When you actually write code, you probably won't have to write all of the words I define here. But you do need to know them.
Call = Request a thing. This one gets slept on so much despite being used literally everywhere. Somebody says "call this function" instead of "write the function name" and suddenly it becomes gibberish.
Integer = Whole Number. (1, 2, 3, 4, etc) so any regular number.
Float = Decimal/fraction (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, etc)
Boolean = True or False (not sure why this one is so overcomplicated ngl)
Operand/Operator = Math. Plus, Minus, Divide by, Multiply, etc. The actual math symbols.
Function = A word that you define by writing a block of code that does something. You can use that to call one code block many times instead of writing it again for every situation.
```
Function pController()
//write code to move player
EndFunction
```
Loop = A running program. The loop is where code is executed. You can have many loops, and you can jump between loops. This is where you put code that will always run while the program is running. See Twiddling with Basic.
Variable = A word that you define and can call later.
```
var pHealth = 100
int pHealth = 100
float pHealth = 100.0
bool pHealth = True/False
```
Array = A variable with many definitions.
Or, as the overcomplicators say: A variable with multiple values.
All this really means is you can assign a single variable to multiple things. Say you have a player inventory in an RPG. You could store a list of item names in an array with a single call like ```pWeapons```.
```
str pWeapons[10] {
item.pWeapons[1] = "sword"
item.pWeapons[2] = "shield"
item.pWeapons[3] = "armor"
}; return()
```
Most languages have different things going on. Handlers, header files, namespaces, classes, libraries, etc. But the principals above apply to literally all code. You'll always have math. You'll always have variables. You'll always have loops. You'll always have functions.
These are the principals I considered to be the most important on my personal journey to learn game programming. And you know what? It didn't take two years of computer science to get there. I only spent about 3 days in total to learn these things and how they worked. Once I knew what something did, I used each thing a few times to learn about how they worked.
Don't take that the wrong way. Compsci is a good thing. A good education in compsci will land you a stellar job in some deeper programming position. But do you really need to know all of the fluff just to make a video game? No, not really. Mechanics don't need to know how to manufacture a tire, they just need to know how to air it up and change it. I'm not writing a lifesaving medical machine program or some airliner autopilot software. I'm writing trivial video games. Quite possibly the least important form of programming, so why it's become so overcomplicated I will never understand.