Want to get into programming

Hi guys, I have been thinking of getting into programming on the Amiga, always been a tracker or graphics guy but recently I want to keep the old brain alive so was thinking of getting started on programming on the Amiga. Was wondering what would the best route to go for somebody who found Apple Logo confusing as hell - hopefully I should be better at it now.

[pmc]

Hello ami_junkie.

I have been thinking of getting into programming on the Amiga

Good for you.

I suppose the first question would be: what is it you want to program? You might find different programming languages better suited to getting different results depending on your needs.

For dabbling in an environment where you can't really screw anything up but can still get nice results it might be worth trying something like AMOS BASIC. You can find the software and the manuals online for download.

If you want to get your hands dirty though I personally think you'll have more fun and learn more about the hardware by grabbing a copy of the Hardware Reference Manual and an assembler and trying some assembly language stuff.

[NovaCoder]

Hiya,

What platform do you want to code on and what platform(s) do you want to target?

If you don't mind using WINUAE you could give AmiBlitz 3 a go?

[AlfaRomeo]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

... you could give AmiBlitz 3 a go?

I second that
For a starter assebly is too dificult and Amos it´s not so powerfull as Amiblitz and the last one still supported.
C is a good option but more time consuming to learn

[BippyM]

I'd say for power and for things like WHDSlaves etc then go for asm.

For anything else try Amiblitz or Blitz2+support suite!

[Leffmann]

I often tell people to start with assembly because it's plain and simple, without confusion over syntaxes, and innately free from programming paradigms, and because any decent programmer should know how the computer works at a basic level. However most people seem to disagree with me on this, so:

If you're completely new to programming and want to see some quick results then take a look at something like Python or any flavor of the many BASIC languages out there for Windows or OS X, the simpler the better. It's just quicker and easier to pick up on this stuff outside AmigaOS. Once you've got the hang of it you can get back on the Amiga and look into AMOS or Blitz Basic/AmiBlitz, or even some 68K assembly and the hardware specs if you really want to program the Amiga directly.

Thanks for all the replies guys, I want to program on/for the A1200, I am thinking of making some games first and see how things go from there. I had heard a lot about Amos in the day and Blitz Basic too so I was thinking of those initially but as I am a complete newbie to programming thought I would check with you guys.

[Franz Bazarov]

The easiest way to get started is to just start making some shell scripts.

This way you can get your feet wet without adding anything extra. Just get a document of all of the AmigaDos commands, and start hacking in a text editor.

Start with very basic output, then keep adding new features to your script.

This way, you'll learn about program flow, and get into the right mindset.

After a month of that, start studying C. It will come much easier with a little scripting background.

Then study all languages. The more you learn about different programming languages, the more creative you can get, given that you really devote yourself to your craft.

Try out the shell programming, & let us know about your progress.

Have fun!