Now I'm getting tired of this...

For Beginners

Started by Zyndrof May 31, 2006 10:24 AM

25 comments, last by pulpfist 17 years, 10 months ago

6,963

May 31, 2006 07:21 PM

Quote:Original post by TheOther
Once you develop with IntelliJ, boundaries will disappear and your life experience as a developer will be completely reborn and renewed with new life and vigor.

It's THAT fundamentally good.

When raving about a product it's good to provide a link [smile]

Beginner in Game Development? Read here. And read here.

Anonymous

May 31, 2006 07:52 PM

Joshua Bloch's Effective Java is a book that every Java programmer should read, but it's not really a beginner's book. Head First Design Patterns is by far the best introductory to design patterns (covers lots of general OOP stuff too). Code Complete 2nd edition is also a book every programmer should read, get your feet wet before diving into it, though. Brackeen's book is a fine book too and covers many gaming topics. Java 1.4 Game Programming is the worst possible book there is, make sure you skip it.
Also, for gaming stuff, start reading the posts at www.javagaming.org, lots of good stuff there...

As for Eclipse, it has gotten quite a lot faster in the latest branch - 3.2, which will be released soon.
I also run eclipse with Mustang (Java 6), and have added these lines to eclipse.ini:
-server
-XX:+DoEscapeAnalysis

Due to the server VM, everything's a little slower first until the Hotspot compiles the code, but becomes very fast after a while..

Rob Loach

1,504

May 31, 2006 09:58 PM

Maybe it's just that you don't like Visual Basic .NET, the language. As an alternative, you could try out C#. It's extremely easy to use and learn (in my opinion). Programming C# by Jesse Liberty is by far the best book I've read introducing the language and briefly going into some of the advanced features of not only the language, but also the .NET Framework. C# is also really quite similar to Java.

If you want to stay away from .NET completely, you could take a look at something like Python as it's really a great language for beginners to get into programming with (almost forces good programming habbits). PyGame provides a complete graphics framework for programming 2D applications in Python.

Rob Loach [Website] [Projects] [Contact]

Zyndrof

163

Author

June 01, 2006 06:27 AM

Quote:Original post by paulecoyote
the book I posted goes from basics through to complex stuff, and every chapter is all about making a game or part of a game. It even covers Math as and when necessary

As far as Java goes, for sanities sake I'd probably suggest the bloated but user friendly ide that optionally comes with the java SDK.

Okay but it seems I need some Java experience before starting to read this book:
"If you already have Java programming experience and are looking to program games, this book is for you. David Brackeen, along with co-authors Bret Barker and Lawrence Vanhelsuwe, show you how to make fast, full-screen action games such as side scrollers and 3D shooters. Key features covered in this book include Java 2 game programming techniques, including latest 2D graphics and sound technologies, 3D graphics and scene management, path-finding and artificial intelligence, collision detection, game scripting using BeanShell, and multi-player game engine creation."

Quote:Original post by Rob Loach
If you want to stay away from .NET completely, you could take a look at something like Python as it's really a great language for beginners to get into programming with (almost forces good programming habbits). PyGame provides a complete graphics framework for programming 2D applications in Python.

I see what you mean, but Java seems as it forces good programming habits too (at least what I've read numerous times on this forum in the 'Java vs C++' threads). It also haves a lot of resources so there shoudn't be a big problem to fins a good book.

I read that Ditel's book "C++ How to program" is great, does this go for "Java How to program" too?

Follow my game programming progress

pulpfist

528

June 01, 2006 06:41 AM

If you can swallow deitel's books as a beginner, sure. Go for it.
I read both C++ and Java versions and they are both solid.

Personally I prefer books that take smaller steps, even if that means each example is bare-bone and even lacks some info that must be taken care of later on.

Deitel's books is very thorough, has tons of tips, tricks and comments lurking around every corner.
The layout of the books is the best Ive ever seen, and as I said, every page is a mouth full...

Definetly worth the money

[Edited by - pulpfist on June 1, 2006 7:41:29 AM]

Zyndrof

163

Author

June 01, 2006 07:01 AM

Quote:Original post by pulpfist
If you can swallow deitel's books as a beginner, sure. Go for it.
I read both C++ and Java versions and they are both solid.

Well, I'm asking you, can I? ^^

I checked the database of my local library and among some smaller titles they have "Teach yourself Java 2 in 21 days", 3rd edition, and "Java 2 bible", 1st edition. Both are translated which could explain if there are newer editions released.
Is any of these books any good?

Follow my game programming progress

pulpfist

528

June 01, 2006 07:10 AM

Well, I have read a Teach yourself C++ in 21 days book that was supprisingly good for a pure beginner I think. It was a book of my taste, easy to follow but therefore not all that thorough, or should I say deep digging.
The author was Jesse Liberty. The author of the Java version is probably someone else so it could be completely different.

The titles with bible in them has always been a disappointment to me. (Only looked through them very quick though)

Thats all I can say about those Im afraid...

I would prefer Deitel's books I think. They are just a different league

Alpha_ProgDes

6,963

June 01, 2006 07:16 AM

Quote:Original post by Zyndrof
I've been learning Visual Basic.NET for a couple of weeks but now I'm realy tired of my book. It doesn't teach me much. Probably mostly because of it's lack of exercises which I find frustrating (I'm a beginner, how the hell should I know what type of programs I'll be able to create without trying out my skills?).

Why not just get another book on VB.net as opposed to learning a whole new language? Just thought I'd ask.

Beginner in Game Development? Read here. And read here.

pulpfist

528

June 01, 2006 07:23 AM

I have been working with deitels VB.NET at school and its the same with that. They are all very solid.
I aggree with you about VB as a language though, I much prefer C++ and even Java.
My oppinion might be biased a bit. Im a native guy, and I dont like languages and applications that are bloated with MS dependencies

Zyndrof

163

Author

June 01, 2006 07:29 AM

Quote:Original post by Alpha_ProgDes
Why not just get another book on VB.net as opposed to learning a whole new language? Just thought I'd ask.

I think I mentioned (don't have the will to read my first post again :P) that I don't like the syntax of VB.net. In the beginning it looked great. I thought: "Wow, this is super easy" but now when I'm making applications a little bigger than "Hello World" or "Guess the number" the code just looks... "Aaaahhh!!!". And that's not because I make it look "Aaaahhh!!!", it's because VS makes it look "Aaaahhh!!!".

Follow my game programming progress

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