[sf-lug] Tutor me in Programming?

[jim]

   well, maybe start with walking an array or 
list or string, create a stack and also a queue, 
try walking a two- and three-dimensional array 
(what are they used for?). in other words, learn 
standard techniques for working with basic data 
structures. 
   learn about basic arithmetic and logic 
techniques, too (shifting to multiply or divide 
by two, how to use XOR to filter...). 
   learn about ASCII character codes and sort 
strings by ASCII sort order, learn unicode, 
try sorting unicode strings, change a string 
to all uppercase, to all lowercase.... there 
are lots of techniques for working with strings. 
   as you try stuff out, imagine some real-world 
problem that relates. 


On Mon, 2008-09-08 at 13:07 -0700, Asheesh Laroia wrote:
> On Sat, 6 Sep 2008, vincent polite wrote:
> 
> > Hi Jim, I need help learning programming. I'm taking Javascript at City 
> > College. I'm not having trouble with the syntax. I'm having trouble 
> > thinking like a programmer. I guess I'm having trouble writing 
> > algorithms. Does that make sense? I'll see you tomorrow at Javacat and 
> > we can discuss it.
> 
> I don't remember seeing you; maybe I missed you!
> 
> But anyway, anytime there's an SF-LUG meeting I'm happy to help on 
> programming questions.
> 
> What sorts of things are they having you do?  Can you name a particular 
> question or exercise you're having trouble with?
> 
> Jim suggested "reading about algorithms," but I think that learning about 
> Huffman coding for compression and A-star for shortest-path calculation 
> with optional admissible heuristics (stuff done in an undergrad course 
> *before* algorithms) probably isn't the right way to approach things.
> 
> We'll get there, but let's figure out what's confusing you step by step!
> 
> -- Asheesh.
>