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Tips for a coding beginner Started by: Nello on Sep 06, '14 21:16

I currently made a decision to devote a lot of my time to try and learn to code. I talked to some people I know about advice on how to begin and what should be my first language, and I have received different opinions: some say go for C++, some say Java, others say Python, etc.

So I decided to ask the coders of this game and the users who are familiar with coding: what do you recommend I should start with and any advice for a beginner?

Thank you.

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I recommend Python. It requires less time to lear, less lines of code, and less concepts to be taught to reach a given goal.
Java is also another beginner-friendly language.
Even though C is the most widely used programming language, it's stricter and has a steeper learning curve than other languages so it's not very beginner-friendly language.

 

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Having learned with C/C++ and moving onto Java, Python was one of the most difficult to learn for me. If you have never programmed or taken any classes and have trouble starting out once you try I recommend trying a drag and drop graphical programming language. It's nothing like your normal language up front but it's much easier to learn the basics and you can also edit the pre-existing lines of codes to start to understand programming in general. One of my first classes in high school we used Alice I think it was, pretty unstable but it taught you the basics well.

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I would suggest PHP, but for some different reasons than the norm.

 

Learning to code for the first time is frustrating.  It is a steep learning curve for all languages to understand basically the method of how to think and proceed with any particular problem.  Once you get your head wrapped around the concept, it becomes easier.  Once you understand a particular language - they all become easy to dive into.  But lets not get ahead of ourselves.  To actually learn a language you have to put yourself in the right environment that meets a few important criteria.

1) Learning curve not too too steep

2) Can get self-serve help anywhere anytime.  There are literally tens of thousands of tutorials, forums, irc channels... everything.

3) Free.  Can run on your desktop, no compilers, no anything, no cost to any software required.

4) Metric fuckton of free and easy libraries/functions that can turn a big complex problem into something very simple.

5) (And the most important)  From the exact moment you start, you can quickly complete your very first simple task.  You feel motivated.  A little bit of work more, and you just figured out another thing.  Basically, the amount of reward you get versus the frustration put in is greater than any other language.  You see results quickly.  This was a big motivational factor for me.  It doesnt take much experience to learn how to edit something.  Then to learn how to hack it up.  Then to learn how to mimic it.  Then learn how to write it from scratch.

 

I know I am rambling, but I just get excited when someone is choosing to get into programming..  In the end, pick whatever you want, and once you get comfortable with that language, your next one is already like 90% easier.  I just personally think php provides a really good starting point.

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I think I'll go with Python first, mainly because it has been sitting in my computer for quite some time now unused and I figure why not actually give it some use instead of getting a new programming language.

Anyway thanks for your replies. :)

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Personally, I suggest learning the basic coding of html before you try anything advanced.

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HTML is useless for logic though. You should use other languages to interact with databases or perform operations. PHP was my pick both for the reasons Squishy listed and because my mentor considered himself a Zend Missionary (Zend is a php framework).

If you want to make a web page, you use HTML. If you want to make a web site, you'll need to learn other languages.

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