1–10 of 18 posts
Any suggestions? Where to start?
Programming is like other hobbies/crafts in that observing what others do and how they've done something will teach you about how you can better approach problems. There certainly is a barrier to entry, but if you've already taken some university level classes you likely have the basics down. There's social conventions to collaborating, but that shouldn't be a huge blocker. In my opinion, contributing to different organization should let you sample different project domains and either help you decide where to stick around or what types of personal projects might interest you.
Pick an easier language , I suggest Python or Javascript.
either something that says to you: "I could make a program to do that" or "I got an idea for a program that would work better." Or maybe something thats says, I think that would be fun.
If you are looking for fun, might consider Processing which is a digital arts oriented language - https://processing.org/
Find what you want to build first, then ask again on how to build it best. Pick an easier language , I suggest Python or Javascript.
* Re-create one of your favorite websites or apps
* Create games, these can be as simple or as complicated as you like, and might be a re-creation of a classic (Tetris, Solitaire) or something from a relatively well-trodden genre (visual novels with Ren'py, idle games à la cookie clicker, text adventure games) or something all-new
* Corollary for the above, participate in game jams
* Contribute to open source projects
* Create interesting toys or demos (fractal rendering/zooming, "single-div" CSS demos, fun-looking pixel blotting with SDL or JS canvas, generative art)
* Try your hand at programming microcontrollers for automation, robotics, building keyboard or other peripherals
* Write scripts to automate away boring work, either at home or for your job. You might be surprised how much time/energy you can save by stringing together some python or building some IFTT/Zapier workflows. Automate the Boring Stuff with Python could be a good starting point here.
There are other ideas, but the most important thing is to pick something you find enjoyable, and don't be ashamed to drop a project when it ceases to be interesting.
Some of the most long-lived hobby projects are sustained by just one or two hour nightly sessions, or by weekend hacking.
Arduino
Here are some arduino projecst for inspiration: Bin Day Indicator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLU1cOYf1dY Freezer Temp Alert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59XS2wHOB8 Pedals to use with computer/gaming https://www.reddit.com/r/PUBATTLEGROUNDS/comments/9q4rph/hea...
Laravel has a great community it's a PHP Framework https://laracasts.com/series/laravel-8-from-scratch
You can build pretty much anything with it.
Pick something basic, maybe something to track something you collect.
Laravel Livewire is a frontend framework that makes it really easy to create real time calculating forms.
The puzzles from previous years are all there too but being able to work through the problems along with other people on the subreddit and share ideas, solutions, tips etc. made it much more enjoyable than it would have been without the community interaction.
You can find some free material over here: 1) medium.com 2) freecodecamp.org 3) hackernoon.com 4) udemy.com
Best of Luck!