[Newbies] Re: I've never written a line of code, but want to be a programmer!

[Paul C Johnson]

On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 3:49 PM, Tim Retz <human.shield.117 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I now realize I need to have some sort of example for anyone to work with,
> so
> here's my current plan:
> I know that "Diving in" would be the best way to learn, so (With the help
> of
> boredom) one day when playing minesweeper I thought to myself: "I wish I
> had
> an empty playing-field, where I could click to place mines, and the
> surrounding cells would number themselves off. That would totally help my
> strategy, and I could expand it into a working minesweeper game really
> easily. I bet that'd be a great 'my first smalltalk app'!" Now, I know I
> would have to make some sort of grid with cells, and make the cells aware
> of
> their surroundings. My biggest issue is that I don't have the experience to
> know where to start.
>
> Every guide I've found (with one exception) has more or less just given
> code
> to make something work, without much insight as to how they got the idea to
> do what they did. I can copy and paste methods all day long, but I won't
> learn anything.
>
> The exception I mentioned above was the "Bots Inc." tutorial. It was
> fantastic, made me think, and I really felt like I was learning. My only
> problem is that is ended too soon. I wish it would go on to show you how to
> build your own systems and, well, just keep going.
>
>
>
> On a side note, I'd like to mention that I've been at this off and on for
> some time now, and I was hesitant to write a question for someone to
> respond
> to directly. Before now a Google search to find if anyone is having similar
> trouble is all I've had the confidence for, making this a very pleasant
> experience. (I'm 21, old enough to know I'm still a kid, and be nervous
> about wasting people's time.)
>
> I feel I should also mention my long term goals. I know it'll be a LONG
> while before I'm successful, but I hope to eventually (I'm thinking in
> terms
> of years from now) write my own OS, and everything that runs in it. I sort
> of hate windows, and want to be able to change anything I want at any given
> time (I know I'll need to learn more than smalltalk, but I have to start
> somewhere!), but I don't want to have to deal with how someone else
> thought
> things would work best.
>

I'm new to this Small Talk too and I have you by 49 years. If I understand
your point of view then you will stay frustrated a very long time. Take a
look at the history of Small Talk. Listen to some of Alan Kay on video. It
will help you get a real perspective of where Small Talk came from. Way back
to Sketch Pad.

Why invent the wheel again. Later

>
> However, I'm starting to see that this idea is likely hindering my learning
> experience. (I want to do it all myself, which pushes me away from other
> peoples (working) code in favor of struggling to solve the problem myself.)
> I have also, once, managed to run a program I was working on in my head to
> see what things where doing (And it was quite a trip!), if it's worthy of
> noting.
>
> Wow, This message ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would, I
> hope I didn't leave anything out!
> ...And for whatever reason, I was unable to post a reply for a few weeks.
> It's working now though.
>
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://forum.world.st/I-ve-never-written-a-line-of-code-but-want-to-be-a-programmer-tp3417210p3426772.html
> Sent from the Squeak - Beginners mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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