Programming skills are more in demand than they ever have been with the increase of software for mobile devices, websites, and computers, now might just be the best time to learn. But learning how to write code is hard right? Wrong! With so many free resources out there that hold your hand through the process, getting started is not hard at all.
Alright, I want to code, where do I start?
There are many sites out there that gamify the learning process such as Codeacademy and Codeschool. These sites try to make it fun to learn and do a good job doing it. Now, the question is what language do you learn? That depends on what you want to do. For Android you may want to learn Java, for iOS Swift or Objective-C, web development HTML, Javascript and CSS, and so on. Do some research and just dive in!
I completed a course, I know how to program now right?
Wrong! You’ve just gotten your feet wet with the beginning of whichever language you picked and you have no idea what else there is out there. The next process would be to go to Udacity or Coursera and take a course about the specific language you chose. These courses go in depth about the language and explain why you did some of the things you did on Codeacademy or Codeschool. Most courses are free, try one out.
I’ve taken a course, so I definitely know how to program now, right?
Wrong again! At this point you know a decent amount about the language you chose, but that’s not quite enough, you need some actual experience. Find something that you’re interested in, something that makes you say “I wish there was something out there that did this.” and just do it and release it to the world. You’ve got some knowlege of how to write code, this is where you use it, developing useful things. By releasing it to the world you’ll receive feedback you can learn from.
During this process you’ll encounter A LOT of issues ranging from syntax and compiling issues to theoretical “can I do this?” issues. That’s okay, everyone does. But there’s something for that too, StackOverflow . StackOverflow is a community where programmers (like yourself) ask and answer questions. Sign up for an account and ask away (if you search and can’t find the answer to your question already on the site. In addition, there’s also Google, search for your issue, chances are someone else has already run into that issue.
I’ve finished my first project, there’s no way you can tell me I don’t know how to write code
Wrong! Okay I’m kidding, congratulations you’re officially a programmer! Now that you’re a programmer I’ll let you in on a little secret:
Usually writing the code for a program isn’t hard, the hard part is developing something useful or fun for someone else to use. Programming isn’t as fun when you keep your everything to yourself.
Let me know in the comments below what you thought about this guide and feel free to give suggestions on what I should cover next.
ODP out!