From where to start...??

[ghost]

Name : Shravan Kumar Email : shravan.ma.iitkgp@gmail.com Availability : I will be online between (1:00 pm - 4:00pm) IST(GMT +5:30)

Sir, I am new in this field. I am very confused from where to start ? and how to start ? i know C but not so good in that too. So can you please guide me..? Sometimes i used to solve the problem given on Project Euler and Codechef too.. Currently i am in sophomore year of my graduation. My department is Mathematics enrolled in its Integrated MSc.(5yr) Course of Mathematics and Computing.

[PragTob]

Hi :-) At first: there is no need to call me Sir: I'm Tobi! =)

So I'm a bit busy right now but I would have time for a session starting April 5th. Do you have any code samples, that I could look at? That would be solid basis for discussion. It would be best if you could upload some code samples to github.

Further on: what do you want to learn ruby for? So what is your main goal in learning this language, do you have any specific project in mind?

For a non specific note, I maintain a little list of resources - one section is tagged beginner, maybe you can find some materials there, that you are interested in.

cheers, Tobi

[ghost]

Thanks tobi... yeah i have some code but it's written C only. One more thing i want to clarify that is it good to continue coding in C or must have to learn Ruby. please guide me & treat me as a Beginner.

[PragTob]

Hey, that depends on what you want to do. C is way more complex than Ruby and less expressive (my point of view). However a pure C program can run much faster than Ruby, if properly programmed. In ruby programs are much shorter and there are a lot of concepts that make your life easier. Also C is pretty close "to the metal", close to the hardware which invites a lot of mistakes that are hard to track down. Ruby is also cross platform compatible. For most tasks ruby is fine imo.

So it all boils down to: What do you want to do when you are programming? What kinds of programs do you want to write?

[ghost]

See i don't have to worry abut execution time. Actually i don't have much specific field but i would like to develop some cool application and further want to be part of any good open source(Gsoc).

[PragTob]

Well ruby is certainly good for developing some applications. We here at mendicant university are mostly ruby focussed and if you ask me it is a good language to learn and to develop cool applications. One of the most (most likely the most) popular web frame work (Ruby on Rails) is written in ruby and we also have a couple of solutions for easily writing GUI applications.

For starters I'd recommend that you do the Ruby koans as they are a fun way to learn ruby and if you ask me pretty good. If you make them we can discuss more advanced problems from the koans or you could try to solve a puzzlenode puzzle. Another fun way to learn ruby is hacketyhack.

Regarding Gsoc making it this year to Gsoc will probably be a bit hard, more likely next year :-) Moreover Gsoc doesn't feature too many ruby projects as google isn't really a ruby shop, however there are some. Anyhow, there are lots of great ruby projects you may participate in.

I hope this helps :-)

[ghost]

Okay.... last reply is really helpful for me. But yet i am confused which language to learn (Ruby/Java/Python)...? I am giving only three option because lot of people says Python is very good start for beginners and in app development Java is helpful. As you suggested Ruby is cool for app development. Finally guide me in correct direction please.. :)

[ghost]

What happened tobi..? Reply for my query ?

[PragTob]

Hello, sorry but I'm a bit busy these days as I have to prepare a presentation plus some friends from far away are around.

Which language to learn is very personal choice, I can't make that choice for you. I can only try to advise you. Furthermore it doesn't really matter as much as you might think. Java, Python and Ruby are all object oriented languages. They clearly have their differences but once you've learned one of them it gets way easier to learn the other ones. Plus I wouldn't restrict the choice of language to these languages, there are programming languages out there deserving attention. As you have a background in mathematics you might enjoy functional programming, personally I try to learn Clojure at the moment which might suit you.

As for the 3 languages you wrote down, Java in my mind is by far the most cumbersome in my mind. However I would say that if you learn Java first you appreciate the other languages much more and it's much easier to stop writing ; after each statement than to start doing it. Concerning app development, that depends on the app. If you are talking about apps for android then yeah Java is the standard way, but java isn't so cool (in my opinion) in building web applications. Moreover programming Java without an IDE is a real pain and learning an IDE while learning a language is another pain.

Python is cool as you have to properly indent your code in order for it to work and it's a quite nice language.

Personally I obviously like ruby the most, it's a nice language that is easily accessible and I personally know many beginner tutorials for ruby that are quite good freely available on the Internet. Same could be true for Python, I just don't know them.

Sorry I don't have time for a more explanatory answer right now.

[ghost]

Can you please provide the ruby tutorial link..those are freely available...

[PragTob]

Hi I already provided the links, but here hey are again:

• The tutorial I'd recommend: [Ruby Koans}(http://rubykoans.com/)
• List of good resources

[ericgj]

Hello Shravan, I just wanted to add to what Tobi said - Mendicant University is planning a 3-week free session for beginner programmers in June. We are still in the early stages of planning, but I think you may be interested. I will be sure to let you know details as we develop the program. Eric

[ghost]

thanks for replying Tobi & Eric. It will be great help for me and i just want to move under guidance of you guys. But please inform me when you are going to stat session and how can i use this ?

[ericgj]

Not sure yet. Probably early June. I'll let you know for sure, probably by the end of this month.

[oppih]

I wonder if I could have a chance in getting involved in the session :) ? There seems not so much infomation about it on mendicant.org right now , and I find you guys have changed the GitHub organization ?

[PragTob]

Hi there, if you want to have a mentoring session you can always your very own issue here :-)

Cheers, Tobi

[oppih]

OK, thank you Tobi :)

One question right now : what's the relationship between these two accounts @mendicant-university and @mendicant ?

[PragTob]

To be honest I don't know. I have been pretty stressed these past weeks so I have to catch up on a lot of mendicant emails, but @mendicant seems newer (and I don't appear to be a member)

[oppih]

Maybe @sandal started another new site for Mendicant University?

As a beginner , I like this learning style very much. Thank you all staffs :)

I'll ask for a mentoring session when I'm ready.

[practicingruby]

@oppih:

We're in a transition phase of making Mendicant University public and open to all. @mendicant is our new github organization, but this one will be kept around indefinitely for archival purposes.

Our mentoring program is also undergoing major changes. While 1-1 sessions are something we'll probably spin back up in the future, for now we are offering open office hours instead. For example, @ericgj will be hosting office hours next Monday: http://mendicantuniversity.org/activities/2012/06/04/office-hours-with-eric_gjertsen.html

[oppih]

@sandal Got it, I've found the activity arrangement from @ericgj . Thank your for your reply.