Extremely confused with all the jargon associated with programming

Ok, so I feel exceptionally thick.

I can't get my head even vaguely around all the terms like classes, objects, types, components. I thought I understood variables, but even then I'm not sure if I'm being too simplistic.

Everywhere I go to look up some of these terms seems to refer to another of the terms, so I end up looking up that term as well and it just seems to go round and round in a never ending circle of self-reference.

Is there somewhere a basic guide to all of these different things? For example, is there a bottom level 'programming for simpletons' which will give me all the basic concepts which then lead into ' object oriented programming' and then onto 'C sharp programming'? Or do I just have to wrestle my aged brain around the concepts until they make some sort of sense.

ta!

 

Well, at the risk of self-promotion, you could try my introductory programming book which covers all the concepts you mention in a step-by-step way.

Otherwise, you could maybe work through some C# tutorials. This series looks pretty decent.

 

I think it's just part of the process. I felt like I was maybe too old to learn programming when I was 25 and went back to school for web development. I managed to eke out an Associate degree with only a loose understanding of how the code actually functions. It took a few years of actually working in the field to feel like I was really getting proficient.

The trick is to just keep working at it. Find your preferred learning style (I hate videos... I much prefer reading) and consume learning source after source. Practice. Don't be afraid to play around and break things to see how they work. Think through things in your head and theorize what you think will happen, then do it and see if you're right. If not, figure out why, expand, extrapolate, and repeat.

How long have you been trying to learn? If it's less than 6 months, you're not being nearly patient enough.

 

There's an old C++ tutorial series on YouTube that explains all this stuff in a very nice, very slow paced fashion. It starts with variables and some basic variable operations and methodically progresses from there. I actually started my programming journey with these series, way back in the day I was dabbling with Neverwinter Nights scripting.

Don't worry that it's about C++. I am not saying that you should go learn C++. I just think it's a nice total beginner tutorial for programming in general, because all these concepts you mention are pretty much the same in all languages.

 

Well, I gave it a look.... but it doesn't appear to be currently available (at least not in the UK)

 

I'm REALLY impatient! So I guess that means I had better keep on plugging away at it. Maybe it'll be like juggling, where I suddenly was able to do it...

 

Thanks, I'll take a look. I'd love a book, but videos may do it.

 

Yeah I can understand the frustration. It is difficult to break in when everything uses its own inside language. You can't understand programming until you understand programming. It is hard to even write forum posts about it, because programming uses so many common terms to mean something very specific. You can't say "The method to accomplish that is..." because you'll confuse people:
https://www.w3schools.com/cs/cs_methods.asp

Unity topics make matters worse, since people often play fast and loose with the terminology. For example, people will often say "object" when they mean "GameObject", or they will say "prefab" when they mean "instance of a prefab". Both object and prefab have their own distinct meaning, separate from how some people often use them.

But good luck! It is a long but worthwhile road.

 

You will need patience because it takes a long time to become a good coder, years of practise. But to code in Unity doesn't require an expert level of programming skill, just a certain level of competency. It's similar to learning a spoken language, you wouldn't expect to become fluent in a foreign language in a short space of time, it takes a lot of learning and practise. If you keep at it, it should eventually start sinking in.

 

I like this analogy, and it makes a lot of sense.

When you're learning a new language, especially one that's syntactically different from your native language, you start out by just learning basic, conversational words. Yes, No, Thank You, etc. You add in things that are similar sounding to words in your language, some pronouns, a few verbs, and piece together very basic sentences.

You don't start off by writing poetry, and you don't plan to submit your first writing project to... wherever they publish these kind of things. You practice, practice, practice until you gain higher competency.

The same is true with game development and programming in general. So many people start with Unity thinking they'll watch a video or two and then get started on their dream game. As I always say, though, there's no shortcut to experience.