So, You Need to Write a Program but Don't Know How to Start

Patricia Shanahan

One problem faced by all programmers, but possibly most difficult for some beginners, is getting started on a program.

You could get someone else to guide you on the specific program, but that  is not a long term solution. The design skills needed to start writing a program are at least as essential  a part of programming as knowledge of any programming language.

Most people who get stuck getting started on a program are students taking a programming course, so this advice is framed in terms of doing a coursework assignment. Adapt as needed to other circumstances.

I wrote this document in response to questions in the newsgroups comp.lang.java.programmer and comp.lang.java.help. See the Java FAQ for general Java questions and useful links.



© Patricia Shanahan, 1999-2005. All rights reserved.
Web-design by Andrew Thompson, of PhySci.codes 2004.