I want to learn a some good programming for myself and I must say this treath really is helpfull! Thank you all!

learn by doing. im sure its been said but i didnt feel like reading every post so i just want to say that you have to actually write code to learn anything, just reading wont cut it. you'll be surprised what a difference it makes actually sitting down and coding the examples in the book. it gets you used to the simple things. example:

in java, if you have a main u always type:

public static void main(String args[]){...


if java is your 1st language (as it was for me some years ago) then that alone looks strange, but after being forced to type that out a few times..it's just plain simple.

that comes from doing it over and over, not just reading it.

and as suggested before (im just solidifying the point) come up with a nice reasonable project...and see it through. try to do something that will incorporate many different aspects of programming (like data structures, reading from files..etc). by the time you're done, you'll be a pro.

and always try to follow good coding practices (commenting, modulatiry, and other stuff)

have fun

So much in fact, that you should set up an editor macro for it (I have the vim version if anyone wants it)

PS - Python!

hmm.. Typing repeatedly to make the strange things simple is not the right way. It is like blindingly remembering things and it will never make you master things. You should always try to avoid it.

The right way is try to understand everything. Every single word. Once u understand everything, the above Java statement will make perfect sense to you and become very simple.

Exactly,
Once you understand it, you shouldn't waste precious programming time on typing all the stuff over and over. Once you understand it, be gone with it!

I was reading an interview with Bruce Eckel yesterday that briefly mentioned on this (thanks again Strike for bringing this great article to my attention). Basically he said this:
On average a programmer writes 10 good lines of code a day. With Java just starting some code already wasted those 10 lines

I almost died reading that paragraph

Can u give the link for the interview? (if you remember it)

Sure... it's 4 parts and you can find the links to all on the Perl rant thread.

Happy reading!

That's an excellent interview

Cool.

you could also try your local community college and see if they offer any courses in said language just a thouhgt

my suggestion.. stick 2 one language and one authoritative book on the language. once u complete the book dive into a project to further ur skills

Given that linux is open source, You have a lot of working source code that you can study. The very same programs you are using!

Your distro may contain online programming books.

Since you don't like studying online, print out a few pages of online study material at a time, and study that.