search for sample codes.
- Comment as much as possible so you and other people can easily understand what certain parts of your code is for.
- It is good practice to have a documentation for your program. A good summary of how your program flows and what your variables are for.
- Be modular, try to cut up your code into smaller bits that you can test. Don't pressure yourself into making the whole thing work at once. Plan for a progression in your code. I especially like this because having shorter codes gives me an immediate sense of satisfaction (like, omg, it worked!) which helps me get more motivated to complete the whole thing.

Your English is fine, man. Would you like to practice speaking English with us? haha
We're a bunch of people whose first language isn't English. Here's the thread.

bolding and increasing for emphasis; do EVERYTHING in your power to learn and understand the process of programming modularity. It will make your life easier in the long run and if something goes wrong, you can check one specific location for an error as opposed to repairing multiple hard-code errors.

Remember your semicolons.

That's literally all I know about programming. I did some HTML in high school and this was the one thing that always got me. Every. Single. Time.

I just want to re-iterate Halogen's "biggest tip". Don't be afraid, just try.
Like any skill or art; nothing teaches you more about programming than actually making something that you want made. If you find in your classes, that you think of something that's not in the lesson, but you think might be cool, I urge you, try to do it. The worst that can happen is that you learn something.

---

TSHmusic wrote:

Remember your semicolons.

That's literally all I know about programming. I did some HTML in high school and this was the one thing that always got me. Every. Single. Time.

...

TSHmusic wrote:

...semicolons... ...HTML...

... wat.

oscarius wrote:

First if I keep taking programing courses later in university will I use my math or is it enught to know the four basic things (cant remeber the name but: +-/*) and a bit of logical thinking?

Math is very important in coding. Mostly it is not the mathmatic itself you use in coding but the logic thinking you gain threw it. But to become really good mathmatic alone won't work. You have to get deep into the materia you are programming the solution for . For example : if you programm a scientific application for biologists you have to learn that part of biology you are coding for aswell.

You have to understand processes and be able to split them into tiny parts . The biggest obstacle some people have to go threw seems to be actually understanding recursive algorithms . So if you can think recursivly (that sounds so strange ) you have a good advantage.
Documentations of your work are also very important so make comments why you made the code this way. This helps you understand your code even after 10 years.