Learning New Skills

[Mr_Burns]

Hi Everyone,

 

Ive been around here for quite a while now and been flying with DCS fom when I bought Lock On Modern Air Combat - I really cannot believe it has been so long!

 

I have a number of problems but one of the biggest is I drink too much alcohol and I want to cut down and change my habits. One of the things which amazes me is those who have the skills to program .lua files or arduino or write Arma missions and scripts etc.

 

I would really like to do an on line course to learn this, something I can do in the evenings to take my mind off drinking.

 

Could anyone recommend what would be a good route of learning, what the programming language is, where I start and what to aim for?

 

I would really appreciate your help.

 

Thanks

 

:helpsmilie:

[Yurgon]

I would really like to do an on line course to learn this, something I can do in the evenings to take my mind off drinking.

 

Could anyone recommend what would be a good route of learning, what the programming language is, where I start and what to aim for?

 

I guess the only truly correct answer is: It depends.

 

Since you brought up Lua, it's as good a language as any to get into programming. If you've spent some time with the DCS Mission Editor, you probably encountered situations where you had to combine all kinds of triggers in order to achieve a seemingly simple goal. Because of the tight connection between the simulator environment and Lua (and because you can type Lua directly in the "Do script" action of a trigger), it's very simple to get started with it.

 

The downside is that debugging Lua code that you write specifically for DCS is a bit difficult because you usually have to load a mission, fire the trigger, check the result, and if the code needs tweaking, the whole process needs to be repeated. There are of course ways to make the process quicker, but you'll surely be spending a lot of time in the ME and testing your missions.

 

The upside is: Let's say you set a specific goal, like printing out the player aircraft's altitude in a text box when the player hits the F10 radio menu and selects a custom item "Display altitude" or so. It's my experience that my progress slows to less than a crawl after just one beer, and with more booze I just have to outright skip it until I'm sobered up again. So whatever your goal is when it comes to programming, concentrating is a lot easier while sober and that is hopefully going to help you.

 

I do have a background in programming; when I set out to learn about Lua, I didn't have to start from scratch in terms of programming and how to set up a work environment, but the language itself and how it's integrated into DCS was all new to me, so I took small steps and it took me days if not weeks to get to the point I had aimed for. With that in mind, I wrote a tutorial about it and I hope it does answer some of the questions you might have about it: Tutorial: Introduction to Lua scripting

 

Of course you could aim for any other programming language as well, it really depends if you have something specific you'd like to achieve, like creating a Windows application with a nice GUI or creating a smartphone app for Android or iOs that you always wanted to have. I hope others will chime in and talk about nice ways to get into other programming languages with ease so that you get a nice overview. :thumbup:

 

Here's an example of "Wow, I made it!" (probably looks boring as hell, but it felt like such an accomplishment just to get there): http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1996722#post1996722

 

In any case, best of luck!

[Bushmanni]

Pretty much every programming language has a very similar structure to them so if you learn one it's pretty simple to learn another. I haven't yet come across a guide that would teach you the proper use of the basic building blocks to a complete beginner like is done on a proper programming course but then again I haven't really been looking. Then again programming is pretty simple in principle when you strip away all the language specific conventions and small details. Debugging is mostly about finding that one little mistake in the details.

[piXel496]

Hi Mr. Burns,

 

Compliments for "cutting down and changing habits". I like to give you a few tips and you need to succeed.

 

1. Start with something you like to do most, choose one, not all together. ARMA or DCS or forArdino

2. Keep your target small. Just start with one small thing not to complex.

3. Take it slow.

4. Be consequent.

5. make some kind of a "planning"

6. Finish what you start.

 

Please realize that you can learn anything if you realy want to and unknown matter always seems complex. I hope you will amaze yourself soon and find out that scripting is actually simple and fun.

 

 

 

 

 

:thumbup:

Edited November 1, 2014 by piXel496
oh... and just ask as much as you can. Many will help.

[leafer]

The only way to quit drinking is to just quit. Do it for yourself. Keep in mind that debugging a program will probably have you wolfing down at least a case of that poison in one sitting. :D

 

Give yourself a purpose to want to be healthy. I hate to sound melodramatic but I have no family. My daughter's mom left long ago, and when I'm gone she'll have no one, so I started jogging some three years ago. That's what motivating me to stay fit. If you really want to get into something to stay healthy then get a pair of asics or mizuno and go jogging. It's a healthy addiction. You're on the right track, Mr Burns. :)

[Mr_Burns]

I've done 3 days so far!

 

Thanks for all the advice, I started looking at C++ on Sunday and did a few hours, copied the clichéd hello world program but I was most pleased to see (excuse me I don't have my notes) the composition of statements into std main ()??? Into libraries etc. and why .lua or arma was written like it was. // for explaining stuff etc!

 

Will do another few lessons tonight!

 

Thanks guys

[Bucic]

+ for the endeavour! And good luck!

 

I'll be subscribing the thread as I'd also like to dig into coding again.

[winz]

I've done 3 days so far!

 

Thanks for all the advice, I started looking at C++ on Sunday and did a few hours, copied the clichéd hello world program but I was most pleased to see (excuse me I don't have my notes) the composition of statements into std main ()??? Into libraries etc. and why .lua or arma was written like it was. // for explaining stuff etc!

 

Will do another few lessons tonight!

 

Thanks guys

I would suggest you to dumb C++ and start with some of the more modern managed languages (C# or Java). They are easier to learn because they are much more streamlined and you don't have to mess with things like memory management, headers, forward declarations... Their SDKs (software developer kids) also contains many functionality you'll require for creating anything more complex than "hello world" (strings, file manipulation, collections etc.). Also making gui in C++ is a pain (and requires a 3rd party package).

 

Anyway, Good luck :)

Edited November 4, 2014 by winz