How do I become a computer programmer?

Read the article that everyone's commenting on.
Subscribe to the RSS Feed for comments on this article.

Programming an operating system has absolutely NOTHING to do with programming a video game. Literally. I'm not sure if you mean literally writing your own HAL, kernel, and bootsector, or working with APIs thrown at you by the OS and libraries, writing applications FOR an OS. But as far as writing an operating system goes, little to nothing but syntax and some design methods can be transfered from a video game to an OS. Video games require hardcore OOP(Most at least), and complete blindness of the computer hardware, using libraries to cover it up.

Just thought I'd clarify that.

Chrispy, you can become an extremely good programmer starting at any age provided you have a good passion. I'm only aged 16 and age hasn't proved to stop me, or anyone for that matter.

Most people who stay they want to program games don't really enjoy programming them, they just want to see and play the end result. However, many do. I suggest they work with some basic languages developing some basic software before getting into programming games. It'll probably save you a lot of time.

Cody, oop is exactly as it sounds. It's programming with objects essentially. It's hard to explain if you don't have a general idea of programming. In C++ all it literally is(in memory) structs, and functions. But in the compiler, it's much more, I.E class member protection, virtual functions, inheritance, etc.. If you're into OOP I'd take a look at java. I've worked with C and C++ for a long time, and occasionally java(I wrote an isometric game in it). Java has amazing OOP features that C++ lacks, but I still enjoy C++ much more.

Nate, programming has far less to do with math then it does to do with problem solving, it just happens to be that some problems require mathematics to be solved. If you passed grade 12 math you're good to go, but I wouldn't hesitate to take some more advanced math courses in college. There are tons of good programmers who can't solve a mathematical equation to save their life(well -- that's an exaggeration) and are great programmers because they can solve problems. However, programming a video game, a 3D one at least, will require some Trig, and geometry, possibly physics(basics though, there are a lot of powerful physics engines out there). If you're really into programming and not so much into math, you might find software engineering enjoyable, I.E writing segments of operating systems(I'm writing my own O.S atm, it's not as epic as linux, but it still takes A LOT of work to do), device drivers, etc.

"OMG", you never know until you start writing, get a book on it. 13 is a fairly good age to start programming, but just because you're good at math doesn't mean you'll be a good programmer.

"poker site", if you're into electronics, you may find software engineering or hardware engineering interesting. Software engineering I describe above(it involves programming software that communicates with electronic devices, such as drivers or segments of an OS's HAL). Hardware engineering is extremely interesting and I too have read about programming microcontrollers and building my own hardware(only problem is at 16 I have no income to purchase the devices and components). Hardware engineering involves developing devices like video cards and processors, network cards, etc..

Hope that helped those looking for an answer. AFK Working on a dumb socials projects. Yeap, I procrastinate my homework ;)

Im an 18 yr old High school graduate and being a video game developer is my dream!

To post a comment on "How do I become a computer programmer?", please return to that article's main page.