<p>Hi, I want to learn some computer programming over the summer to prepare for AP computer science A. I have no prior experience with programming, so I want to know what language I should start with and what are some good books and websites to learn them from.</p>
<p>Java is the language that is learned in AP Computer Science A, in case you were unsure
I would d/l Jcreator, find the Big Book of Java or use online instruction, and work on application (or actually programming in code)
Then, the theory behind it all should make more sense in class
That technique helped me early on</p>
<p><a href="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnjava3/%5B/url%5D">http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnjava3/</a></p>
<p>Some courses and programs of studies will start you in C++, but I find C++ irrelevant today. JAVA is similar and more common, plus as previously mentioned is the AP Computer language these days (it was just changed a few years back).</p>
<p>If you are using a Mac I recommend you download JJEdit. It's a good little compiler and got me through two JAVA courses.</p>
<p>As far as resources go, the one I'd start with if I were you is Barry Burd's JAVA Programming for Dummies. Look for it by author so you get the right Dummies book on JAVA (there are others with similar names). This one puts it in the best terms for both beginners who have never programmed and veterans who have used other languages. Once you get that you can move on to some of the others, but avoid anything by Deitel & Deitel. The books are impossible to understand because of how they are written and the techniques aren't good.</p>
<p><strong><em>POST #300</em></strong></p>
<p>To prepare for the AP exam, and to get a intro into computer science, download a compiler, and become familiar with a lot of algorithms and stuff like sorts and searches and data structures.</p>
<p>Thanks.
Is Netbean a good compiler?</p>
<p>Netbeans is a much more intelligent compiler than JCreator. I would recommend it.</p>
<p>I'd get a simple one to begin with.</p>
<p>Armando, which one do you think is a simple one?</p>
<p>I'd recommend it too.</p>
<p>I disagree with AFPrep850. Sure C/C++ may not be exactly widely used today, BUT having the knowledge of C/C++ will help you comprehend all the other languages. It will make them a lot easier to learn.
To prep, yea.. i would just get a book and start learning. haha</p>
<p>Has anyone taken the APCS exam? everyone in my school gets a 1 on it because my teacher is inept....any advice?</p>
<p>I think the best advice is to cease relying on your teacher. Take responsibility for your learning the material. </p>
<p>Try to go through AP CS prep books to get the basics down, and I'm sure there are a multitude of sample problems on the web that you could do.</p>
<p>But just to be clear, how inept is your teacher? What kind of study materials does he/she use?</p>
<p>C/C++ is one of the most widely used languages. Your browser runs on it, your operating system runs on it, your favorite game most likely runs on it, etc.</p>
<p>I crammed for the Compsci AB exam in two weeks using the Barrons AP Computer Science review book (highly highly recommended) and scored a 5. I was basically learning from scratch too (with about a term of intro to compsci the previous year). But the book is extremely thorough and it was one of the few review books I actually enjoyed learning from.</p>
<p>Java is heavily OOP-driven and not easy get a hang of; around the difficulty of C++, I'd say. If you want a gentle introduction I'd try something easy like Game Maker, if you don't mind learning a language that will have very limited utility later on after you get comfortable with the standard industry ones. Or maybe you could pick something in the middle, say Visual Basic.</p>
<p>If you decide on Java as your first language, the Eclipse is a really awesome IDE. It's not exactly designed for new programmers, but it has very good as-you-type error checking/reporting and a wealth of other features.</p>
<p>Game Maker and Visual Basic are quite useless though. Python is the chosen beginner language these days, but Java is also an intro comp sci class, so I'd simply suggest jumping into Java. </p>
<p>So yeah, I'd suggest just starting with Java unless you're the type of person that would learn Latin just to expand their knowledge of the English language rather than just studying English (and there's lots of people like that).</p>
<p>They're always nifty tools when it comes to rapid application development though. And a lot of semi-tech-savy folks use VB for their own (usually low-key) projects. I'd say they're pretty much useless in industry, but sometimes handy for personal use, particularly for someone who isn't really interested in taking on the elephants in computer programming.</p>
<p>Haha, I think it was like... 3 years since I'd written a Java program and compiled it and stuff when I took the AP CS exam.</p>