posted 09-05- 05:03 PM               

He's interested in learning computer programming, and when I show him what
you guys are doing in SDOE WW1, he's even more interested.

So....

What do you recommend as a textbook(s?) and an initial program to get him
started in learning how to program? What is Borland ++ (?), and how does it
work?

If you were going to teach what you do, how would you do it?

Hey, if this works really well, perhaps I can turn him loose on a SPAD XIII... or a Nieuport 28, or a Heinkel 111, or a...

posted 09-05- 09:51 PM               

Maybe have him email some of his favorite vid games companies, and ask what he should start with if he wants to make stuff like them.

I bet at least some of them will at least have some suggestions and be encouraging.

BTW are you talking programming or making planes and stuff?

If he wants to do any of that I would say get him AC3d and if he likes it move him onto 3dsmax you should be able to get an educational copy WAY cheaper (still not cheap though) then the normal version, you just can't sell your creations with the ed version. Others might disagree with using max as ed, but if he really gets into it he should be learning on the industry standard software.

I personally think its great that you are homeschooling

Whats the structure of his day? How much of it is self directed? What I mean by that is how much is stuff that he expressed an interest in?

I personally would cover all the basics but keep time open everyday for self
directed learning IE learning stuff he wanted to learn. Hell somedays the WHOLE day would be self directed, want to know more about ww2? Lets visit some museums maybe a local vets lodge to talk to some veterans. That kinda thing.

Maybe someday I will but at least for now he will have to go to school when he is of age. Sucks cause I would rather homeschool him in the first years then the last.

If my kid is interested in working with his hands, like carpentry and cars and stuff, he will have no end to that learning and he will have to do some even if he isn't LOL, child labor for building our house

posted 09-05- 09:57 PM               

Its freaking great for learning about games and how to make them. I even visit just to get background info on how games are made.

http://www.gamasutra.com/
The art and science of making games.

The feature article database headings.

Programming
Visual Arts
Game Design
Business & Legal
Audio
Production

All with subtitles, You could ask in the forums there and probly get some GREAT advice from people in the industry.

Tell him to have fun

posted 09-05- 11:49 PM               

"Delphi" is really powerful yet easy to learn. Plus it's based on Pascal which is the language used in senior high school and junior university courses.

This page has some info on game programming in Delphi.

http://delphi.miningco.com/cs/gameprogramming/

TS

posted 09-05- 11:57 PM               

Are most programing languages similar? Like can someone learn basics in one language and move up easier because the basics are similar?

Like If-then statments?

posted 09-06- 12:11 AM               

For example to loop from 1 to 10 in

Basic:

for x = 1 to 10
print x
next x

C:

#include <stdio.h>
main () {
int x;
for (x=1; x<10; x++) {
printf("%d\n",x);
}
}

They both do the same thing but if you know how the first one works it makes the second one much easier to understand.

Java (and microsoft's variation C#) is basically a fixed up version of C++ that takes away most of the opportunities to shoot yourself in the foot. Java is easier to learn and you'll know most of C++ once you learn Java.

TS

posted 09-06- 12:14 AM               

Even little things like the SDOE beeper are so cool to me.

Whats visual basic like? Can't it do basic windows programs like that?

posted 09-06- 12:31 AM               

Visual basic is regular basic with extensions that let you do windows applications and some of the more advanced programming features like java and C++ have.

I find it faster writing programs in VB than C++ or java.

It's not really structured like other programming languages so learning VB doesn't necessarily make life easier when you go to learn C++ or Java. However VB is often used for commercial web work and windows applications nowadays so it's definitely worth learning. Commercial game software still seems to be mostly C++ though.

posted 09-06- 12:43 AM               

Although it's a used mostly as a scripting language, you can write stand alone apps in Perl.

There's a LOT of free info/instructions on the web for Perl programming, plus it makes writing CGI scripts easier too.

If you have Linux, another alternative is Python. Although with Active Perl and Active Python and the Komodo development emvironment (all free) you can work with perl and Python under windows. Python also has lots of free web info souces.

posted 09-06- 07:15 AM               

Eric gets his curriculum, his list of assignments, from his mom (My wife). It is put together in such a way to maximize his education, tailored to his needs and learning style. From there, he's pretty much a self-starter, and we don't have to monitor him much. His progress is then checked, he has periodic in-term tests, and if he gets something wrong, we go back and sort it out. At the end of the year he's tested against the national averages, where he's been holding down a 98%. He and his mom are a killer team.

What every homeschooling parent hears till they're nauseated is "what about socialization?". He's out of the home for some of his education, like trumpet, piano, and tonight we go to Hapmudo, a marial arts class based on Hapkido, with elements from Kung Fu, Karate, etc. There's also church. So he finds himself socializing with people of all ages.

At any rate, thanks for the leads, I'm all over 'em!

V/R,

posted 09-06- 12:57 PM               

Damn makes me want to homeschool our son even more. Has he being doing it since grade 1?

About socialization, I always figured if they get enough learning from outside the house and do stuff like scouts, sports and such it wouldn't be a problem.

posted 09-06- 11:05 PM               

It may not be for everybody, but it certainly went well for us. If you have any questions, check my profile and email me directly. And again, thanks for your input above!

V/R,

posted 09-09- 11:46 AM               

Here is a great site with a lot of JavaScript source codes and examples of what can be done with html and JavaScript.

http://javascript.internet.com/

There is a nice program called "Elements" that was written by a 13 year old. However because of all the data, it looks pretty complicated, but look as some of the ohter examples of what you can do.

You should start with some simple books on HTML then go to JavaScript.

Good luck, sounds like you have a bright young chap there.