Being a Computer Scientist is not about programming; it is about the study of algorithms (a series of steps, understood by someone or something, in order to complete a task in a given number of steps). Many Computer Scientists don't program at all. Indeed, Edsger Dijkstra once said ?Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.?
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Steps
- Being a Computer Scientist is all about learning to be a student. Technology changes, new languages develop, new algorithms are devised: you need to be able to learn new things to stay current.
- Start with pseudocode. Pseudocode isn't really a programming language, but it is a way to represent a program in a very English-like way. The most familiar algorithm to you is probably on your shampoo bottle: Lather, rinse, repeat. This is an algorithm. It is understandable by you (the "Computing Agent") and has a finite number of steps. Or does it ...
- The shampoo example isn't a very good algorithm for two reasons: it doesn't have a condition to end on, and it doesn't really tell you what to repeat. Repeat lathering? Or just the rinsing. A better example would be "Step 1 - Lather. Step 2 - Rinse. Step 3 - Repeat steps 1 and 2 and then finish." This is understandable by you, has an end condition (a finite number of steps), and is very explicit.
- Try writing algorithms for all sorts of things. For example, how to get from one building to another on campus, or how to make a casserole. Soon, you'll be seeing algorithms all over the place!
- After you've learned how to write algorithms, programming should come naturally to you. Buy a book, or better yet, find an online tutorial, and learn the syntax of a language. Object-oriented languages like Java and C++ are "in" right now, but Procedural languages like C and Python are easier to start with because they deal solely in algorithms.
- Programming is only the translation of pseudocode into a programming language. The more time before programming you spend planning in pseudocode, the less time you'll spend typing and scratching your head.
Tips
- A whiteboard is a great place to write algorithms.
- After learning one programming language, learning another is easy because you're still only translating the pseudocode into an actual language.
Warnings
- Programming is addictive, learning to program can be a lifelong study.
Things You'll Need
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