learning a computer language before computer science course

bpb101

Hey folks, I hope to go to Trinity in September and do computer science. I am just finished the leaving cert and I think it would be beneficial to learn some type of language before hand , even though they say they start on the basis of no Knowledge of the subject

Anybody have and suggestion on what would be the best and why?

Thanks

tyty

They don't assume you have any knowledge, but getting some programming skills beforehand will definitely help you to get along better. For the basics it doesn't matter which language you choose.

You will start with Java, so you could do that, but you could also choose something else (e.g. Python, which might be more intuitive for beginners) and then see in the course how it compares to Java. The basic concepts will be the same, there are just a few differences in the keywords and how you structure the code.

wantacookie

Its not 100% necessary but if you want to get used to the syntax you could work through some lessons on codeacademy or another site like this.

Other than that, enjoy your summer

Tears in Rain

I'd highly recommend you get a bit of programming experience before the course, it will really help. Some of the lecturers might spout some **** about having to 'unlearn' stuff, but that's all crap.

I'd recommend learning an 'easy' programming language like python. A great way to learn it is on this site. There's no need to go nuts, but if you spent like half an hour a day on weekdays for a few weeks going through those tutorials, it'll really make your life easier when you start CS. It'll also give you an idea if you like programming or not before you start, which is sort of essential if you're going to spend the next four years of your life before CS.

bpb101

That's great help folks.
Just one more question

I am ****e at foreign languages like Spanish, how would that effect learning a computer language. I know there nothing alike but is there any correlation in learning them

Tears in Rain

bpb101 wrote: »

That's great help folks.
Just one more question

I am ****e at foreign languages like Spanish, how would that effect learning a computer language. I know there nothing alike but is there any correlation in learning them

I'd say none at all. Irish and German were my worst subjects by far for the LC, but I had no trouble picking up computer languages. And I'd say most people I know who are good at programming are the same. They're almost nothing alike except in name.