On 19/06/07, Ruth Bygrave rbygrave@ntlworld.com wrote:
My problem is that I feel very wary of talking to Professional Developers For Whom It Is Their Day Job. Not that they'd be at all unfriendly, but what would they gain from talking to Dumb Script Kiddie Who Iz A Idiot,
You can not over estimate the ego of a developer. There are newsgroups, forums, etc. out there specifically designed for egotistical professionals to show off just how much they know by offering assistance to the new kids on the block.
So I'll go back to doing scripting on my own, reading books and posting snippets of bad code on the internet...
It's the best way. Find a problem you want to solve, find a tool, and then just start. When you get stuck, find a forum/newsgroup, and ask away. The more polite professionals try to keep the sarcasm out of their reply, but don't get bugged down by it. Not every one knows everything.
I've never found any hobbyist programmers at the same Dumb But Finally Actually Enthusiastic stage I'm at now...)
FWIW, that's how I started, albeit on a BBC micro a few (ahem) years ago.
Greg