Why is Rigidbody first?

I'm going through the documentation and trying to learn everything I can, while also compiling scripts and names in a big file to use as my custom reference. in this code

void Start () {
Rigidbody rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();

// Add a force to the Rigidbody.
rb.AddForce(Vector3.up * 10f); }

Why is Rigidbody mentioned before "rb"? I get that rb becomes the variable we call up later to add force to the object it's attached to and that the component it modifies/affects is rigidbody as stated after getcomponent, but why is it stated before rb as well?

P.s. sorry if this is the wrong section of the forums to post under, if it is let me know where I should have asked this and I'll post there in the future.

 

Rigidbody rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();

This in English is saying "The type of Rigidbody will be used for the new variable called rb. This variable will then be given the result of the GetComponent command. This command looks for a component of the type of Rigidbody and returns a reference (where to look for it) which rb then holds".

Let's break it down:

Rigidbody rb is declaring a new variable called rb which is a type of Rigidbody. We could call it clowntron if we wanted:

Rigibody clowntron = null; //this is a clowntron which can only be a Rigidbody, but currently it's null.

Basically? learn C# first. It will make sense then.


int a = 10;

'a' can only be an integer from now on.

float poo = 23.4;

'poo' can only be a floating point number from now on.

There's so much for you to learn but your biggest problem right now is learning C# not Unity. Because that would have answered what Types are and why they are important.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/types/

(Rigidbody is a Custom Type) if reading that page... a custom type that Unity created for handling Rigidbody.

 

Ah, all right I assumed the tutorials and documentation would basically teach that. Any recommendations for documentation or tutorials to learn c#?

Thanks for the help

 

Tuts and docs do teach a lot but I think they might miss some fundamentals. Perhaps someone can recommend some nice online resources? (I can't because I taught myself a few decades ago so I've sort of just meandered along - learning to program once is sufficient to quickly migrate to new languages)..

@LaneFox

 

Right I sort of want self-teaching documentation, more of a "This is X and X does Y because Z" rather than "Do X then Y then Z and you have a calculator!" it's how I learned HTML like ten years ago. Though the difference is extreme, HTML hardly counts as coding as everyone keeps telling me

 

It's not up to engine documentation to teach C# though - the docs for Unity are more of the reference variety, where you look up relevant information (as opposed to having every word in every sentence link to some sort of definition). ANY good C# basics book/tutorial will get you started, but there's now a decent chunk of such information provided by UT themselves.

I see plenty of fundamentals in the Learn section on this site. Here's one on variables:
https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/scripting/variables-and-functions?playlist=17117

But the primary two sources for C# information, basics, reference and tricks are Microsoft's own site and Dot Net Perls.
(Yes, their spelling is questionable.)

Scripting in Unity is really three parts: C#, the language has its own set of things you need to learn. Then there's the .NET API, which Unity uses most of up to a certain version. Then there's the Unity API, which follows a slightly different style at times (and is further divided into client side and editor APIs).

It's a vast amount of information to digest, but if you have those few sources open you should be able to figure out just about any language/API issue. Graphics/game programming techniques are really the advanced tutorials relative to this. All language/API learning can be considered basic to intermediate (LINQ might be the hardest to wrap your head around if unfamiliar with the concepts).

Also: A calculator can't be done in HTML. It's impossible as far as I know. Show me the markup if you know different

 

Oh no I meant for learning c# the teaching method. it can't be done with html, maybe with html5 heck if I know the difference and for sure with javascript. Thanks for the help

 

Not sure how I feel about this tag

 

Desirable? Haunted?

 

Both, of course.

Javascript in Unity is really UnityScript and it's being removed. So its a good idea to only learn C# or just use visual scripting as a future in Unity.