Program Help

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Boxer302

New Member
I have an idea for a computer program and need some help.... i have no idea how to make it. So, if anybody is good with programming i would like to get some help.
 
That does not sound a very practical request. Most people that can write programs have plenty of ideas of their own to work on. Even simple programs may take hundreds of hours to write and debug. What sort of program are you trying to write? What previous programming experience do you have? It's impossible to even give pointers without some more information - no need to get into great detail at this stage.
 
What kind of program you want to create. We would like to read more information about your great idea :)
 
The program I want to create would be basicaly an idea processor. I plan to conduct around 100 interviews to get peoples info. For this i need their opinions, beliefs, idea of government, and rough estimate of expenses. After i recieve the information i would let the opinions be replicated and randomly scattered to fill a regions population. Say if you are running for President of the USA then you need to know what appeals to the people right? Well since the opinions are spread out, you can choose a certain region like california or choose the whole nation.

When the program first opens you will be greeted with a prompt asking you what your idea/speech/opinion is. Then the program will run the opinon by the population of whatever region you chose. After the program does that it will display the results in a chart showing what percentage of people like/dislike your idea/opinion/speech.

The only programming experience I have is years behind me; The other day i started getting a litle more interested in it and bascially I'm looking for a way to get into it and make this program.
 
Definitely not a new idea and it sounds a bit like a chain letter! There are so many companies and organizations that already do polls - some free, some partisan, some academic, some commercial, some governmental. These days you can find out roughly the information you need by posting a poll on the social media.

The pros take steps to ensure they get a representative sample that is statistically significant. Even 10,000 responses may not be very useful. An online poll for example only addresses those with internet access and the willingness to give away their particulars and a high opinion of their opinion! You need bodies on the ground with local knowledge to get truly useful information.

There is already software around for running polls online. This forum for example can run polls. If you check out the Photo competitions in this forum, you vote and a bar chart appears showing the voting results to date.

To do what you intend could involve:
web site design (basic html, scripting, buying existing software)
bulk mailing
data processing (could be done with Excel or Access etc)

If you were doing this in the basic languages like C or Vb starting from scratch, it would take forever to do.

I suggest you take a look at what is already available by Googling and browsing forums and social media. Step 1 of any project - market research.
 
It isn't a poll! The program would take peoples opinions and provide a prediction to an idea.

I planned making the program from scratch.
 
How do you intend to run it past the population of a region? How do you find these people? How do you get a truly representative opinion? How do you ask a farmer who never accesses the Internet and does not have a phone?

This is not a good project for the reasons I've stated and programming something from scratch without extended experience is impractical. I can't give any further advice that is printable! Feel free to post back in a few years with a "Na na, na na na" when you are the next "Twitter".
 
While those are really good points I could find a way around it. I live in an area that is full of a mixture of people. While I want this to be as accurate as possible is there not a margine of error in everything?
 
I don't know your final intention but getting accurate polls is a skilled business. You don't pick a few people and ask them questions. The questions have to be posed in a fashion that does not influence the interviewee. They have to be across a wide spectrum of people that are relevant to the subject. The results have to be statistically significant (in a mathematical analysis) to be of value to anyone. Do you know basic statistics (standard deviations, bell curves and all that)?

I can't help any further. You need to find out how to do accurate polls first before even considering any software. Your local poll you could easily document using Excel.
 
If you are serious about creating a program, which is a huge but not impossible task you should read up on the program development cycle which is the pathway used to do things properly. If you don't want to do it yourself you might have to get your wallet out because people tend to only help out if it appeals to their interests. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_development_cycle
 
Taking an idea or concept and turning it into a program that is useful is not as easy as it sounds. Understanding user habits and interface design or managing a programming project really takes a an understanding of consumer needs as well as programming. Not something that is easy for most people to just "do".
 
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