Starting Java 13yr old

Hello,

I am going thru the HF Java book and love it so far but I have a little knowlege of programming (took some quick 3-5 day classes on VB, and use MySQL at work so I can join tables to find data.) My question is my son would like to start learning with me but I think this book might be a little above where he needs to be. I would like to help him as he is learning but I dont know if there is any book like this HF Java book but for the complete beginner. I looked at the HF Programming book and it teaches Python I am not against Python but I have never looked at what it is like. Is Python like Java so that I could help him on his journy while I learn Java? I am just in the 4 or 5 chapter in my HF Java book but seem to be getting the problems right because my code is working and I am not looking at the answers to get them to work so thats good I think.

Dont know where to start?

Dryan

that is an interesting question...most folks around here would probably say that HF Java IS the book for the absolute beginner. I'm honestly not sure I could think of a better book. I'm not saying there isn't one, just that I'm not aware of any.

I always think it is better to learn programming from somebody who can program, rather than from a book. Can you explain things like objects, loops and selection to him? Can you demonstrate that a computer has an IQ of 0.0 and takes whatever it is told literally? He may know people who work like that

I think I will get ahead of him several chapters so that when I try to help him through it all the examples will be ones I have finished and understand completely.

Thanks

Hello Dryan,
I am quite new to the programming aswell, so my advice at this point might be a bit off.

I find Stanford's Programming Methodology lessons quite interesting, catchy and easy to follow. Proffessor Mehran Sahami is just awsome & brilliant.
It starts from Karel the Robot, to teach the basic. Then it goes on hand in hand with a book: The Art and Science of Java.

CS106A is an Introduction to the engineering of computer applications emphasizing modern software engineering principles: object-oriented design, decomposition, encapsulation, abstraction, and testing. Uses the Java programming language. Emphasis is on good programming style and the built-in facilities of the Java language.

Stanfrod Center for Professional Development
Stanford University
Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
CS106A at Stanford Unversity:

Welcome to the Ranch

Kristjan Toots

There is a book called 'Starting Out With Java: From Control Structures through Objects' by Tony Gaddis (3rd Edition) that was used by my school for the introductory programming course, I found reading level very easy and the explanations were clear and simple. It also comes with a CD that has step-by-step code demonstrations and samples.

Here is the URL to the Barnes and Noble page for the book, it sells used for 4.00+ dollars
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Starting-Out-With-Java/Tony-Gaddis/e/9780321479273

Hunter

My son is 8 and was very intrigued when I told him about how programming can also mean creating games. We've spent some time with Microsoft's Kodu and quickly he was creating things 'without training wheels', only once in a while asking me to help him when he got stuck. Many programmers might find that this 'point-and-click' style is not the best way to learn how to program but it does give you a good feel about 'events' very quickly. And nothing keeps you from digging deeper and going further with the code than can be achieved in the visual interface.

I never had the chance to try it out but there's a similar environment for Java, named Greenfoot. If you take the time to explore this, I would love to hear about your findings.

Cheers,
Wim

For all you guys who wanna tech your children the concepts of programming download Scratch.
Scratch is a tool developed by MIT Labs and is specially target for children between the ages of 6 - 16 .
It is an interactive tool that allows you to animate a simple character using drag-and drop blocks that represent programming concepts like loops, variables....

You can watch videos about Scratch and download it for free from : http://scratch.mit.edu/

Wiki Link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_%28programming_language%29

I highly recommend to try out this tool.