Where do I start with coding?

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I'm an avid internet marketer and am trying to learn how to code... It seems like most resources and threads here (I did search!) suggest with WHAT to learn (HTML/CSS/Javascript) but I am more interested in HOW to learn?

Seems like many suggest taking a long stretch of time (6-12 months) off to learn just how to code and build my own stuff.

However, in between juggling a day job and my internet business, how do I learn how to code?
#programming #coding #start
  • How do you learn anything?

    Practice!
    Just start practicing!
    Each day, specifically set out to practice!
    And then repeat, as you practice with code you learn...
    Practice, practice, practice!
    With practice you try, fail, learn, repeat...

    How do you learn to ride a bike?
    Practice!

    How do you learn how to play tennis?
    Practice!

    How do you learn how to code?
    Practice!
  • Set a goal and try to achieve it. When you hit the road block ask questions on forums.
    Break tasks into small pieces and focus on those small pieces. Be prepared that first 10 or 100 projects will be shitty - always improve what you've learned from previous one and never stop improving .
  • The way I learned programming was I started looking at sites and right clicked and looked at the source code. I would copy and paste it in my note pad and start removing stuff to see what it done on the screen. Doing it that way helped me learn really fast. Another way is to use sites like W3Schools I will not post the domain here since it may be against rules to post. So just search for that name.

    Happy programming
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Try CodeSchool.com.
  • Quickest way, just go to codecademy.com, get to the HTML course. Even if you are not a complete beginner, you'll get your basics solid, and that should help you understand where your want to go next. It's a very short, straight to business course, just do it. I personally have no regrets.
  • Hit up youtube. There are some awesome tutorial - series on there that really break it down.

    When I first learned python/php I just sat through the 30 hours of lectures some guy had published. By the time I was finished, I was ready to start developing (Which is when I REALLY started to learn.)

    But you have to get the basics out of the way first
  • I agree with one of the above posts that you need to really just do it. Good resources are codeacademy and w3 schools because you can actually practice the code and then instantly see the results to know how you are doing. Both are FREE so get over there and start learning.
  • If you are starter then you should go for html , css and one more dynamic programming language first. You should either go for php or asp.net
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    • Yep I started in PHP learning how to modify wordpress source files to get the desired result that I wanted. I think it's a pretty good way to start. Just need filezilla and notepad++, both free
  • There are a lot of tutorial on yourube. You can start there.
  • To become a developer, the knowledge of HTML and CSS is compulsory. HTML is used to create the design of the website and CSS is used to design the layout of the website. HTML and CSS are very easy to learn and they will not take much time.
    After learning HTML and CSS, you need to learn one of these languages .NET, JAVA or PHP. JAVA is considered difficult to learn as compared to PHP and .NET. But the projects build in java are sold in higher prices as compared to .NET and PHP. PHP language is easier to learn and use. PHP is used to create dynamic website and it is a sever side language. You can learn PHP to create the functionality of the system. You can learn these languages from Udemy , lynda, codeacadmy and w3shool websites.
  • I vote for Codeschool too, it's a really good way to learn.
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  • On Youtube look up a guy by the name of "Derek Banas" he speaks really well and very clear on why/how things are working. I usually just throw these videos on 1.5x speed and learn away
  • Try with W3schools and YouTube.
  • Hi. Well I know this is almost three months old but I still wanted to reply to this because I'm not only replying to you but I'm replying to people who are reading this right now and have that question as well.

    First of all, you have to ask yourself:
    - What do you really want to do?

    A good website? Then, you should learn HTML/CSS and after that, maybe a litte Javascript, PHP and/or some others.

    A good game or a software? Something that computers can run? Then learn go learn C++ or C# or Java. Just try one of them and see what suits you the best for now.

    Now you (maybe) know WHAT you want do to, but now there's other question: HOW do we learn that?

    - Buy some books or read them online. Learn how to program, learn what algorithm is and then go learn a specific language that you find easy for now (you can find all of that in a programming book, and it's usually very good).

    - You can also search for official online documentation about a certain language.

    - Go to Google and search for that language tutorials and tips. Try not to mess up because there are tips and there are useless tips (sorry, but that's true)

    - If you want to pratice you can use free websites (or paid, it's your choice) like Code Academy, Udemy, and others as well. There's a large variety of them out there in the web, waiting for you to find them.

    - You can also watch some youtube videos. I recommend you search for some tutorials and see what youtuber you like the most. It's very important to like the way the person speaks and explains what she is thinking and/or doing. (And of course, explaining it in the right way will be even better!)

    There are a variety of ways you can learn how to code but I would recommend the first two.
    If you are having doubts about how to do something you can use stack overflow or this forum.

    (Edit: I forgot to mention that if you are going to learn how to make websites and all by using HTML, CSS, etc, you should also study a little about colors and design in general)

    (I know my english is terrible, I'm in a country where portuguese is the main language and I don't write in english that much. I'm sorry about that, I'll get better one day. *sigh*)
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  • Check out https://howtocode.io they offer a free curriculum for aspiring web developers.
  • Edx.org has some really great free courses. The CS50 (intro to computer science) course is absolutely amazing. It's an overview of a lot of languages, many of which you'd never likely be using. It's basically a live journey through Harvard's intro to CS course, which is well-produced, and has hours upon hours of one-on-one type recordings from group sessions. It's hands-down the best free course of any type I've ever taken, and definitely great for those new to programming concepts.

    Aside from the CS50 course, there are a lot of other python courses which are more task-based.

    Video courses are great for learning concepts and sparking ideas, but the best way to learn is by working on a personal project (start small).
  • I definitely suggest learning to code, one, because it will strengthen your problem solving skills, and two because if you use computer enough, you'll eventually want it to do things people are charging to make them do.

    To start, I half agree with their HTML suggestion, however, I say start with php and HTML.

    Php is a scripting language and HTML would be how you display what php generates (you can find a better definition at w3schools.org. Php and HTML are very straight forward, easy to learn, and widely used.. If you figure you can get a website running with php and HTML in 15 minutes (including installing a test server) and it will take you as far as any website you've ever seen online. (there is a lot of complexity in the tail of this statement, don't over think that statement, it'll come in time)

    Once you start learning some programming basics and get the feel for how a program works.. Start considering how much you like it and which direction you want to take it..

    One option you will have are graphical applications, like ms office or adobe acrobat, things that run on your computer generally.. The are any number of programming languages that will do this, c++ and c being your lowest levels, then up to things like Delphi and visual basic. When you sign on with visual basic, you're signing on with Microsoft which a lot of people won't get on a boat with, but, when it comes to your career, ms makes the big bucks, they may not be a bad place to count your eggs.

    Another option is java, which has been around forever, and used throughout googles framework, beit gmail, the search engine, or the android platform itself. There isn't any point and click drawing user interfaces in java, c or c++ like you will find in visual studio.

    Java, c, c++ act as a powerhouse, and require additional components to do the work of making everything "pretty" Microsoft has set things up so you can make usable programs in a minimal amount of time,however you may eventually encounter some limitations which you will have to "work around".

    In general, it's difficult to sum programming up in one post, do a lot of reading and trying, and things will start to make sense.

    Also, don't get swamped with the math aspect, I code for fun and for work, and I need very little that I cannot find in paper resources beyond basic algebra and ingenuity.

    Good luck.
  • You can check codeacademy and w3school websites to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript but if you are interested in video tutorials then you can also check Udemy website. First you need to do is to learn all the basic concepts of html, CSS and JavaScript, after learning the basics, you can start building different projects. Without practice, you cannot learn anything.
  • try w3schools.com or watch tutorials...thank you..
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  • 1. Brainstorm a challenge that will also be usable so you will be motivated to solve it.
    2. Create a solution step by step with help of tutorials and online help
    3. In 5 years of coding I have so much code that when I want to create something I just copy and paste may old code and make slight adjustments to it.
    4. Coding is neverending learning strory. You will never know everything therefore it is a neverending research job.
    If you like that fact than you have a potential to be a coder.

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    I'm an avid internet marketer and am trying to learn how to code... It seems like most resources and threads here (I did search!) suggest with WHAT to learn (HTML/CSS/Javascript) but I am more interested in HOW to learn? Seems like many suggest taking a long stretch of time (6-12 months) off to learn just how to code and build my own stuff.