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Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

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Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#11

Post by greglockwood »

There is an identical ask thread to this that I just posted an answer to, so I will crosspost my answer from there:

If you want to do front end web dev, learn these languages in this order:

HTML - http://www.w3schools.com/html/ CSS - http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp Javascript - http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html

And then pick one of the following two: PHP - http://www.tuxradar.com/practicalphp or Rails - http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

There are many languages that you can learn for front end other than RoR and PHP, but they are two of the most popular right now, and will almost certainly suit your needs. Good luck, and stick with it when it gets frustrating, learning how to code is definitely worth it!

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#12

Post by mtran »

geoffw8 wrote: post #8

I'm absolutely in this boat at the moment, and I've covered a ton of ground. Lynda is great, railstutorial.org is fantastic as it covers pretty much all you need to know - testing, git, github, heroku etc. But I have to say, as others have said - you just have to get down and code. I've covered a lot material, but the moment you sit down to write a piece of code by yourself - the game changes. Its like a different di…

Thanks so much. I will check this out and share it w/other team members tonight! One of us is really strong w/database but does mainly govt' stuff which is all CF. Another is amazing w/UI and design, and my strength is project management- I'm great at translating and organizing what pp want into a format that makes developers happy. We're looking to fill the gap which is flexibility and skill in choosing and using the right language to get the job done.

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#13

Post by mtran »

emilepetrone wrote: post #9

I quit my job and learned to code over the last 8 months or so. The main thing- write code everyday. A little, a lot. Just start spinning that wheel. You'll learn a bit here and there. But the big advances come after a few weeks when you piece together the little concepts. I started with Python & Google App Engine. I would recommend this to anyone. You don't have to worry about the server and can just pay attention t…

We are taking a similar leap - totally changing gears and rearranging everything to go after it. Thanks so much for the resources; I'd love to stay in touch and will check out your profile. Do you know how long this stream will be saved? Will I need to archive it myself or will I be able to access it indefinitely? (<30 days on HN and learning every day!)

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#14

Post by mtran »

noahc wrote: post #3

1. Pick a Language 2. Find a beginners guide to said language. 3. Start building stuff. You need to start building stuff. The only time I've ever learned to code was when I was trying to build something. Reading books, taking algorithm classes, etc never did anything for me. Give me a real world problem and turn me loose. That's how I learn best, and I expect most people do too.

How do you pick a language? I've heard soooo many different perspectives on this. I just started fooling around w/Ruby because the tools were easy and fun to use... but since I'm just getting started I'm wide open for suggestions.

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#15

Post by mtran »

baberuth wrote: post #7

Pick a small project you want to work on, then start trying to make it real. Ask for help from people around you. People like helping other people, especially if 1. you make it easy for them, 2. you seem to be putting in a genuine effort. Tons of "Ask HN" posts on this topic have already been posted. The first step to showing people you're serious is to actually do your own research first. The post that got me starte…

So psyched to read this. I've been devouring HN for the last couple of weeks. It's great to be able to get the perspectives of both awesome developers and people who are or have been in a similar boat (just getting started). Thanks for taking the time to answer. I read a ton and have been collecting some awesome resources - my Evernote is filling up w/ amazing resources I'll be happy to share w/others when opportunities present. Thanks a million.

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#16

Post by mtran »

greglockwood wrote: post #11

There is an identical ask thread to this that I just posted an answer to, so I will crosspost my answer from there: If you want to do front end web dev, learn these languages in this order: HTML - http://www.w3schools.com/html/ CSS - http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp Javascript - http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html And then pick one of the following two: PHP - http://www.tuxradar.com/practicalphp or Ra…

I am on it! I'm getting enough here to keep me busy for quite a while! How can I find the other thread? I'm going to keep track of all of the people that help me out on this post so I can shoot you a note when I finally build something cool! Thanks so much for sharing these resources.

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#17

Post by mtran »

BenWGarton wrote: post #10

It's too bad you cant just do a complete submersion like with a foreign language.

Right? It's funny because I've used language programs to learn Italian, French, Spanish,and Vietnamese... just a bit of each and that's exactly what I have been thinking - about how Pimsleur would be great for this and Rosetta Stone would be great for that... I can definitely see traces of the same kind of teaching in TryRuby.Org

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#18

Post by mtran »

pstr wrote: post #4

I think the first step is to decide why you want to learn to code - do you want to persue a career in software engineering, or to build an MVP for your startup idea?

I want to be able to contribute to our start up by writing code even if it's not as the lead... and certainly to know enough to be an asset for other developers... and also to know what good code looks like. I think I need to figure out if I can be any good at it to know how far I'll take it. Some people say anyone can write code but other people say being "math minded" is critical, and that's daunting to me.

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#19

Post by mtran »

bricestacey wrote: post #5
mtran wrote: post #2

Loads of articles about non-technical founders needing to learn to code. Short of pursuing a CS degree, and after Tryruby.org and Codeschool.com, what do you recommend?

Since you're interested in Ruby, try learning rails. I suggest reading through Ruby Guides' Getting Started[1] and then going through the Rails Tutorial[2], where you make a Twitter clone. [1] Ruby Guides - http://guides.rubyonrails.org/ [2] Rails Tutorial - http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

Great! I'll check these out and share these with my teammates. Thanks for passing them on!

Re: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

#20

Post by mtran »

jrsmith1279 wrote: post #6
mtran wrote: post #2

Loads of articles about non-technical founders needing to learn to code. Short of pursuing a CS degree, and after Tryruby.org and Codeschool.com, what do you recommend?

Lynda.com has some good training. I'm finding their Ruby on Rails 3 Essential Training to be very easy to follow. I have been programming in PHP for the last 3 years, so I do have some experience with programming, but I think this training would be just fine for beginners as well. It is $25 a month for a basic account and you might find that a little high, but I think it's worth it for the amount of training that you…

I will check this out. I've been amazed at the affordability of available resources and think $25 a month is very reasonable. It's also great to find so many people who are generous with their time and expertise and willing to offer some direction. I love this place! Thanks a bunch for sharing your resources!
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