How should I be a brilliant student in programming?
1.Decide why you want to become a good programmer: Is it because you want a job, preferably in a high paying software firm? Great. Then you are set to reach NOWHERE. All good programmers I know are good because they loved what they did. Develop interest in programming. See, programming is the only branch in engineering where you can straightway apply what you learn. Your dad may have a car but he certainly wont allow you to tweak the V2 or swap it for a v6 just to see what happens. But with computers you can do whatever you want. You want to simulate a virus? Cool. Install a virtual OS and run it. Then, when you are done, remove the virtual hard disk. If you are good at what you do, you will get paid and surely get that dream job. Yes, even I want to work in a big software company. But thats not because of the fat paycheck. Its because of the work they do. Because of the exposure I will have. Have you ever bothered to find out what all these companies do and the enabling technologies...