The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

How do i learn how to code?

Andur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Mar 4, 2014
40
20
San Francisco
Last edited by a moderator:

Shades

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
103%
Apr 8, 2011
335
344
Figured id give my two cents since im currently learning...

The poster above me mentioned the deal Udemy had where you basically named your own price and got a number of tutorials. I paid $15 for the package.

My tip would be to not pay for any of these training sites. This is just speaking from my experience. The Udemy courses in that package are just not very good. I cant believe the prices they charge for them regularly. Id feel ripped off to pay $200 for one of them.

Ive found that the free resources are more than enough to learn what you need to know. Youtube is a good resource. It depends on how you learn best. CodeAcademy or w3schools.com may be good for you. I prefer learning through video tutorials. Start with HTML/CSS/HTML5. You'll need that base. And really thats the easiest stuff to learn.

Stackoverflow is a good place to ask question if you get stuck on something during a project.

Also, Dont get stuck in the learning phase. Because theres a ton to learn with coding. And really you will always have to learn new things. I've found sitting here learning code for hours a day isnt really all that productive. I think the better way to go about it is to just learn as you go. After you figure out how you can bring value to people, then you can start to think about how to get it done and how to design the site functions. From there you find out what you need to focus on to get the job done, Java...Ruby...HTML etc.. Learn as you form your site. Ask questions at forums when you get stuck.

You will need a text editor too. Ive been using Sublime Text 3 and find it to be pretty good so far. Many seem to like it. Notepad++ is another free option.
 

Andur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Mar 4, 2014
40
20
San Francisco
My tip would be to not pay for any of these training sites. This is just speaking from my experience. The Udemy courses in that package are just not very good. I cant believe the prices they charge for them regularly. Id feel ripped off to pay $200 for one of them.

I agree that full price (at least for the current course I'm taking) would not be worthwhile, but with access to basic tutorials for $15...that's quite a steal. I would personally love a better instructor, slicker and more streamlined learning experience (perhaps a free version exists?) but I don't mind the bog standard version for the bog standard price, so long as the content is still relevant and useful.
 

Shades

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
103%
Apr 8, 2011
335
344
I agree that full price (at least for the current course I'm taking) would not be worthwhile, but with access to basic tutorials for $15...that's quite a steal. I would personally love a better instructor, slicker and more streamlined learning experience (perhaps a free version exists?) but I don't mind the bog standard version for the bog standard price, so long as the content is still relevant and useful.

Yea it is hard to complain for $15. The HTML/CSS courses were a good refresher. I do regret the time I put into the "Become a developer from scratch" course. That guy is just a bad teacher IMO. Unprepared, some parts just didnt even make sense because of how hes teaching. Not much explanation for why things are done in certain ways. That course may set you off on the wrong foot.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Christian

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
Sep 10, 2013
8
8
Hey guys, my first post here. Just finish the book and it has definitely changed my life. I have great tech ideas but no programming skills. I don't want to outsource, this knowledge is important to me. So whats the best way to learn how to code to create websites? Thanks in advance.

Hello,
My first post here too!

Go to WWW.CODE.ORG -- lol please take note that I know absolutely nothing about coding but there was a cool video and I'm pretty sure Bill Gates has a big thing to do with this site (among others).

Hope it helps!
Christian
 

Andur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Mar 4, 2014
40
20
San Francisco
I do regret the time I put into the "Become a developer from scratch" course. That guy is just a bad teacher IMO. Unprepared, some parts just didnt even make sense because of how hes teaching. Not much explanation for why things are done in certain ways.

I agree with you there. He's a pretty shitty, uninspiring teacher. Every time he says "Run it in Chrome" I want to punch the computer screen :punch:

Saying that, it covers a ton and though education and tutorials have come a long way since my high school days, I can at least grin and bear it for now. I have zero knowledge in coding so I'm at least learning albeit in a less inspiring way. I just keep thinking of that $15....
 

Zulu

Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
132%
Mar 14, 2013
71
94
34
Kingston - DC - Everywhere in Between
Hey, when I wanted to start I found codecademy pretty easy to use. Just curious, why do you want to learn code?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

skekasaurus

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
83%
Feb 17, 2013
52
43
Texas
Here's my opinion...

Being a both programmer and an entrepreneur, I can see why one side may be "anti-learn to code" and the other side saying "You need to learn to code"

why do you want to learn code?
This is definitely a question you should think about and determine what exactly is your end goal. Do you want to learn so that you can build applications yourself? Will you want to do that for a long time? Are you wanting do the back-end side of things, maybe front-end, design user interfaces, all three? Or will you ultimately just want to know enough about programming so that you can manage other developers that you may end up hiring later down the road?

The reason it's important, is because I myself am a coder. However, there are only certain things I like doing and am actually good at. For example, I am proficient in .NET technologies and can do wonders when it comes to building the back-end side of things. If I wanted to, I could also build a UI easily with my coding skill. However, I'll admit I'm TERRIBLE at designing User Interfaces and hate doing it. So while I could do the UI myself, I would not enjoy doing the work and the quality would suffer because of it, plus there are probably a million other people who could do a better job than I and in less time as well.


Personally, I don't want to build applications forever unless they will be for my own personal use (I'm building my own custom automated trading system at the moment). With my existing knowledge of programming, I'd much prefer to get others brought in and do the grunt work for me. I can then use my knowledge to ensure that the developers are writing my applications in a way that it can scale and written using best programming practices (that way if need be I could bring in another developer and they would be able to pick up where the last developer left off).


Ultimately, your answer to the "why do you want to learn code?" will determine what path you should take and how much in depth you should learn about coding. If you want to learn to build an entire application from start to finish, learn as much as you can about programming in general. Otherwise if would rather run businesses and have developers working for you, I'd recommend learning programming basics (i.e. functions, classes, objects, etc.), programming best practices, and program design.


There is so much knowledge out there about programming and design that it's easy to get overwhelmed and forget about your businesses. Don't try to learn everything! I've had my own struggles with this, I used to think that I can do it all and better than anyone else. Fact of the matter is, while I probably could ;), it's not the wisest thing to do from a business stand point. I'd rather focus all my energy in finding needs, making products/services, marketing, serving the need, and finally PROVIDING VALUE!!!

When I was first starting out on my coding journey, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information out there about programming. Not only did I have to learn the various development technologies and what their purpose was (Wordpress, Ruby on Rails, .NET, etc.), I also had to learn the programming languages needed to start coding against a particular technology (PHP, HTML/CSS, Javascript, etc.).


For the absolute basics, I found www.w3schools.com to be an incredible resource. I still use it today when I need to brush up on PHP or Javascript. While there are a million other sites (some may even be better), it clearly explains programming concepts and also has their own "Try It Out" component so you can try the example code and modify it so that you can experiment with it. It's also a really good place if you're interested in learning about web development.

The best way I've found to learn to build applications, is to actually try to build it! Start small. My first application in .NET was a simple window that I type my name, click a button, and it would open a separate pop-up window that said "Hello, Jake". I knew nothing about .NET at the time, but when you have a goal and know what you're trying to accomplish, you can start to layout what steps you need to make the program do what you want. And if there's ever a step you don't know, you can just google it (i.e. "how to create a pop up window in VB", "how to read input from the user in .NET").


So again, why do you want to learn to code? If you have any other questions, feel free to ask or shoot me a PM.
 
Last edited:

JahvonCreamCone

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
52%
Nov 9, 2013
151
78
30
Queens, New York
Figured id give my two cents since im currently learning...

The poster above me mentioned the deal Udemy had where you basically named your own price and got a number of tutorials. I paid $15 for the package.

My tip would be to not pay for any of these training sites. This is just speaking from my experience. The Udemy courses in that package are just not very good. I cant believe the prices they charge for them regularly. Id feel ripped off to pay $200 for one of them.

Ive found that the free resources are more than enough to learn what you need to know. Youtube is a good resource. It depends on how you learn best. CodeAcademy or w3schools.com may be good for you. I prefer learning through video tutorials. Start with HTML/CSS/HTML5. You'll need that base. And really thats the easiest stuff to learn.

Stackoverflow is a good place to ask question if you get stuck on something during a project.

Also, Dont get stuck in the learning phase. Because theres a ton to learn with coding. And really you will always have to learn new things. I've found sitting here learning code for hours a day isnt really all that productive. I think the better way to go about it is to just learn as you go. After you figure out how you can bring value to people, then you can start to think about how to get it done and how to design the site functions. From there you find out what you need to focus on to get the job done, Java...Ruby...HTML etc.. Learn as you form your site. Ask questions at forums when you get stuck.

You will need a text editor too. Ive been using Sublime Text 3 and find it to be pretty good so far. Many seem to like it. Notepad++ is another free option.
Thanks for the great advice, this will def be helpful.
 

JahvonCreamCone

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
52%
Nov 9, 2013
151
78
30
Queens, New York
Hey, when I wanted to start I found codecademy pretty easy to use. Just curious, why do you want to learn code?
My goal is to have several internet businesses in the future. That being said, i would seriously be limiting myself if i did't at least know the basics. If I learn enough to handle things on my own, I wont have to have little things be fixed by programmers. Say something on my website becomes buggy. I can just fix it on the spot.

I've been hearing good things about codeacademy, thank you.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
D

DeletedUser2

Guest
https://stacksocial.com/sales/the-name-your-own-price-learn-to-code-bundle


ok, look up the thread "learning to code is stupid"

I believe by health status.

Here is my experience and view

don't learn to code. its a commodity that can be bought and sold in the 3rd world for 3-6 bucks an hr.

learn to think
to sell
to do business in a dozen other ways.

why do I say this?
we run an online company that has Dozens of pages, lots of code, and lots of interfaces.

yet I can't write any code.

our sales a multiples of other startups,
we have done a huge growth curve in a short period of time.

zero coding skills.

we run a business. the website is just a medium through which we transact business. its a channel. far more efficient than in the past.
but still, its a business first.


coding. overrated. in the 6-18 months it will take you to learn to code. I can launch several businesses that do more than a million a month.

Where do you want to focus?
Z
 

Daniel A

DIESEL
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Jun 20, 2013
1,061
1,233
California, USA
coding. overrated. in the 6-18 months it will take you to learn to code. I can launch several businesses that do more than a million a month.
Where do you want to focus?
Z

Hmmm. Something to think about, but it seems like the answer comes quickly either way.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Mar 4, 2014
40
20
San Francisco
It's hard to dispute the advice of somebody like @zen*******!

My ongoing thoughts are that it's definitely not worth wasting time and energy on learning to code at the expense of taking action and actually creating your business. However, I do still believe that a basic competency in coding would be relatively useful. And since there are cheap, accessible ways to learn on the side, I don't see why one shouldn't pursue it.
 

Lawrence Barse

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
65%
Mar 8, 2014
49
32
Here's my recommendation,

Learning Web Development will involve 2 parts, the Front End and the Back End.

Front End is basically what the users see or interact with. So, you can start with learning HTML and CSS first. Once you are familiar with HTML and CSS, you can move on to learn Javascript and jQuery .

You can refer this book HTML and CSS for Beginners with HTML5 for learning HTML 5 and CSS
JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual for Javascript and jQuery.

Once you have a good handle over Front End technologies, you can move ahead to learn the Back End Technologies like PHP, MySQL.
You will require to learn Back End to take care of Data Bases, Dynamic Navigation's, Login and Session Maintenance etc
The video tutorials at lynda.com are very good for learning these technologies

All the very best!!!
 

Nur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
68%
Apr 4, 2014
142
96
Drop me a line with your knowledge about computers, web technology etc. and I'll help you getting in the "right" direction.
How long do u think does it take fir google's dart to mature? I don't wane learn rails or php

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Daniel A

DIESEL
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Jun 20, 2013
1,061
1,233
California, USA
Hour of Code™ by Khan Academy

===> https://www.khanacademy.org/hourofcode


Khan Academy recently made a FREE course on HTML/CSS. I was going through some of it last night when I couldn't sleep.

Khan Academy is top notch. They really know how to teach effectively.

There's Javascript and SQL too.

.
.

Edit: Code.org still has an hour of code program, but it looks like Khan Academy trademarked "Hour of Code."

===> https://www.khanacademy.org/hourofcode
 
Last edited:

ilrein

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
153%
Oct 1, 2012
390
597
32
Learning to code is valuable for a young adult; one can generate a respectable income through indentured time, prior to going fastlane, while learning skills to be an inventor.
 

tafy

Gold Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Aug 21, 2013
1,647
1,912
UK
Learning to code is valuable for a young adult; one can generate a respectable income through indentured time, prior to going fastlane, while learning skills to be an inventor.

If your younger than 21 then yes I would say learn to code, go 100% into learning it, work for others until your skill is good enough to go on your own.

If you older then its 100% outsource it to a good developer for $35 an hour, while your working your day job.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

nordien1978

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
131%
Apr 5, 2013
29
38
Learning HTML and CSS is not that difficult.
and then some backend like PHP and MySQL is doable if your focus that it is needed for your bussines.
These days the bar lowers and lowers.

I liked this video from TED talk learn anything within 20 hours.

hope it helps or motivates to take action to learn :)

Regards,
Nordien
 

Rinzler

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
98%
May 21, 2014
125
122
31
Northern California
After a few months of debating whether or not I should learn to code, and going through the "Learning to Code is Stupid" thread, I coincidentally came across Udacity.com, which has a load of great FREE courses, and a lot of them are geared towards computer programming. Right now I'm going through the Intro to HTML/CSS course and plan on doing the Javascript one next. Since I'm only 22, I figured now would be a good time.

I also finished the first course from CodeAvengers.com, which is another great learning platform. On CodeAvengers you choose what you want to learn, and write code as you learn! In less than a week I was able to grasp the basics of HTML and set up a page with working links and images.

Udacity is a great platform though, I've only been using it for a few weeks now and haven't made much progress with the course, since I'm also debating if it's productive. My best ideas fill needs and create value, but unfortunately they're apps or websites, and since I don't have thousands to spend on outsourcing, I'm currently learning the basics while I bootstrap funds so I can create an MVP.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Daniel A

DIESEL
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Jun 20, 2013
1,061
1,233
California, USA

AlterJoule

Busy Working.
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
205%
Aug 7, 2014
342
700
http://programming-motherfcker.com/become.html
 

chrischapman

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
129%
Aug 3, 2014
164
211
Sydney, Australia
Hi there,

I've just started learning to code too.

I've had a programmer friend recommend me something which I'm following at the moment. He said that you need to have some idea of what you will be coding before you really get set on a language to start with. He suggested HTML (basic web stuff, text) /CSS (mostly a design language)/Javascript (can do heaps). (what is in the brackets is from me, a beginner who doesn't really know the difference but, I think I'm correct hahaha)

You should probably consider what you will be programming and select a path from there. But, I think that the HTML/CSS/Javascript route initially is a pretty standard way to go about things.

My buddy specifically sent me this link below. It doesn't just teach you javascript, but because there are two paths given: beginner and experienced programmer, for the beginner learning path, he puts in some CSS and HTML too. Also some jQuery is taught. I have no idea what it is, but have heard that it's related to Javascript and is definitely worth learning if Javascript is going to be used.

http://javascriptissexy.com/how-to-learn-javascript-properly/

This course mainly utilizes:
1) Codecademy
2) Beginnning Javascript by Paul Wilton (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...s2&tag=interhaptic-20&linkId=DMQK6I7WC6V34B77)
3) Uses a couple of other little things but the two above mainly

Have a look at that link javascript is sexy website. I'm following this course and the only cost is the book which is like 30 aussie dollars.

This is really structured so your work is cut out for you. I'm tearing through it and it's great.

Cheers
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Ninjakid

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
217%
Jun 23, 2014
1,936
4,206
Buddy Guy Eh
My recommendation is that you spend more time ACTUALLY BUILDING PROGRAMS AND WEBPAGES than going through tutorials. The former will sharpen your skills, and even spark your creativity. Plus you will innovate and learn you skills on your own. Tutorials will get you the basics, which is great if you are an absolute beginner, but it won't make you an authority of your craft.
 

Nur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
68%
Apr 4, 2014
142
96
Drop me a line with your knowledge about computers, web technology etc. and I'll help you getting in the "right" direction.

I know get-apt

Stumble upon meteorjs

Understand little html,css very basic and learning JavaScript via codecademy but still feel very lost too much to swallow and afraid i might need to get a 4 year computer science degree for proper guidance and curriculum

What's your recommendation?
 

ilrein

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
153%
Oct 1, 2012
390
597
32
I know get-apt

Stumble upon meteorjs

Understand little html,css very basic and learning JavaScript via codecademy but still feel very lost too much to swallow and afraid i might need to get a 4 year computer science degree for proper guidance and curriculum

What's your recommendation?

Stick with it. MeteorJS is gonna be massive. It took me a year of grinding to really say I actually know what I'm doing. I also accelerated my growth by taking a 9 week coding bootcamp (F*ck university).

Your vision will evolve with your skill. Do the fundamentals first. Meteor might still be overwhelming without a strong grasp of the basics.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Nur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
68%
Apr 4, 2014
142
96
Stick with it. MeteorJS is gonna be massive. It took me a year of grinding to really say I actually know what I'm doing. I also accelerated my growth by taking a 9 week coding bootcamp (F*ck university).

Your vision will evolve with your skill. Do the fundamentals first. Meteor might still be overwhelming without a strong grasp of the basics.

I don't get it why do we need meteor when we have firebase + angularjs? Now support reactjs

Care to clarify if you understand backend?
 

ilrein

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
153%
Oct 1, 2012
390
597
32
I don't get it why do we need meteor when we have firebase + angularjs? Now support reactjs

Care to clarify if you understand backend?

Because you have to pay for firebase and learn angular.

Is there a point to you learning the differences between high level JS stacks? You're still too much of a beginner to be worried about such things.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top