The answers I got to my Math thread were great! It seems the more I learn about computers, the more I realize Athabasca university isn’t the ideal way to go since it doesn’t sound like the University of Saskatchewan is too keen on transferring class credits over. It might be better for me to simply do some studying myself in preparation for full time. Is there some good online (and free) sites to study C++ programming, Java, etc online?
You must have typed your OP on the best study site available. Write programs if you want to learn anything about programming. All of that study stuff falls in the category of tips and tricks.
Sounds simple, but for me it’s like trying to see the forest for the trees. Should I just get a copy of C++ and have fun with it? Isn’t there some basic programs I could design to help wrap my head around the concepts of the program? I think I need some structure.
for C++, use the tutorial at www.cplusplus.com
I just finished an intro C++ class and that tutorial was our textbook.
vinniepaz made a good recommendation. Tutorials are quick, and don’t waste time on unnecessary detail. They also give you something to do. There’s a lot to learn, but you still need to be writing code, not reading books (or ebooks). I should have mentioned that you can learn a lot by reading code. Well good code anyway. But start with some basic stuff on your own too. Write a program to play tic-tac-toe. It’s harder than it sounds, but simple enough to get through the stages of developing a program, design, coding, debugging, and refining. Another approach is just to read the language manuals. Figure out what the purpose of the different syntax and semantic is, and think about how you would use them.
I know how you feel about this. Programming was easy for me, I seemed to have been born knowing how to program, and only needed to learn the syntax of specific languages, and few more complex things like recursion. But there are many subjects where I can’t see the forest for the trees, and have a difficult time getting started. Only perseverance will help you out in those cases. Good luck.
I think you could do a lot worse than look into MIT’s OpenCourseWare - Search | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials
There’s a huge range of modules, many with notes and recordings, to help you get started. Planning structure might be a bit tricky from this, but there are a lot of introductory courses there that will get you off the ground.