Understanding computers at a complex level. Where do i start?

[joshscrine]

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[Moonbat]

I'm assuming you have never had any programming experience. C++ is a difficult language for a beginner (and for me too, I hate pointers :p). I say you start out with a web language. Here's how I went.

HTML ---> Some JavaScript ---> PHP

This website will help you with all three of those - http://www.w*schools.com/

Practice the language. Make stuff with it, make useless things if you want, as long as it helps you to understand the concepts. Google around for PHP projects, JavaScript projects, anything and everything to help you practice more.

Once you've gotten a good ******y over those (HTML and JS are easy, PHP will be a bit more harder), you should now have a good idea of what programming is like. If it still interests you, keep doing it. You now have two choices. You can either start going into software languages like C++, Visual Basic, C#, etc. or you can keep going into web languages and learning about advanced web programming techniques like AJAX, and you can learn how to use PHP with SQL for databases. It just depends on what you like more.

As far as understanding networks and things like that, I learned that by getting into hacking. I learned my basics from these sites.

http://www.hellboundhackers.org/
http://www.darkmindz.com/
http://www.all-nettools.com/forum/index.php (here! :D)

After that, you just Google around, find out what specific topics interest you, and keep going. It's not easy to make a road map for learning, because each person learns differently.

[minaadel1994]

i cant understand the pointers lesson or switch case but i think its like the if statement.... so nvm the switch case :D but i would like to know where i can find good tuts that explain well and don't use complicated vocabulary

[skary[WTF]]

i agree. start with a myspace account. find some free HTML and CSS codes through google, and start playing around. look at each line, and try to figure out what it is doing, and why it is doing it. HTML and CSS are pretty easy once u get that hang of it. Also, if you really want to learn any language, i recommend getting a used Deitel book from amazon or http://www.deitel.com/ . Also, get the firefox web browser, and the web developer toolbar from www.firefox.com . this will help you read and understand website coding.

I also agree that C++ is difficult, especially if you're thinkin about programming a descent video game, which requires WAY more than just knowing C++. You may want to get Visual Studio from a TORRENT site. you'll need a torrent download program, and the torrent search toolbar for firefox. once you have visual studio up and running, there are links on the front page where you can get starter programs. Try checking out some VB.NET and some C# programs. everything in the business world is moving towards C#.

Though C++ is a good language, and versatile, I've been researching it and it seems that it's best use, as far as video games are concerned, is to make a game editor, like UnrealED, which is then used to make your game. but aside from C++, you also have to learn directX and openGL. the combination of the * make the editor, and the editor makes the game.

As far as networking goes, unplug you cable modem, router, computer and lay them in the middle of the floor. have a friend bring over a computer, and see if you can hook it all back up and get an internet connection on both of them. then go into the "my computer" section of each PC, right click your hard drives and set the folder permissions. This will allow each computer to be visible through your network connections, and files can be moved and altered just as if the other hard drives were in your PC.

That should keep you busy for a month or 2. Experimenting and searching google every 5 seconds is about the only way you're gonna learn anything. If you were a friend of mine, I would tell you to do whatever you want, experiment with anything you want, and have no fear. There is nothing you can do to a PC that I can't fix. but since I'm not there to fix it, be careful and read about what you wanna do first.

[Moonbat]

;285*0']Though C++ is a good language, and versatile, I've been researching it and it seems that it's best use, as far as video games are concerned, is to make a game editor, like UnrealED, which is then used to make your game. but aside from C++, you also have to learn directX and openGL. the combination of the * make the editor, and the editor makes the game.
I just wanted to mention that you don't have to learn both DirectX and OpenGL. It's just that if you want your game to be cross-platform (i.e. work on other OSes) then you should use OpenGL. Otherwise, if you are just developing for Windows, you can use DirectX.

Here is a good comparison of the two:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_OpenGL_and_Direct*D