ID:273915
 Aug 14 2011, 1:53 am
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How long should it take one to learn DM? I'm new to it all but learning. Any study tips? I hear a lot about how out of date the DM Guide is but how much am I really missing out on by using that as my primary source of learning? How much am programming skill should I gain with the basic DM Guide as my primary means of earning the DM Language? Any tips/ help/ support or even reply's would be appreciated BYOND seems to have a rather helping community of programmers, iconers and players.
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Read through the guide, then take a shot at the ZBT Tutorial parts 1-3.
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It's not really a "long" process. It's a lot like math. You wind up using addition a while until you discover multiplication and you're like, "Woah! Life is so much easier!"
Do take a look at guide and the ZBT tutorials. Also I think that someone started a youtube channel to teach newbies how to code? You could try searching for that as well. No one resource is perfect. Use them all, except for ripped code. NEVER USE RIPPED CODE! IT IS A PATH TO DESTRUCTION! Other than that yeah, it's not hard to grasp the basics (or at least it's not to me) and then expand on those basics. I'll tell you right now, in Dream Maker, F1 is your BEST FRIEND. I'd suggest checking out the operators in there once you get the hang of it (Top of Topic list). The Dev forums are also always open. As long as you aren't a tard and focus only on receiving code, you should get kind service. | |
Experimentation is key:
1. Try something. 2. See if it works. A. It doesn't work. i. Try to get it to work. ii. Go to step 2. B. It worked! iii. Continue to step 3. 3. Go to step 1. Now, the 'try to get it to work' and 'try something' essentially consist of programming and creating a single feature and making sure it does what you want it to. I believe it is also a key to make sure you can get it to do EXACTLY what you want to do and you understand the limitations of what can be done. (This is very important and looked over by pretty much everyone their first time!) For example, when you go to use a proc you've never used before, read the reference entry immediately and learn every way it can be used, and all of the syntax that goes with it. And, if you're really clever, you'll also read about stuff related to it! It's always a good practice to re-read reference entries for things you haven't used in a while, or to make sure you're using them right. (As Lugia said, F1 is your friend.) Also, sometimes just checking out the "See also" entries for things you haven't read (or to re-read) is a great way to enhance your abilities. | |
It'll take as long as it takes, really. Programming is after all a skill, and skills are acquired best by a combination of theory, study and practice.
Depending on your previous experience, natural mindset etc, the DM Guide will give you a very basic overview of some things you can do with the language. The fact it's out of date isn't really an issue, as most of the stuff is covers hasn't actually changed massively since the time of writing. It's just important to remember that it really won't teach you about the full range of features DM has, or how you do something in the language, as the how of writing code is all about your logic, and using the bits the DM guide shows you, and the DM reference has available. http://www.byond.com/developer/?&mode=posts sometimes has a few beginner articles, so you can search it for ideas. | |
By the guide being out of date you are missing quite a bit but you would learn a lot from it.
Also check out demos for the stuff you dont understand.