Getting into programming, recommendations?
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Hey guys,
I'm registered programming 1 and will be attending in the next few weeks. I have no background in programming anything up to this point. Do you have any recommendations on resources I could use to prepare myself before the class?
Thanks
I'm registered programming 1 and will be attending in the next few weeks. I have no background in programming anything up to this point. Do you have any recommendations on resources I could use to prepare myself before the class?
Thanks
0
Comments
Get familiar with SNAPI (Standard Netlinx API).
Email me and I will send the PI course document.
jim.donachiue@sharpsav.com
I would let him get all this from AMX University. None of this is secret sauce if he is signed up with them. AMX kinda frowns on us sending out development software to folks not in the herd. It's in your agreement you signed if you check.
I received the PI & PII course docs from AMX Canada before the course to get started.
Some good places to look is MIT Open Courseware, Khan Academy, Code School and the like. Although none of them will teach you NetLinx they introduce you to some core programming concepts, which are always the hardest thing to grok during a couple of day classroom course. As an added bonus you'll also get an insight into the way other languages work and some different techniques for approaching problems which you may not be taught in the AMX class.
That said, I thought it was a little too basic, and didn't feel like I came away with anything until I did the P2 course. Even that wasn't much, but I had been coding AMX systems by the seat of my pants for a year already at that time. The main thing lacking, IMO, is real-world application. One of the exercises back-in-the-day was a program that turned relays on and off on your partner's master. Excellent for learning how to set up a M2M system, but useless in terms of a real system, relays tend to be just a part of an entire sequence of things. So go into it with that kind of expectation. They aren't going to teach you coding logic and how to figure out tricky things your system needs to do, they are going to teach you the particulars of an AMX system, and how to access its features.
First read everything Phreak posts. Then follow his advice.
http://www.codecademy.com/ Is another great website for getting used to programming syntax the thought process. The interactive console and exercises are great for getting your feet wet. PHP or Python would be decent places to start. They have some syntax that is similar to Netlinx.
I advise you to video yourself licking your elbow and post it to this thread.
You have some weird turn-on's man. It's a good thing that was a request and not advice or the OP might be confused.
If you are young and just starting in Automation and planning to do a lot of programming from scratch in a future career, then the AMX Programming I course might not be the best place to start, as it assumes a familiarity with the principles of programming that you probably don't have. A background in programming is really helpful in understanding good programming practices instead of having to find them the hard way, or (worse still) allowing your customers or clients to suffer.
If you intend to use these skills to make minor changes to someone else's source code, then this might be OK for someone without previous programming skills. If you have a experienced mentor that can help you this would be great and you are likely to be productive much earlier than starting out by yourself.
Ideally I would probably recommend doing the AMX Installer course before doing the Programming I course, since it is likely to be more aligned with your current skills and yet provides a good introduction to the AMX technology. Late last year my work sent me and my subordinate onto the Programming I course and later the Installer course. We both agreed that the correct order would have been the Installer and then the Programmer course. Our work's desired outcome was for both of us to be able to swap out IR Modules for the AMX systems we have to allow us to swap AV players without having to bring in contractors. My personal goals are to be able to program AMX systems from scratch for all sorts of purposes; I've had an interest in Automation and control since my undergraduate days in the 1980s.
My suggestion would be to do the online pre-work for the Programming course a couple of times including the tests, and if you've got access to some simple sample code to try to understand what is happening in this sample code. Install all of the recommended software parts and make sure your laptop has a working serial port and Ethernet port before the class.
Ultimately you need to practice programming to keep your skills up. If your workplace has spare AMX Controllers, then you need to have a system always set up to practice with (or one at home to do your homework on). On the advice of our AMX trainer, I've bought AMX gear off eBay to set up to practice with - but there's a huge caveat: Some of the equipment might be locked up with passwords. If so, in some cases you will never be able to unlock those passwords and sending the equipment back to AMX for physical replacement of the soldered chips that contain the passwords is going to cost many more times the value of the equipment. Caveat Emptor.
Putting a lot of effort in before the course is not near as effective time usage as putting the effort in and tinkering after the course.
Make sure you understand basic networking; setting your IP address, know what telnet is, know what ping is,.
After the course get an NI processor off eBay for around $100 and an old touch panel after the course and program up your home system or re-write the code in the company boardroom, that's how i learnt.
And finally... You will need a good programming cape
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-Edna Mode
https://www.udacity.com/course/cs101
You mean this kind of cape?