Where to start?

#1

Hey i’m interested in learning to write some programs/ or plugins… I would like to know where would i start to learn more about writing graphic programs?? any help would be great. thanks

#2

Well first you need to know how to program before you can jump into anything as complicated as programming anything graphics related. go to www.planet-source-code.com and look at coding samples to get a feel for programming logic first.

#3

Hey thanks for the answer… I was meaning where should i start as in maybe a program to buy. and some materials to get me on my way… I know that programming is no overnight miracle, but i would love to try it…

#4

you don’t need to buy any prog at all … as dev-environment I’d suggest you download a linux-distro (distrowatch)
then you’ve got the free gcc compiler and can hack away in some editor like NEdit for example…

plz post what language you’re interested in then you’ll perhaps get more tips on what books to buy

#5

I have no idea about any of this… I would like to hear your suggestions on what language i can start with to get a feel for what i will be undertaking… Is there a simple one that i might be able to start with??

#6

An excellent book, if you don’t already have it, is Computer Graphics, Principles and Practice. It’s a spendy book ($75-80 US) but worth every last cent. I couldn’t imagine trying to learn CG without it.

#7

If you have never programmed before, Sun’s Java might be a good place to start because it works on many platforms and is free. Most Universities start students off on Java because it is an object-oriented language and is in some senses easier (because it has garbage collection, for example). Java is probably not a good idea for 3D game programming (although recent developments may prove me wrong), but it is great for learning with.

#8

Infinity, I would recommend the book ‘Real Time Rendering’. It’s focus is on the mathematics of CG, not really the programming or API aspect. But I find it a great resource. You might want to pick up a small linear algrebra/trig book as that is the primary mathematics of CG.

As for language, I say go ahead and start with C/C++. The learning curve may be a little steeper, but once you know C/C++, everything else is easy to learn.

If your using Windows, I would recomend the Visual C++ compiler, which Microshaft hands out for free at http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/

www.opengl.org has a lot of tutorials as well as a copy of an older edition of The OpenGL Programming Guide.

#9

This is my first time posting on this thread, so I hope I’m posting to the correct person. Thanks elam, and others on this thread who have given direction to the “newbie.” I am in my second year of college after four years out of school (was in the marines for four years) and have just recently decided that graphics was my new dream. I have been searching the internet high and low for the next logical step in studying computer graphics after having taken a few c++ courses at Devry university. I bought a few books after researching and they were both still over my head. The openGL red book has been a great read, and along with the maya documentation I have been able to “comprehend” some basic ideas of what goes into computer graphics. I noticed from reading a lot of threads at this site that people in the know sometimes get frustrated with the seemingly stupid questions of newcomers, and I thank those that take the time to point us in the right direction,
thanks, ryan

#10

Np Medley.

There really should be a resource sticky so people can browse or add to a tutorial/resource list. I’ve emailed the mod to see if we can do this.

:beer:

#11

Hi, it’s my first post here so hello to people,
I found myself in a similar situation a couple of years ago. It really is like trying to scale a brick wall when you first start out, especially if you have no backgound or do not know anyone who has.
Basically what I did:
buy Computer Graphics, Principles and Practice- at least keep it for reference when you have progressed.
download free Borland turbo Pascal compiler.
studied a college textbook on programming using Pascal.
This will give you an insight into program flow and the procedural programming paradigm- ie a more ‘low level’ under the hood view of things.
Move on to C or bypass Pascal and start right here- what Windows is written in. I got free instruction samples http://www.cct-expert.com/. or buy a book.
Move on to C++, (object oriented programming) for the other programming paradigm. You will learn the difference between C and C++. Buy Microsoft Visual Studio- it is more used than Borland for Games.
Always try to program- not just read. Try to find exercises in books etc. Convert code from your procedural stuff to object oriented classes.
Move on to Windows API once you have the above. Buy Pretzold and Prosise on Win32 (Windows API).
Finally move on to Games programming. Try the courses here https://gameinstitute.com/index.php.
Definately do the maths.

…I’ve got a decent foothold now but I’ve still got a long way to go.
Good luck.
:slight_smile:

#12

If you have any background in Actionscript or Lingo, Processing might be a good choice. It is software currently in its alpha stage (meaning free and still in development) that will compile its own language into Java. It bridges the gap between thinking in Actionscript to thinking more like how a real programming language works. I highly recomend this as, again, it is free, and there is a continually growing reference and forum for support.

Also on the homepage are samples of work, and you can see some work I’ve done as well here.

Oh did I mention the best part? Almost everyone using the software shares their source code!

-s

#13

A little taste of UC Berkeley’s world-famous fried chicken CS curriculum:

If you’re just starting out programming, the professors teach us a year of Scheme. This is not a practical language, but it teaches us the concepts behind many computer science principles (recursion, evaluation, streams and lazy evals, state, data structures, etc.). A viable alternative is the language Python, which is (1) easy to learn, (2) very practical in the work setting. I suggest going to python.org and finding tutorials on the language as well as looking up for “computer science python” resources.

If you’re starting off with computer graphics, we use the book “Computer Graphics with OpenGL, 2nd edition”. There’s probably quite a few course materials here that you can check out, and these will give you a good mathematical foundation for graphics.

#14

Why dont u start with Q-basic…LOL…great way to start programming

#15

Infinity3d4life:

Your programming language would depend on what your going to use it for. whether it is graphics,games or web design. All have to do with the language. If you goin for graphics then try Maya Personal Learning Edition http://www.alias.com , 3DS
Max http://www.discreet.com . If you going for gaming try Visual C++, Visual Basic, Delphi, Java, Flash. For web design i recommend that you use a WYSIWUG (what you see is what you get) Adobe Golive, Frontpage, Notepad, etc.
Go to http://ww.w3.org to brush up on the web design scripting languages. Good luck…

#16

yeah infinity has the right idea here. ok. some people will tell you java-this, scheme-that, lisp-this, vbscript-that and ALL of these options are FINE. but, what you really want is a language to fit the job you are trying to accomplish.

if you’re new to programming try first scripting the app of your choice. i’ll use maya as an example–if you use maya, you can start out small, writing some mel scripts. these are fairly easy to write and comprehend, follow the C/C++ branch logic structure and can help you learn the basics of programming. unlike the other languages, your scripting language will be tied to a particular package so it will be of IMMEDIATE use to you as a graphics programmer. (it will take you a long time to do some cool graphics work in java that people will actually pay you for [your ultimate goal i assume]). by scripting your graphics app you can be on you way to writing useful graphics code in a very short time.

once you nail this you can branch out to C/C++ to bein to write some plug-in code. again using maya as an example, C/C++ is what you’ll need to cook up a custom plug-in.

#17

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.