11-year old mediocre programmer

[williamyin08]

Hello all,
I am an 11-year old kid and have been programming for 4 years. I recently switched to Visual Basic to program C++ programs, but as I browsed the Internet, I found that people thought Visual Basic would teach horrible habits. I really do not see why this is such a big problem. What do these people mean by "bad habits", and what other resources could I use to improve my skill? Thanks!
P.S. I'm more heading in the direction of video game and OS programming. Complex-like stuff. I've already started into learning about boot sectors and hardware topics, and have also delved into C++ for OS's and video games.

Edit: Oh, and I'm new, so please don't bombard me with insults or the like! Thanks!

[GibsonSGKing]

Originally Posted by williamyin08

Hello all,
I am an 11-year old kid and have been programming for 4 years. I recently switched to Visual Basic to program C++ programs, but as I browsed the Internet, I found that people thought Visual Basic would teach horrible habits. I really do not see why this is such a big problem. What do these people mean by "bad habits", and what other resources could I use to improve my skill? Thanks!
P.S. I'm more heading in the direction of video game and OS programming. Complex-like stuff. I've already started into learning about boot sectors and hardware topics, and have also delved into C++ for OS's and video games.

Edit: Oh, and I'm new, so please don't bombard me with insults or the like! Thanks!

Yeah... First off, visual basic is just what it sounds like. It's made in a primarily graphic interface, and is very basic. You would be /much/ better off learning C++, as it gives you a better idea of how other languages work in my opinion. Also, C++ has MUCH more possibilities. You can seriously program just about anything with it (although there may be other languages that do it better, you can still do it in C++). Also, C++ will introduce you to the idea of data types and the like. I don't really think C++ is used for OS's though, although I'm not too knowledgeable in that realm.

[williamyin08]

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, I was thinking about the OS code problem. I believe Linux and maybe part of Windows was coded in C++, though. Is this true, or is there some other language I could use to program an OS that's easier and more efficient?

[GibsonSGKing]

Originally Posted by williamyin08

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, I was thinking about the OS code problem. I believe Linux and maybe part of Windows was coded in C++, though. Is this true, or is there some other language I could use to program an OS that's easier and more efficient?

First of all, I can pretty confidently say that you won't be coding any OS on your own. Also, I don't believe the kernel of any OS is coded in C++, and that's the really important part.

[Dngrsone]

Here's a resource for you: How to Write Unmaintainable Code outlines what makes the next guys job extremely difficult.

[GibsonSGKing]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Here's a resource for you: How to Write Unmaintainable Code outlines what makes the next guys job extremely difficult.

The comedic value of that link was through the roof.

[~Darkseeker~]

Windows is coded in C, i think C++ is an open source language, and is possibly used with the Linux kernel but i'm not sure. If i was going to start programming, i'd start by learning visualbasic, then probably C or C++ followed by Java. See how many you can get under your belt.

[williamyin08]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Here's a resource for you: How to Write Unmaintainable Code outlines what makes the next guys job extremely difficult.

Thanks for the resource! But isn't this for Java or something?
EDIT: Oh yeah, I just realized that these are tips for all languages. Ignore my previous question.

Originally Posted by ~Darkseeker~

Windows is coded in C, i think C++ is an open source language, and is possibly used with the Linux kernel but i'm not sure. If i was going to start programming, i'd start by learning visualbasic, then probably C or C++ followed by Java. See how many you can get under your belt.

In the beginning of my programming, I was learning C. I currently have these huge books on programming in C. I later found out, though, that C++ was newer and more standard to program in, so I switched to that.

[GibsonSGKing]

Originally Posted by ~Darkseeker~

Windows is coded in C, i think C++ is an open source language, and is possibly used with the Linux kernel but i'm not sure. If i was going to start programming, i'd start by learning visualbasic, then probably C or C++ followed by Java. See how many you can get under your belt.

Really? I didn't think it was. Well, that's news :P

Personally, I started on QBasic, then went to Visual Basic then C++. I followed the classes at my school, but we spent waaaay too much time on QBasic imo.

[berry120]

Windows is coded in C, i think C++ is an open source language, and is possibly used with the Linux kernel but i'm not sure. If i was going to start programming, i'd start by learning visualbasic, then probably C or C++ followed by Java. See how many you can get under your belt.

It's actually a mixture of C, C++ and ASM:

Most of the source code for Windows NT is written in C or C++. These high-level languages make it relatively easy to port Windows NT to different types of workstations. The same source code can be recompiled to build versions of Windows NT that are specific to each processor's instruction set.

A small amount of the code in Windows NT is written in assembly language. Typically, this is code that either interacts directly with a computer's hardware, or needs to run extremely fast. Because assembly language is specific to a particular instruction set, this code must be rewritten once for each type of processor on which Windows NT will run.

Source: Lesson 2 - Windows NT System Overview

And the Linux kernel is C, not C++

It's good to get lots of languages under your belt, but from a beginners perspective it's much better to learn one and get good at that than chop and change all over the place. Once you understand one thoroughly you'll be able to apply the same concepts elsewhere without too much difficulty.