Why're you making it free?
Because why not?
Lol, come on, reveal. You taught so many students. Why suddenly turn off the revenue?
(I'm not an entirely uninterested observer: http://akkartik.name/post/mu)
Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
71–80 of 139 posts
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#72I'm looking for courses that seem to be the opposite of this... no language or programming at all, but instead looking at the process of breaking down problems. We've hired several devs out of bootcamp, and they're all taught how to code, but not how to solve problems using code... Anyone have material that might be good for this? Books, videos, courses?
I have three recommendations: Think Python : http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/ Polya's How to Solve It : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It Udacity's Design of Computer Programs : https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-computer-programs--...
Thank you so much for posting these links. I started reading How to Solve It and am a few pages in, and am so happy to have found this book. This is the value that I find here at HN that keeps me coming back every day. The new tools and new technologies, and the interesting tech news are all very interesting, but none as valuable as the gems that people leave in comments for others to discover, thereby enriching their lives.
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#73I'm looking for courses that seem to be the opposite of this... no language or programming at all, but instead looking at the process of breaking down problems. We've hired several devs out of bootcamp, and they're all taught how to code, but not how to solve problems using code... Anyone have material that might be good for this? Books, videos, courses?
I have three recommendations: Think Python : http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/ Polya's How to Solve It : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It Udacity's Design of Computer Programs : https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-computer-programs--...
there's also Clean Coders: https://cleancoders.com/videos/programming-101
these videos are quirky (!) for sure, but filled with some real gems and a depth of perspective that's rarely found in other online courses.
the link goes to a free video intended as an intro to the aspiring programmer.
I'm posting this only because I've seen several of these videos and think they've got something special.
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Put the newbie gumshoes to work by tracking down simple bugs and designing simple patches to fix them. They need to be able to read other people's code to decipher and debug the coding style they are seeing before they are allowed to build any new module themselves. They need to understand other styles so they can form their own. They should be able to detect any code "smells" and reason with pros/cons why their impl…
I'm hoping there's a way to teach them problem solving BEFORE they learn to code... I feel like it should be a prerequisite to enrolling in the bootcamp. I don't remember how I learned it, but it certainly wasn't reading other people's code at my first job.
Some people can be taught to write code, however far fewer can be taught to or have the natural ability to problem solve. This is the 'art' aspect behind software development that I feel the 'teach everyone to code' approach overlooks. With any creative field there is a huge amount of 'prior art' that exists and that is also constantly evolving, and the more of this you are at least aware of or - better still - capable of reproducing, the better you will be able to express yourself / problem solve with software.
I hope I am not alone in feeling that looking at the code of a well-engineered and well-structured project can be quite the artistic-appreciation experience, and that this experience always leaves you with some piece of knowledge and understanding you didn't have beforehand.
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#75I'm looking for courses that seem to be the opposite of this... no language or programming at all, but instead looking at the process of breaking down problems. We've hired several devs out of bootcamp, and they're all taught how to code, but not how to solve problems using code... Anyone have material that might be good for this? Books, videos, courses?
Put the newbie gumshoes to work by tracking down simple bugs and designing simple patches to fix them. They need to be able to read other people's code to decipher and debug the coding style they are seeing before they are allowed to build any new module themselves. They need to understand other styles so they can form their own. They should be able to detect any code "smells" and reason with pros/cons why their impl…
>> They need to be able to read other people's code to decipher and debug the coding style they are seeing
>> They need to understand other styles so they can form their own
After 15 years of working professionally, I kindly have to disagree to a fair extent. It turns out that most - if not all - developers are not very good at writing clean code. Including (especially?) seniors who think they write the best code on their team. The code you're having the juniors dig through to tweak/maintain is probably terrible code that should not be used as a shining example of anything good. They're more likely to pick up someone else's bad habits than learn something useful.
It took me a very, very long time to realize that it's simply a matter of fact that no two developers think alike, and that any set of developers could argue all day as to why each other's code is ugly, unmaintainable, etc. There are extremely few instances where one implementation of any problem is "better" or "worse" than another - we simply think differently. My code will always be "smelly" to you, and your code will always be "smelly" to me.
Junior developers must be permitted to write new code from scratch. Whether it hits production as-is, or goes through weeks of refactoring, it's a must. No developer ever improved by only reading and maintaining other people's code. I have never met a developer who feels at home maintaining someone else's rushed garbage. And 80%+ of the code we write is rushed garbage to attain the 3 week mandatory deadline handed down by management even though we told them it would take 3 months.
There is a finite amount you can learn by reading other people's code. You might find specific idioms you admire and adopt, but you will not - and probably should not - try to conform to other developers' methods.
Not to mention, forcing new recruits to deal with everyone's legacy garbage is a surefire way to turn them off the industry before they've even begun. Let them code a small new feature; then sit down and find out what they did well and what needs improvement; truly tangible issues, not the typical "that's not how it's done" - which really only means "that's not how I would have done it".
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#76Why Choose Ruby for a beginner. Why not JS and NODE EXPRESS or PHP that would have made this more simple for people who are new to programming and looking to get a job.
What makes you think JS or PHP are "more simple" for that audience? There are plenty of Ruby jobs out there, and it's an elegant and well-designed language that's got a mature framework. Especially crucial for relative beginners: it doesn't have the flavor-of-the-week problem that JS does, nor is its most prominent example a legacy mess, as Wordpress is for PHP.
all most all of the web is written in PHP, a beginner can't understand how everything fits together by learning Ruby. With php you can literally insert it into HTML. For me is all about the big picture, Plus I think there are more jobs in PHP than Ruby
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#77Roben, I'm actually disappointed to find out that you've made this course free. It seems the folk on reddit gave you a nasty bit of pressure? Well, i don't see how you're going to be able to maintain this project(100's of hours of videos) without earning anything for it. Quality is bound to decrease in the long run. I believe you should stick with your previous model(Free for a month or two, subscribe when its useful…
not a lot of people have money to just pay for everything on top of daily living bills. Less people would use it if it involved money.
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Put the newbie gumshoes to work by tracking down simple bugs and designing simple patches to fix them. They need to be able to read other people's code to decipher and debug the coding style they are seeing before they are allowed to build any new module themselves. They need to understand other styles so they can form their own. They should be able to detect any code "smells" and reason with pros/cons why their impl…
>> They need to be able to read other people's code to decipher and debug the coding style they are seeing >> They need to understand other styles so they can form their own After 15 years of working professionally, I kindly have to disagree to a fair extent. It turns out that most - if not all - developers are not very good at writing clean code. Including (especially?) seniors who think they write the best code on…
>> It took me a very, very long time to realize that it's simply a matter of fact that no two developers think alike, . .
I was part of ThoughtWorks interview process sometime back. In one of the rounds called Pair Programming, a senior developer worked with me on the given problem statement. I arrived at right solution, but he wasn't happy with the solution just because he didn't like the way I solved it. I came back and discussed the same solution with another senior developer and he liked the approach. However ThoughtWorks rejected me in the interview process.
I often wonder how pair programming is good (or even bad) in this context. How they can assume or think that two programmers going to solve the problem in "same" (or even ThoughtWorks "expected") way!
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#79Looking same kind of tutorial for PHP . BTW may i know which tool you have used for screen recording thanks
would be nice to find something like this for PHP
Re: Show HN: Learn to Code for Free
#80I'm guessing this course isn't aimed at people who's new to Web development? how are we suppose to know some of those rail commands? like generate scaffold blog posts?