What should I do next? - comp.programming

I've learned the basics of a programming language and written some simple exercises but now I am at a loss for what I should make. I really want to be able to keep the language in the front of my mind while still adding more, but I really have no idea what kind of programs to write to help me learn. Any ideas for lower level programs that I could write?

Flaran wrote: > I've learned the basics of a programming language and written some > simple exercises but now I am at a loss for what I should make. I > really want to be able to keep the language in the front of my mind > while still adding more, but I really have no idea what kind of > programs to write to help me learn. Any ideas for lower level programs > that I could write? Personally, I have a bunch of hobby interests that lend themselves to computer programming. These hobby interests have led me to learning perl and Python, to dabble in Java, C and two different versions of Scheme not to mention many others I've installed but never used such as REXX and Ruby. The hobby (studying the Collatz Conjecture) is the motivation behind all my diverse programming language interests. Without that, I may never have learned anything beyond Visual Basic, which is all I ever need for work. A lot of times, I peruse the newsgroups for simple ideas to implement just for the sake of doing it. For example, someone in sci.math asked is there an easy way to tell if a number is a perfect power. The answer is, yes, just get out your math library (such as GMP) and use the is_power() function. But he also asked about whether a number is square free. Oops, no such function in the library for that. But could I implement it using the tools that are there? Well, I had to try just to satisfy my curiosity. And yes, I wrote a program that does it. It's basically as hard as factoring and I depend on the library's built in next_prime function, so no, there's no easy way to solve it, but it's good for numbers up to 14 digits. That little excercise was completely pointless and stupid but all my programs are pointless and stupid so it was good practice. My two cents.

mensanator@aol.com wrote: > Flaran wrote: > >>I've learned the basics of a programming language and written some >>simple exercises but now I am at a loss for what I should make. I >>really want to be able to keep the language in the front of my mind >>while still adding more, but I really have no idea what kind of >>programs to write to help me learn. Any ideas for lower level programs >>that I could write? > > Personally, I have a bunch of hobby interests that lend > themselves to computer programming. These hobby interests > have led me to learning perl and Python, to dabble in Java, > C and two different versions of Scheme not to mention many > others I've installed but never used such as REXX and Ruby. > The hobby (studying the Collatz Conjecture) is the > motivation behind all my diverse programming language > interests. Without that, I may never have learned anything > beyond Visual Basic, which is all I ever need for work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_conjecture It seems real simple to me. Tripling an odd number always gives an odd result, and adding one makes it even. Now that it's even, we can keep dividing by two, which will always reach one. Tripling an even number always gives an even result, so we can keep dividing by two, which will always reach one.

Russell Shaw wrote: > Russell Shaw wrote: > > mensanator@aol.com wrote: > > > >> Flaran wrote: > ... > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_conjecture > > > > It seems real simple to me. > > oops, needs more work;) Yes, it's much more complicated than you might think from the Wikipedia article. Or, as I like to say, it's endlessly fascinating. If you're interested, check out my Google group http://groups.google.com/group/TrueButUnproven Another one is Ernst Berg's group http://groups.google.com/group/Dymanic_Systems And there's mountains of other info on the web (some of it is crackpot, though).

mensanator@aol.com wrote: > Russell Shaw wrote: >>Russell Shaw wrote: >> >>>mensanator@aol.com wrote: >>> >>>>Flaran wrote: >>... >>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_conjecture >>> >>>It seems real simple to me. >> >>oops, needs more work;) > > Yes, it's much more complicated than you might think > from the Wikipedia article. Or, as I like to say, it's > endlessly fascinating. > > If you're interested, check out my Google group > > http://groups.google.com/group/TrueButUnproven > > Another one is Ernst Berg's group > > http://groups.google.com/group/Dymanic_Systems > > And there's mountains of other info on the web (some of > it is crackpot, though). I can go for ever on these kinds of problems if i don't get an answer. I already have a great backlog of projects. I must resist;)

On 21 Oct 2005 20:09:47 -0700, "Flaran" <flaran@gmail.com> wrote: >I've learned the basics of a programming language and written some >simple exercises but now I am at a loss for what I should make. I >really want to be able to keep the language in the front of my mind >while still adding more, but I really have no idea what kind of >programs to write to help me learn. Any ideas for lower level programs >that I could write? Try http://acm.uva.es/problemset/ Lots of problems for you to answer. If you use C, C++ or Pascal they will even check them for you. rossum The ultimate truth is that there is no ultimate truth

"Flaran" <flaran@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1129950587.761546.153980@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com... > I've learned the basics of a programming language and written some > simple exercises but now I am at a loss for what I should make. I > really want to be able to keep the language in the front of my mind > while still adding more, but I really have no idea what kind of > programs to write to help me learn. Any ideas for lower level programs > that I could write? Simple games are a good start, e.g. tic-tac-toe. Start by letting the user type in moves for both sides. Then add a check for end-of-game, i.e. three-in-a-row or full-board. Then add a check for illegal moves. Once that is working, then add some simple mechanism to let the computer select the moves for one of the players. To begin with, just select a random empty square. When that works, add some simple intelligence, e.g. the computer should defend against obvious threats. All this should keep you busy for a couple of days. It will teach you a lot about control structures, arrays, and I/O. Then repeat the exercise with a more complicated game, like e.g. draughts or backgammon. Don't worry about the level of play being very poor. The focus is on getting the program to work correctly. If you feal more advanced, have a look at the programming contest at http://dinsights.com/POTM/. [You need to register to log in, but it's spam-free and no-charge]. They have a (small) selection of problems that could be fun to try. Don't worry about winning the contest, the focus should - again - be at getting a program that works. I still think simple card games and board games are a great way to learn to program. -Michael.

Flaran wrote: > ... I don't think it is the best thing for me to get a job now; for one > thing, it would be illegal as i'm not 16. For another, I really don't > think i'm that advanced in my language yet. > heh, you'd be surprised how many totally retarded programmers are out there in industry. you're keen, which is already a good head start over these muppets.