At 09:24 PM 4/15/02 +0800, noelle cheng wrote: >May I ask a question? Is math required for lingo? In the university, I >only studied statistics. But I studied some general math during my 'A' >levels. Is this still too little?
Absolutely not, unless you're planning on programming things that require math (physics apps or animations require physics math, financial programs require financial math, etc.). I was never particularly great at math - from calculus on I got lost easily. What I always WAS good at was geometry, particularly the part about proving theorems. That requires a step-by-step proof, not unlike a basic program. Programming is logical thinking, the ability to break apart and analyze problems. You will first have to learn how the machine processes instructions and does things, and then it will be easier to understand how programs work. Everything must be broken into little steps, and steps within steps. A good suggestion is to not tackle anything too large at once. Of course, some people don't understand what goes into writing programs, so it's hard to tell how difficult a job can be. Imagine building a house. If you don't know anything about home construction, then you're asking for trouble trying to design and build the house you will live in from scratch. First, learn about electricity and wire up a little switch that makes a light turn on and off. Then do some experiments with plumbing. Learn how to pour a small amount of concrete. Maybe make a tiny little house on a little bit of concrete, and one light switch. It'd be too small to live in, but you'd start to see how the process works. Then, as you work with it, you learn what you need to know to build larger houses. The programs I write now are nothing like the ones I first wrote 25 years ago. Only bite off as much as you can chew. Too many people get discouraged by attempting something overlarge. Trying something large does let you get a feel for how much work a project is, but you will still be more productive quicker by doing small projects. - Tab [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
