# ideas for 11yearold to learn programming



## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

i have a friend who's son is very interested in IT and for the last couple of years has been talking about wanting to be a software programmer - hes now 11 and started year7 at school (secondary school).

He knows nothing about programming - but seems to have this strong desire.

In the old days i would have suggested he ran basic on the PC and maybe try a few programs as I did with my stepson 10years ago
but things move on...

He has a PC in his bedroom which is an HP approx 1ghz 128Mb PC It has windows XP home on it.

any suggestions - websites to look at - programs to download and run - and program in.

He is based in south UK.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

I'm 14 and i encourage him to continue. A good starter is to get knoppix a linux livecd which has a full developers suite. The book linuxprogrammin, which i use will let you touch ground in many languages to get a feel of which language you which to learn. I am currently happy with C and Java. I know some html and am trying to expand. PS what would a secondary school be for him. I'm from America and i don't know if you are but i was just wondering.
Another thing. Just looking for more ppl around my age interested. I don't wanna sound intrusive but does he have an aim screename.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

Hes in the UK - and its now year 7 - but in UK we have different schools for different years so infants 1-2 i think - primary 3-6 then secounday 7- whatever depending on school - some leave at 16 and goto college etc.

I have no idea if he has a aim name - i suspect he uses msn as that seems the most popular in UK. 
any website - i can have a look at the linux stuff you mention- i dont think he'll want to change the software on his PC. So i guess linux may be a problem if he has to load a PC


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

i just remembered another friend had an old 233mhz CPU 96Mbmemory PC they was trying to sell - i said keep it or dump it cant remember.
will linux run on that low spec box ??? 
maybe he could use it for playing around on.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

sure i have a linux working ona computer just like that. i wouldnt use it for development though-- compiling will take a long time. i'd rather use it for a server-- i have a gameserver running on one of those boxes, and all i had to do is add more ram.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

knoppix is a livecd that runs off ram and cd and you dont need to install it. msn is fine also.


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## ohgrant (Oct 3, 2004)

I don't know if you can find a free version but Microsoft visual basic got me hooked on programming very easy to start with and you can code some pretty amazing stuff.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

thanks


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

VB for MS tho and makes good but basic apps. I don't know much but i'd rather C even though it takes tons of strings more than VB to make nearly the same thing. Then ofcourse java i think is the coolest. You could get 3d things and 2d things and make them objects and call upon them in java language and i thing thats neat. For all types of programming i have found that java recquire much less code than others. VB is pretty easy to use ive heard tho. Many programmers who use vb are the ones called upon to make a quick and small business app for a single purpose. The C programmers are usually centered in software companies or to make more complex apps. The Java programmers are used for web development or if they need to make a platform independent program because any os can use java it just needs the runtime.


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## jai.wright (Sep 26, 2004)

I am a tafe lecturer in australia

i have found it very useful for my students all though they do not want to create web pages to learn 'the steps of learning' by getting introduced to HTML. goto www.htmlgoodies.com and have a look around there. there's a HTML primer which is good for stating off.

Once they have got the hang of learning a new language;

Then i would definately recomend for a 11 or 12 year old that he learns VB (visual Basic) as it is simple and you can get outcomes very simply. just look up 'Visual Basic Tutorials' in google.com and theres sure to be heaps of info out there, including exercises and already made apps for him to look at and get ideas from.

Jai


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

i may just switch to that too for the fun of it. how much it costs, b/c dont i need the compiler or can i get VB for free?


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## tajaemax (Aug 26, 2004)

I don't know if this is even minutely useful, but it is what I am trying to learn with.

http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld/tutor2/index.htm


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

i'll give to reasons to use VB and two reasons to not
pros
a. Very easy language, great for beginners.
b. Nice compiler and is a widely used language for windows platforms.
cons
a. Platform dependant- only for windows
b. not as advanced and less flexibility of other languages.

update:
javascript is quick and easy to learn, you aren't goint to make programs out of it but if he wants to learn html then he can learn a little jscript too to make his page a little more interesting. no compiler needed all done by the browser but limited power, even more limited than vb, another one called vb script is even more simpler than vb, though better in some ways than jscript, but only for ms internet explorer, i would recommend you stay away from VB script. not everyone uses that browser.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

great input guys - thanks


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

you are welcome


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## ohgrant (Oct 3, 2004)

etaf said:


> Hes in the UK - and its now year 7 - but in UK we have different schools for different years so infants 1-2 i think - primary 3-6 then secounday 7- whatever depending on school - some leave at 16 and goto college etc.
> 
> I have no idea if he has a aim name - i suspect he uses msn as that seems the most popular in UK.
> any website - i can have a look at the linux stuff you mention- i dont think he'll want to change the software on his PC. So i guess linux may be a problem if he has to load a PC


I missed this, he wouln't have to change his operating system for knoppix you can just boot from cd, just a thought.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

yes exactly, look up livecd in the wikipedia or google it. livecds are cool and i'd say knoppix is the best esp for an all around desktop with full development suite (python, c++, others).


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

Thanks Guys, hes just off right now to look the html primer, as he wants to build a webpage - once hes learnt the code for that, i think will add a bit of java, then move onto the knoppix CD/VB and move on from there.
so I'll post back in a few days how he is getting on.

"iXneonX1" hes not on any messenger chat - so i'm talking to his dad later to see if hes happy about putting msn (which his mates have) on the PC. 

Thanks again


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## pdkx7 (Jul 23, 2004)

For a person his age he should first get the basic idea of programming a good way to do this is get a really easy book on any programming language or a good beggining book is " Programming for Dummies" it practices with Basic. when he understands the concept he should jump into a more complex language.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

actually i'd say html is a good start. i recommend master visually html. its one of the best.


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## pdkx7 (Jul 23, 2004)

HTML is not a Programming Language it will not teach him how to write programs html is nothing like a programming language. A simple programming language is python visit www.python.org for more information. The site comes with many tutorials which range from different skill levels.


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

thats a really nice one esp using the python program in kde inside knoppix or any unix really.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

"pdkx7" - thats where I started the thread with regards to programming in Basic (microsofts version) - I made my stepson ten years ago program in basic - but then it was on win95 and 3.1.
can you still get basic for free off the web to run under XP Home


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

i wouldnt exactly learn BASIC but VB possibly. BASIC is kinda old.


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## ohgrant (Oct 3, 2004)

If you buy "An introduction to programming using visual basic 6.0" text book by prentice hall publishers, it will have the working model of vb on it. I don't think it has a compiler on it but the programs he codes will work as long as vb is installed. Visual Studio is the big program and it has the package and deployment wizard on it but it is very expensive, it also has c++ and other programming tools on it.

I have to agree with ixneonxi, Basic might turn off an 11 year old and is not real useful by todays standards, the colleges are starting people off with vb, java, and html for introduction classes.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

"iXneonXi"
VB it is then - not basic - ta

"ohgrant"
i'll have a look for
"An introduction to programming using visual basic 6.0" text book by prentice hall publishers".

thanks for that.....


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## I Fix 4 U (Jul 19, 2004)

yah good beggining languages are definetely VB, HTML, and my favorite JAVA. i love its object integration. i can build a 3d object and use it and manipulate it with java, quite easily also. it is also becoming a very big language in the community because its platform independant and as people move to linux or mac they can still use java programs / websites.


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