Skroy

CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE

◄_◄ I'm going to have pizza soon.

Hai skroy. ╫w╫ (an emoticon I made by pressing alt and random buttons on the numpad XD)

That works for me. ^^

How goes your plot-writing?

I don't really know the proper name either. I just thought it was the right one, but I'm not sure. I meant when one small thing leads to a bigger thing which leads to a bigger thing… But considering how even between cities and schools phrases and mannerisms differ, maybe it's the same thing called something different?

Mmmkay. As a passing though, I'm pretty sure Java and Javascript were actually made by different companies, the latter ripping off the first one's name for no apparent reason. o_o But I get kinda confused with history and stuff so I may be wrong - I should probably look it up.

Well, at least I'm pretty sure it's different - I don't actually know Java.

Books are nice, but having someone to talk to helps in the learning process.

Strangely, Java and Javascript are actually very different languages - but both of them are very useful in the computer world, and both are commonly used over the internet.

That wasn't all restating; you made some good points like with the memories. And if you alter it, you can't expect only the huge things to count. Just talking to a person or waving or doing something kind can make this huge difference in the future through the ripple effect. So really it's kind of a silly theory that only works if you want to so something time-travelly with a goal to change history (like PMD2).

Aw, no problem. =) Sorry for late response, but I had stuff to do as well. I'll try to get you a few examples... and I need to work on explaining stuff more often. The problem is that I know the stuff so well that it's like second nature to me - and I often forget that other people may not understand just what's going on in my head... It's kinda funny though, when I code, it's almost like thinking in another language... I can actually achieve a point where I literally think in whatever computer language I'm using instead of English. xD If only I could do that for spoken languages like Latin....

Oh no, I apologize for being so confusing. xD

Well, in the programming sense, a variable is basically a paired value that is temporarily (usually for the duration of the program) stored in memory and can be referenced later. And yes, variablename can be replaced with any arbitrary value, so long as it contains only alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and underscores, (_) and as long as you haven't used that name for another variable already. Also, value can be replaced with any numerical value, or a "string." I should've told you what strings are, but I got a bit ahead of myself. -_- A string is basically text contained in quotes. This can be used as a value for a variable. Because of this, there are a few types of variables: Strings, which contain text as I said, Integers, which contain "round numbers", such as 1, -2099, 256, etc., and "Float" numbers, such as 1092.2092, which basically are numbers that contain decimal points. Why the difference between integers and floats? Because integers can be stored more efficiently than floats, so if you don't use any decimal points, the parser (the program that executes your code) stores it as an integer to save space. I can send you some sample code of a VBScript encoder program that I made, but I'd probably prefer to send something so complex over private messaging / e-mail than through here. (It contains 525 lines of code, and involves arrays, loops, complex If's, the file system, the WSH Shell, and other stuff, but it works pretty well.)

Haha. Well, I won't be going into college until I'm 18, but that's probably for the better. (And I have a summer birthday anyway)

I think I should probably try to teach you basic programming stuff, perhaps both Javascript and VBscript at the same time? Learning to see the similarities in the programming languages might help you to generalize, and come to a better understanding of programming in general, so I think I'll do that. Once you get that done, you should be able to go on to more advanced stuff (since you're going into college) if that's what you want.

Hmm... where to start... Well, probably the first thing you need to know about any given language is its syntax, and mathematical operators. Also, variable definition is very important, so I think I'll start with some of those things.

You've probably taken Algebra, so I assume you know what a variable is. In computer programming, variables are essential to the operation of most programs.

To divine a variable in Javascript, you usually use:
var variablename = value;

In VBScript, it's usually:
Dim variablename
variablename = value

(The Dim can be omitted if you're not using Option Explicit. Option Explicit forces you to formally define variables before you set their values - if you don't, it will throw an error)

As you can see, the basic assignment operation is essentially the same. The difference is in the syntax.

Javascript requires that lines end with a semicolon. (;) VBScript does not have a line-ender. Javascript uses "var" for formal variable declaration; Vbscript uses "Dim", which must be on a separate line from the assignment.

Once defined, variables can be used to replace constant numbers, such as one or two. Variables can be changed at any time, (omit the "var" or "dim") or even incremented. (variablename=variablename+1, or variablename+=1 for short) This makes them very useful for keeping track of data. They can also usually be assigned to user-inputed data, which is good for user interaction.

Logical operators, such as the If command, are also very important in coding. They decide which course of action a program should take, depending on what values certain variables have, whether an expression evaluates to true, or what a user inputs into a prompt.

In Javascript, If statements look like this:
if(equation)
{
code
}
else
{
code
}

Note the else - it is not required, but is very useful. It basically operates if the equation evaluates to false. If it evaluates to true, the stuff inside the first bracket operates.

In VBScript, it looks like this:

If equation Then
Code
Else
Code
End If

Note that VBScript uses a more word-based syntax, whereas Javascript uses brackets more.

Sorry I'm packing so much into here, but there are also "built in" functions in most programming languages. VBScript, for example, has a MsgBox function that lets you show a message to the user. It also has InputBox that lets you get input from the user.

So, in VBScript, for instance...

Dim name

name = LCase(InputBox("What's your name?", "Enter data plz"))

if name = "" Then
MsgBox "You have to enter something stupid!", 16, "Title"
Else
MsgBox "Welcome "+name+"!", 16, "Title"
End If

This simple program will prompt the user for his/her name, then display the message "Welcome name!" or, if the user left the box blank, tell the user that he/she was supposed to input something.

Stuff I didn't previously discuss:

LCase() - a function that takes a string and returns it in all lowercase

MsgBox Text, Number, Title - a function that says stuff to the user. The first argument is a string, the second is a specific number to set the buttons, (I can't remember all of them right now lol) and the third is the title of the pop-up window.

+ - this is addition. It can also be used to combine strings. Thus, "Meat"+"ball" = "Meatball".

Um, sorry this is so complex - I'm not very good at explaining stuff. If you have any questions feel free to ask. o_o Sorry for no Javascript example as well, but I mainly just know how to use it combined with HTML.

EDIT: Forgot the second argument in InputBox in the example. You can try out the VBScript example by pasting it into notepad, saving it with the .vbs extension, then right-clicking the file and clicking run. It should work unless I screwed something up.

EDIT2: Fixed the example again. @_@ I really stink at teaching stuff.

don't college students live in their campus?

You probably should start a thread, since you sound like you know what you're doing, and your art is pretty good. I would do the same thing, except I don't have a scanner. (yet) Also, my mouse drawings are kinda shaky, so I like to use vectors to go over the picture once it's on the computer, but that takes forever. So I'll probably try to freehand the next one I scan, or else just try to enhance the image. Sadly, I always draw on lined paper, so that pretty much forces me to go over the lines on the computer.

Also... you're going into college at 17? Or are you turning 18 soon? My brother is going to go into college early too, since he got moved up a grade a long time ago.

I'm still a few years from college, so hopefully I'll be a better artist by then.

I could probably teach you some stuff about computers, though it would probably be a good idea to try to find a place to start. I'll try to get some basic information for you... I'm also fairly skilled at programming considering that I taught myself, and I'm only 15. I can code in HTML, CSS, Javascript, VBscript, and Game Maker. (though that's basically Javascript with different built-in functions.) The C family is essentially identical to Javascript only with extended functionality, so I could probably start coding in that fairly easily once I get the software suite, and Visual Basic is essentially identical to VBScript, so the same goes for that.

yeah?
wow that must really suck. for us sixth graders here, school starts on september ninth.

ah, missed that.

Well, if you have enough time on your hands to update regularly, then go for it.

hi

Oh my gosh, I just realized how many emoticons I used in that last post.... hehe... sorry.

Eesh, I want a tablet too. =( And yesh, I do know something about computers, although my expertise is currently mainly on the software side of things rather than hardware. =(

I think I'll invest in Photoshop when I'm older, but for now I'm using Paint Shop Pro Studio. The Studio version is basically like Photoshop Elements - it's limited, but cheaper. -_- The version I have is also kinda outdated, but it's certainly better than paint. xD I have to use Gimp for the airbrush though. =(

Mouse-drawing is fun, but it's so time-consuming... hrm... I really want a scanner / a tablet. >_> Currently, a scanner would be easier since we already have one - we just need to hook it up to the network and stuff.

Limes>Lemons, but I like lemons... so I MUST EAT THEM lol.

Indeed. =P Sorry I haven't been very active lately.... I've been busy with football and school about to start and all that. =( I'm also working on executing my evil plan of doom to fix my computer situation. First, I need to beg my dad incessantly until he helps me set up a scanner, and then I need to get him to fix my sound. Then I can take over the world with my evil artistic insanity. MWAHAHA.

Well.... so that's what's going on with me. I have a break on football today. =) About time... So how have you been?