Best Resources For Coding?

[mikecarlooch]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

 

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[basedzoomer]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

Are you new to programming?

Why do you want to learn to code? What's your end goal?

General advice:-

Just create small programs. If you run into a problem, try to find a solution yourself or use the internet.

Don't read books if you don't plan to make programs using said language.

 

[mikecarlooch]

Are you new to programming?

Why do you want to learn to code? What's your end goal?

General advice:-

Just create small programs. If you run into a problem, try to find a solution yourself or use the internet.

Don't read books if you don't plan to make programs using said language.

Hey man, because I realized the power of understanding how to create unique software as upsells for my business.

How do you start creating small programs? What language is the best for beginners?

 

[basedzoomer]

Hey man, because I realized the power of understanding how to create unique software as upsells for my business.

How do you start creating small programs? What language is the best for beginners?

Examples of some small programs: Calculator, Web Scraper, Automatic Web Form filler & submitter etc.

Creating these simple programs by yourself will help you learn concepts of whichever language you choose.

You can be a beginner in any language. Do an internet search for which language would be best for what you want to make.

 

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[Gregory Carson]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

If you are after actually learning to code ... meaning you use a compiler to produce executables ... be sure to start with an actual programming language. 40+ years ago I started with Fortran and Cobol. Today us older code cutters would say start with something widely used and available like C. There are many books on most any programming languages ... the Dummies series is an inexpensive good starting point to self teach ... you will want other books after that one, but let your initial experience be a guide and ask other code cutters what they have on their shelves (I have a couple from the O'Reilly series for C and a couple of other languages).

 

[SEBASTlAN]

Codecademy

 

[OverByte]

Languages are suited for different purposes. Someone mentioned c which is a good choice if you are building embedded applications or something where performance is paramount (like games/graphics). C would be a poor choice for a web based application (and I would argue most other applications).

I would agree with @Gregory Carson that if your goal is to **learn** solid programming skills it may be helpful to start with a compiled strongly typed language (java, c, c#) opposed to an interpreted dynamic language like python, ruby, js. The reason being the confines and guardrails of a compiled language will likely teach you how to write more maintainable, testable and performant code. Whereas you can get away with a lot of bad practices with some of the other languages. I would probably recommend c# or java over c/c++ however as they have more modern features. This is a longer road if your goal is to build web apps or something (since you'd want to learn a different language for that).

@basedzoomer gave good advice. Get started with something basic and learn as you go. If you have 0 experience start with a tutorial or something.

An important thing that gets missed with modern software development is that there is much more to learn than just a language. For any non trivial software you'll need to understand frameworks, architecture, UX, database design, testing and a lot of other aspects. **So before getting started ask yourself if you're in it for long haul. If not then just hire a software company.**

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Codecademy

Thanks!

Examples of some small programs: Calculator, Web Scraper, Automatic Web Form filler & submitter etc.

Creating these simple programs by yourself will help you learn concepts of whichever language you choose.

You can be a beginner in any language. Do an internet search for which language would be best for what you want to make.

I will look into these.. thank You!

 

[mikecarlooch]

Languages are suited for different purposes. Someone mentioned c which is a good choice if you are building embedded applications or something where performance is paramount (like games/graphics). C would be a poor choice for a web based application (and I would argue most other applications).

I would agree with @Gregory Carson that if your goal is to **learn** solid programming skills it may be helpful to start with a compiled strongly typed language (java, c, c#) opposed to an interpreted dynamic language like python, ruby, js. The reason being the confines and guardrails of a compiled language will likely teach you how to write more maintainable, testable and performant code. Whereas you can get away with a lot of bad practices with some of the other languages. I would probably recommend c# or java over c/c++ however as they have more modern features. This is a longer road if your goal is to build web apps or something (since you'd want to learn a different language for that).

@basedzoomer gave good advice. Get started with something basic and learn as you go. If you have 0 experience start with a tutorial or something.

An important thing that gets missed with modern software development is that there is much more to learn than just a language. For any non trivial software you'll need to understand frameworks, architecture, UX, database design, testing and a lot of other aspects. **So before getting started ask yourself if you're in it for long haul. If not then just hire a software company.**

Very helpful.. Thanks

 

[Dr_Kdub28]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

I've dabbled in learning code. Mostly through free and paid courses.

Here's some links to free resources:
1. W3Schools Free Online Web Tutorials - Go here for free exercises on most known languages, They're pretty easy to follow along.
2. Learn to Code — For Free — Coding Courses for Busy People - Another place for free exercises. You wont have to download an IDE or notepad. You can run the code straight from the site.
3. https://codepen.io/trending - If you don't use a an IDE, visual studios, etc.. you can go here to work on code

These are just some starters if you want the basics. The best way to get better is to practice everyday and troubleshoot issues. Once you start to think like a coder/programmer it get's easier.

 

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[hexelbyte]

Hello!

I am actually a Software Developer that just got out of school back in December 2021.
(Fastlaners don't crucify me, I learned about fastlane during my last year of university, May 2021)

What I found to work really well for me was solving code problems on:
Codewars: Achieve mastery through coding challenge

When it comes to learning:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/

Here are some personal tips:
1. Learn to use github
2. Code your own project, what I mean is do not "learn" forever
3. Learn about data structures, coding is one thing, organizing it properly/efficiently is another
4. Use json, xml is trash.
5. I believe in fullstack (frontend and backend) over just doing one type. It allows you to understand how people (users) interact with software. Better insight.
6. IF you really need a paid course, Udemy is solid.

 

[asm-x]

Start with CS50 Harvard courses. Javascript or Phyton is the best language to start with.

 

[MexicanCreator48]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

I'm currently doing The Odin Project, which is the best course for programming I've ever taken so far, it teaches you a lot about HTML, CSS, Javascript (even the back-end if you choose) or Ruby (if you choose instead of JS). You do a lot of projects which are fun and might seem intimidating at first, but you'll get a good time and learn a lot while making these projects.

 

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[bracknelson]

Free Coding Websites & Course Platforms:

• Codecademy.
• freeCodeCamp.
• Coursera.
• edX.
• Codewars.
• Code Conquest.
• GA Dash.

 

[Rauschmi]

Hey guys, what is the first step someone should take to learn coding? I know there's a bunch of languages and stuff, are there any good resources/books you guys recommend? Thanks

Check out:

MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials

MIT OpenCourseWare is a web based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity

ocw.mit.edu

Plenty of free MIT courses on programming.

 

[lobo]

theodinproject.com has everything you need

 

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[Damien C]

I would come up with an end goal, whether it's a website with certain features, an app with certain features, or whatever it is, and work backwards to get an outcome.

Don't over learn and overload with the wrong information. Acquire specific information as you need it and apply it. Start small. One page, one button. Then two, then tabs, then styles, then making the buttons do something, then storing info in a database, sending emails, and so on, and so on.

The first project I was ever given was an intranet calendar that showed certain things on certain days. Basic, boring, but I was able to learn and add to it over time and eventually was running the whole site.

Get a good grasp on the basics before you start using Frameworks and Templates on top of bread and butter HTML,CSS,JS,Node. These are essential, but if you start with all this bloat it might overwhelm you.