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I don't remember going through this phase when I was learning to program! I got started with C many years ago and I remember savoring every moment. :) I think w

I don't remember going through this phase when I was learning to program! I got started with C many years ago and I remember savoring every moment. :) I think what may account for the difference is that in my case the interest in programming stemmed from wanting to learn how the computer worked and C's low level nature facilitated this very well. With regard to the author it seems she's more anxious to start creating real useful applications. I get the impression she's more interested in the end product of the programming than the actual programming process. Currently I do most of my development for the linux platform but I was considering moving to windows to take advantage of some opportunities in that area but I am facing some of the same challenges as the author of the article. The C# language and .NET platform are a whole new world and it feels like I am starting from scratch. It's hard to justify as I can do everything I need to do on the linux platform.

randallsquared 17y ago
I was stuck in this phase for 12-13 years, partly because I really just wanted to be able to do stuff, and wasn't all that interested in how the computer worked or how to do low level bit-twiddling. Then I learned Python, which pretty much allowed me to get stuff done immediately (executable pseudocode and all that). This provided enough of a bridge that other languages and an interest in how things were constructed could develop, but I didn't start out that way.
Periodic 17y ago
I know I went through this phase. It was that point where I had my old 286 and BASIC. I learned how strings are just arrays of characters, how there are different types of numbers, how file handles work, how algorithms work, functions, looping, recursion, etc. It was like being a baby making random sounds to find out what works. If I had just been tossed into a "Programming in Java" one-week course I probably would have been totally lost because they would gloss over a lot of the basics in an attempt to teach the specifics.

randallsquared 17y ago

I was stuck in this phase for 12-13 years, partly because I really just wanted to be able to do stuff, and wasn't all that interested in how the computer worked or how to do low level bit-twiddling. Then I learned Python, which pretty much allowed me to get stuff done immediately (executable pseudocode and all that). This provided enough of a bridge that other languages and an interest in how things were constructed could develop, but I didn't start out that way.

Periodic 17y ago

I know I went through this phase. It was that point where I had my old 286 and BASIC. I learned how strings are just arrays of characters, how there are different types of numbers, how file handles work, how algorithms work, functions, looping, recursion, etc. It was like being a baby making random sounds to find out what works. If I had just been tossed into a "Programming in Java" one-week course I probably would have been totally lost because they would gloss over a lot of the basics in an attempt to teach the specifics.