This month I started a Programming 1 class as part of Full Sail University’s ACE program. One of the other students asked me some questions and I ended up writing a larger response than I planned. I think my information will be helpful for other people who are new to programming.
Hello chastity, I’m Ty. I appreciate you teaching others what you know. I do not know anything about programming, but I’m hoping I learn a lot from this college course and make friends like you. I would love any tips you have for me, as a programmer newbie. What language to start with? Fundamental apps, tools, services, etc.. anything I should to start. Thank you chastity.
There are many tools I can recommend. Mostly, I stick with Free and Open Source software. I write most of my code in the C Programming Language, which came before C++. I use the GCC compiler, and I even use GNU Make to automate compiling and running my programs.
I am looking forward to learning about how C++ is different than C. I always found C to be an easy language because it is smaller than C++, and I have most of the functions memorized.
Also, you may find this helpful.
https://chastitywhiterose.github.io/Chastity-Code-Cookbook/
It is a book/website I have been writing to help teach programming, but also to share some of my impressive code examples and philosophy of why I promote Free Software.
Everything on there is entirely free and released under the GPL3 license. I consider it my act of community service to give back to the open source community because it has benefitted me all my life. I have a blast compiling my C programs on Debian Linux with GCC on computers too old to run modern versions of Windows. I don’t even use an IDE. I only use a console and a text editor as if I were living in the 1980s. But at least this Programming 1 course teaches things as most humans would find convenient.
I can also probably help you with specific programming questions. What operating system do you use, and how is your general math knowledge? I think you will find that no matter what programming language becomes your favorite, every data type really is numbers, even such things as colors or coordinates for shapes in video games.
Most of the magic in the video game, Chaste Tris, that I published comes from my knowledge of numbers rather than it does being a good programmer. I consider myself more of a gamer and mathematician than I am a skilled programmer.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1986120/Chaste_Tris/
I also wanted to mention some cool text editors that you might like. On Windows, Notepad++ is the most convenient text editor because it has syntax highlighting, but it loads up faster than Visual Studio if you are doing your own programming for fun, which isn’t required for the class.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
But I also recommend Geany because it runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux. I use it quite a bit when I need my code to be more readable for larger projects.
I think the most important feature of a text editor and/or IDE for a programmer is the ability to see the line numbers because when a compiler tells me an error I have on a specific line, being able to see which line that number is on helps out a lot. The second most important feature is to choose a highlighting syntax that is easy on your eyes. Each person is different, and their eyes perceive colors differently. A lot of these editors will let you choose a scheme that works for you, or even create your own. For example, you might like numbers to be in blue text and functions to be green. Or maybe you like a black background with bright colors like magenta or yellow for the text. I like my code to look beautiful as well as to compile and run successfully.
Chastity White Rose 
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