Homeschooling son wants to learn about computer programming.?

My son will be in the 9th grade next year. His dream is to become a video game programmer. He is very computer savvy. But where do we begin? C? C++? I need a program that will be easy to follow. As in a daily lesson plan. Any Ideas?

Homeschooling son wants to learn about computer programming.?
If he has never done any programming before, something like VisualBasic is a good start. It's more of a business-centered language instead of real gaming, but it's more about getting the key concepts (variables, loops, debugging, etc.) down instead of diving right in to gaming programming.





InformIT has an imprint named Sams Publishing that makes books like "Sams Teach Yourself *whatever programming language* In *some number of* Days". If your son learns better by example, they also have books titled "*whatever programming language* By Example". The By Example books take you through an entire project start-to-finish.





Take a look at either http://www.amazon.com or http://www.informit.com to find these books. They are great starters and teach real life application to the programming languages.





Best of luck, hope this helps.
Reply:You begin with programming, not with a language. Try "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs" by Wirth. Used copies are usually available at Amazon for under $5. It teaches computer programming in English, and pretty easily. (Although learning programming - really learning programming, not playing around writing code - may be a little above 9th grade level - it depends on the individual.)





Once he learns programming, he can think about learning a language to program in. (If you want to learn to write novels in French, do you first learn the art of writing, or do you start with a pencil and paper?) C++ is good for game programming, but learning game programming by playing with a language (or even learning programming that way) is both wrong and counterproductive. It leads to very bad programming "techniques" (if.you can even call the habits learned that way techniques), and programs that are almost impossible to maintain.





You should also be sure that your son has realistic goals - learning programming will take at least a few months - he's not going to devote full time to one subject - and learning C++ well will take about a year or two. If he's expecting to start writing games in a week or two, remind him how old he was before he could write a coherent short story. It probably took him 7 or 8 years of learning language and writing before he could. Expecting to write programs at the start will only be frustrating.
Reply:May be you can contact a freelance gaming programmer at website like http://www.getafreelnacer.com/ to teach him gaming programming.
Reply:Check out http://www.microsoft.com/express/ . Microsoft offers free versions of their Visual Studio suites that can be used for c++ development, c#, etc. They even have game developer versions of the product.





As far as which language to learn, it depends on how you want to approach it. If you want to start heavy on the theory and fundamentals, start with something like c++. However, for beginners c++ might not be as fun to learn, because it takes a lot more work to get a tangible, fun working product. .NET is probably more suited if you want to take that route... it is a good gateway to fundamentals more pertinent to Computer Science, but is easier in terms of getting tangible product created quickly.





There is an insanely huge amount of learning materials and books for both c++ and c#/.NET, as well as using Visual Studio. Just check Amazon.





Also, I definitely don't want to dump on your son's dreams or try to discourage you or him, but a good dose of reality is really important here - becoming a video game programmer is a lot like becoming a rock star or a hollywood actor. EVERYONE wants it because it sounds like such a cool job, but very few get it, even people who probably deserve it. 95% of people who set out to be video game programmers end up being regular programmers.





However, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The insane competition for a video game programming job means companies like EA can demand long working hours (80-100/week) for very low salaries (40-60k) and mediocre benefits. If someone's not happy, there's 10 more just like your son waiting to take their job. On the other hand, the same programmer could go work in the business world and put in 40-50 hours a week, get great benefits, and get paid 70-90k (or higher in high cost-of-living areas).
Reply:I would start with a simple language like BASIC or realBASIC or some kind of BASIC. Maybe even Java if he is fairly advanced.





If you go the java route, I would get Dietel and Dietels book on java programming. Its fairly straight forward, and coudl easily be adapted by you.





You may also find these resources very useful:


http://www.deitel.com/ResourceCenters/Pr...
Reply:I would even recommend pascal, basic. Those are procedure oriented lang and not used now days. But for a beginner to understand what a computer language is, it definitely helps. C, C++ are basic of all and they are still widely used in developments, call it any Networking, graphics... Once, understood a programming language, let him go ahead with these basic startup languages which really helps in understanding of different concepts in SW languages. Then any advanced course, for that programmer will boost his abilities.