Learn JavaScript, Python and PHP. It will take time but eventually it will pay off. Moreover, once you learn/master any language please always pay attention to everything that comes with the package. In linguistics, the ultimate goal is to become proficient enough to start thinking in a language. Being a non-native speaker, I know how hard it's for me to start thinking in French and English (despite knowing a few things). Develop a sense of dissatisfaction. Always find ways to optimize things. Build something that lies between "Hmmm, I guess I cannot build it" and "Well, I guess I can do it given I spend time doing it" (read: Psychology of Flow). Do a product, albeit small. I've observed that you hack with altogether a different mindset when you're developing a product with a belief that it can some day pay you back somehow. And please once you're an expert JavaScript programmer always capitalize the S in JavaScript ;)
Ask YC: Learning to hack...
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#22Your best bet is to get a project and make something. It doesn't matter what the project is or if anyone besides you will ever use it.
There will obviously be a lot of debate (and possibly some downmodding) over this, but I would say that the language doesn't matter. I think the important part will be finding resources that you think will be helpful for you (a book, a tutorial you find on google, a friend who knows programming). In your case you want to spend as much time coding and as little time on set up and administration as possible.
Figure out how to do something easy, then see if you can start tweaking it and adding small things. You'll be a regular hacker in no time
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#23learning html and javascript could be a good place to start since you can make things right away with those. i think that is very important when you start, to get instant feedback, making stuff is fun :) for this reason i would recommend python as your first language. it is very highlanguage and have extensive libraries. it has clear sparse syntax and is very easy to write and read. but that doesnt mean it is a weak…
Good place to learn Python:
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#24learning html and javascript could be a good place to start since you can make things right away with those. i think that is very important when you start, to get instant feedback, making stuff is fun :) for this reason i would recommend python as your first language. it is very highlanguage and have extensive libraries. it has clear sparse syntax and is very easy to write and read. but that doesnt mean it is a weak…
Good place to learn Python: http://www.diveintopython.org/
Not for a non-hacker. That book is great for programmers who want to learn python, but someone new to programming would need something more like "Wade Into Python."
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good place to learn Python: http://www.diveintopython.org/
Not for a non-hacker. That book is great for programmers who want to learn python, but someone new to programming would need something more like "Wade Into Python."
Good point. I stand corrected.
"Beginning Python - From Novice To Professional" is good starting point for a newbie. Very clear and smooth.
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#26http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=149482 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=127952 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=123903 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=90782
Along those lines: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive#t...
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#27[deleted]
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#28One thing I would like to point out, that you probably won't like to hear ..
If your purpose is to learn how to "hack" to the point where you can make real webapps, you should be aware of two things.
1. You will never become a good hacker if you are only doing it for the money or for the recognition. You have to be able to love the code for the sake of the code itself. You have to be able to see the beauty in the code. Otherwise you will never really understand it. It is the difference between being able to copy a poem out of a book and being able to write a new poem. 2. Assuming you are a true genius, the process will still take you many years. Working hard will not be enough. You will have to learn how to work smart to learn all the stuff you will need to know.
If your purpose is to understand hacking to the point where you can better understand technical people so that you can work with them better .. that is a much more realistic and reachable goal. For that I would recommend you start with Ruby or Python and try to make a full-scale production webapp, and from that experience you will learn a lot that will explain how a technical person thinks.
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#29learning html and javascript could be a good place to start since you can make things right away with those. i think that is very important when you start, to get instant feedback, making stuff is fun :) for this reason i would recommend python as your first language. it is very highlanguage and have extensive libraries. it has clear sparse syntax and is very easy to write and read. but that doesnt mean it is a weak…
Good place to learn JavaScript: http://eloquentjavascript.net
Re: Ask YC: Learning to hack...
#30learning html and javascript could be a good place to start since you can make things right away with those. i think that is very important when you start, to get instant feedback, making stuff is fun :) for this reason i would recommend python as your first language. it is very highlanguage and have extensive libraries. it has clear sparse syntax and is very easy to write and read. but that doesnt mean it is a weak…
Also, Lisp lacks a standard? Huh? Care to elaborate on that?
I mean sure, CL's standard is older than some dinosaurs, and Scheme's standard is currently rather controversial, but both have standards. Especially in the case of CL, there's little to complain about.