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Ask HN: How did you learn coding

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Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#51

Post by alex_wang »

I roughly browsed most of the comments and noticed that most people who taught themselves programming started earlier than their 20s, which, frankly speaking, surprised me a lot.

I started learning programming when I was in college, which wasn't some serious learning but merely required courses of my major. After I got my bachelor in engineering. I continued to study in a research institute and got a master degree in geosciences. Later on, I started to teach English the moment I graduated.

Right in the beginning of this year, I realized that teaching bored me to death. I still wanted to do something technical. So, I began teaching myself coding in Objective-C. Three month later, I became an iOS programmer.

I don't think I am particularly smart or anything. But, when I worked with people who had one or two more years of programming experience than me (I only I had six month or so doing real programming), their code was just fucking too messy: no comments, using pinyin to spell variables, having no idea what MVC is ...

All I thought was guys you should really take this seriously. Or, you'd better consider doing something that's your strong suit.

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#52

Post by alex_wang »

I roughly browsed most of the comments and noticed that most people who taught themselves programming started earlier than their 20s, which, frankly speaking, surprised me a lot.

I started learning programming when I was in college, which wasn't some serious learning but merely required courses of my major. After I got my bachelor in engineering. I continued to study in a research institute and got a master degree in geosciences. Later on, I started to teach English the moment I graduated.

Right in the beginning of this year, I realized that teaching bored me to death. I still wanted to do something technical. So, I began teaching myself coding in Objective-C. Three month later, I became an iOS programmer.

I don't think I am particularly smart or anything. But, when I worked with people who had one or two more years of programming experience than me (I only I had six month or so doing real programming), their code was just fucking too messy: no comments, using pinyin to spell variables, having no idea what MVC is ...

All I thought was guys you should really take this seriously. Or, you'd better consider doing something that's your strong suit.

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#53

Post by e19293001 »

This book[0] enlightened me in a lot of ways. Check out the book review, I would testify that almost of what the reviewers said are true.

By reading this book, I've developed my skills in programming with C/C++, assembly language and also learning computer architecture all at the same time. This book contains lots of low level stuffs like designing a cpu core, translate a C++ program to assembly, write an assembler, and many more. The explanation starts with a very simple concepts like translating y = x + 1; to assembly language equivalent until translating an object oriented code to its equivalent assembly language code. It has been a lot of fun learning the relationship of cpu, operating system and the compiler. The exercises are easy enough and had really sharpen my skills. Although the target machine is theoretical, I was able to switch easily into the real machine.

[0] - https://www.amazon.com/Assembly-Language-Computer-Architectu...

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#55

Post by veddox »

In tenth grade in high school Java programming came up in IT class. Unfortunately, our teacher didn't have much of a clue herself... However, programming was something I'd been wanting to learn for a long time, so I downloaded all the example source code from the school system, borrowed a couple of books from our local library and dug in. Using that, I taught myself Java over the next year, then moved on to other languages.

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#56

Post by dorfuss »

I was 13 when learned HTML by reading source code, playing, and a very good tutorial (no longer around), then CSS. I tried different languages, C++ with Borland compiler, but I could not understand how the basic syntax can be translated into a game - this is what I really wanted to do. I wanted graphics. JavaScript did not make sense at all, I found it too complicated, I did not understand the difference between client and server.

Then I learned PHP to run a website of our school class, I used PHP to automatically generate a gallery of pictures located in a folder. Saved me tens of hours of time.

Then I started playing with Flash and ActionScript and I was shocked to discover that different shapes - triangles, circles and rectangels are objects that share methods (resize, fill colour etc.) and that was the Object Oriented revelation.

Years passed. I got a job in IT where I had to learn the internal scripting language and do a lot of SQL - so I've learned that. The product did not allow you to do certain things and they had to be "hard hacked" in JavaScript, so I had to learn that, and I realised it's no longer difficult. I learned C++ finally when for a short time I enrolled into University (software engineering). Then I got a new job where the product was made in Java and in order to make any extensions they had to be coded in Java, so I learned Java (Head First Java). In the process I realised what are the unit tests and how to first write a test and then your object. Somewhere along the way I learned about Design Patterns, but I cannot say I really can use them effectively. I also learned C.

I no longer work in IT, coding is just a weekend hobby.

Now what I still have to learn is to make bigger things that would make sense for others, both in therms of usability and code readibility (I write heinous-ugly code). I am ignorant of MVC model. I don't know much about linux administration or scalability and functional paradigm. I hate myself for not knowing math beyond highschool level.

Still a long long way to go :)

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#57

Post by bananicorn »

I made my first attempts at coding at around 13-14, maybe sooner, when trying to change config file of the game clonk planet[0], but quickly gave up on changing anything significant. Didn't really touch another line of code for several years, it wasn't even in my focus, when I began reading XKCD and thought to myself - maybe LISP is for me... At that time I was around 18, and didn't even make the whole tutorial (the one provided by DrRacket) - it did introduce me to some general programming concepts though, which would prove helpful later on. It didn't help that I didn't visit the right school for it - there I learned mostly languages and didn't pay attention in Maths, which proved to be a really stupid move. In the year after my "Matura" exam which is probably the italian high school diploma (I might be mistaken), I frequented a year-long course on web development - in the End we should have been able to call ourselves "Webmasters". There we were taught the very basics of html and css in two weeks and javascript in another two-week block, as well as some tinkering with our own virtual server writing simple bash scripts and generally trying out Debian.

Now I'm in a secure but not very well-paid job as webdeveloper, where I have to code in classic ASP and mostly just do boring-as-hell copy-paste work.

[0]http://www.clonk.de/

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#58

Post by endswapper »

I'm posting because I appear to be in the minority here.

I started at about 34 and I taught myself.

Having an objective kept me coding. I am building something that has a specific business need where I have significant domain experience.

Additionally, I was surprised to find out how much I enjoy programming and learning new languages. That too will keep you going.

Re: Ask HN: How did you learn coding

#59

Post by stickerboy »

I think I was about 13 or 14, my dad had been saying to me for a while that I should start learning HTML. He was fascinated at the introduction of Java around that time. So one day he came home and launched a 2 inch thick HTML book at me, thus my introduction to programming. Started off mostly in simple web development, moved on to PHP when I found phpBB and started fixing broken forums (well, mostly ones that I broke haha) and creating mods. I worked for them for a while on their styles and moderation teams.

I spent a year at college learning C++, was supposed to be a 2 year course but they changed the framework and kicked everyone off the last year. Didn't go back to uni until a few years later and studied Web Systems - learning ASP.net, C#, more PHP, working with SQLite, a little bit of Java and Direct X and more general web dev stuff (built a custom PHP framework with a classmate).

Most of the stuff I've done has been self taught - web docs and stack overflow :) Over the past few years I've moved more into PHP again (customising WordPress plugins and themes), tinkering with Ruby a little (building an IRC bot and using it to solve puzzles), working with SharePoint 2013, Workflows and InfoPath forms. Hoping to get back to C# a bit more over the next year.

Like most, this used to be a hobby. Crazy that I've managed to make a career out of it

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