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Learning to code

Troll

Troll

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
3,278
Next semester I'm taking an intro to web design class. We're going to cover html, css, and JavaScript over four months.

to prepare I've been looking online for free classes and guides to get started.

the biggest surprise is that it's actually really enjoyable. I've only really jumped into the front end web design side over the last couple weeks, but I'll be dammed id this isn't fun.

does anyone have advice or resources that can help me get started?

id really appreciate it
 
EJS

EJS

The Fallen - Self Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 31, 2017
9,176
Udemy, freecodeacadmey, YouTube is probably the best start. Thankfully, there are a ton of resources using those technologies. Good luck.
 
Midnight Lunch

Midnight Lunch

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,258
My best advice is once you feel you have enough of a base knowledge and an idea, start working on a project you want to work on and aim for completion. So much learning with coding comes from solving problems that you simply have to overcome to proceed, and when it's your own project the drive to figure it out is much stronger.
 
Vincent Alexander

Vincent Alexander

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,742
I just started learning Java about 30 days ago, and the thread on Programming here has been super useful:

www.resetera.com

Programming |OT| Functional, Imperative, OOP, Cargo-Cult,... all are welcome!

Discord Quote the post linked here to reveal the link to the Discord. What is programming? From Wikipedia. Basically: Where do I start? Here is a good place! Feel free to ask any questions, and we will gladly give advice. It honestly depends what you are interested in, and what you intend...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

I'm personally using Udemy, and it's been great. There are a ton of classes out there though. Be sure to read reviews, pick the right one, and if it is garbage, get a refund. They have a 30 day guarantee.
 
Pankratous

Pankratous

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,245
There are so many resources available that it's easy enough to just Google and flick through until you find one that is presented in a format that suits you.
 
Merv

Merv

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,458
Fun? I guess it can be, when it works and you aren't beating your head against a wall. My biggest take away from the two whole classes I took is this. They don't call it Programming Language for nothing. You are learning another language in a lot of ways. Good luck and enjoy.
 
OP
OP
Troll

Troll

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
3,278
thanks for the suggestions so far

Pankratous said:
There are so many resources available that it's easy enough to just Google and flick through until you find one that is presented in a format that suits you.
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you're absolute right. Theres so much I'm sort of wondering which are worth it. Hopefully the people here can speak to their experiences.
 
Chaosblade

Chaosblade

Resettlement Advisor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,591
Not really a resource, but IMO if you're enjoying it the best thing you can do is have fun with it and be creative. Don't be too rigid with your learning. If you have an idea for something just try to make it happen and learn along the way. Doesn't matter how dumb it is, don't get preoccupied with "whether you should."

When I was in high school doing HTML and Javascript I embedded a VBScript (I think) into my class assignment page that opened the teacher's CD tray on load, for no other reason than because I could and it was funny. Of course that wouldn't work these days since browsers actually have security.
 
Huddy

Huddy

Member
Feb 11, 2018
307
I enjoyed Brad Traversy's Modern HTML & CSS from the beginning on Udemy when I first started out. He covers loads of other topics like Javascript, Bootstrap, React, Angular.

Plenty of free courses out there also.
 
SteveWinwood

SteveWinwood

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,676
USA USA USA
how do i find the actual code bibles

not workbooks or classes but an actual super dry here's a list of every command and one super boring example showing formatting mostly with x y and z. sometimes i think that's the best way to learn but they seem harder to find then they should be

what do i google? what's the term here that im missing (and please don't say wikis)

i have some for sas and fortran on paper on hand but that's obviously not super 21st century
 

Deleted member 4614

Oct 25, 2017
6,345
Open up Chrome Developers console

Click on a tweet or forum post, try to replace the content with an off-color message.

Now try changing the background color of a site to a rainbow.

Next step is to write a "Hello world" HTML file and try opening it up.

Then add a picture of yourself.

Then, add a script tag and a button that triggers an alert.

Google around to figure out how to do all these things. Key is to try to make the feedback loop between learning -> trying -> result as short as possible. Then you'll start asking more questions and learning more things.

A hint if you get stuck:

Right-click inspect will pull up chrome console focused on the element you right-clicked.

You can have an end-goal in mind. Want to make a personal web site? A game? Lots of possibilities with web development.
 

-COOLIO-

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,125
w3schools is right 99% of the time and gets to the point pretty quickly. mdn is more rigorous, but for a quick look up w3schools is fine.
 
xxracerxx

xxracerxx

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
31,222
SteveWinwood said:
how do i find the actual code bibles

not workbooks or classes but an actual super dry here's a list of every command and one super boring example showing formatting mostly with x y and z. sometimes i think that's the best way to learn but they seem harder to find then they should be

what do i google? what's the term here that im missing (and please don't say wikis)

i have some for sas and fortran on paper on hand but that's obviously not super 21st century
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Click to shrink...
O'Reilly books may be what you are looking for.

edit: Oh shit, they stopped selling books.
 

-COOLIO-

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,125
Troll said:
Next semester I'm taking an intro to web design class. We're going to cover html, css, and JavaScript over four months.

to prepare I've been looking online for free classes and guides to get started.

the biggest surprise is that it's actually really enjoyable. I've only really jumped into the front end web design side over the last couple weeks, but I'll be dammed id this isn't fun.

does anyone have advice or resources that can help me get started?

id really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
web dev is really fun and a super power skill. you can eventually use the skill set to build everything from native mobile apps, to pwas, to websites/webapps, and desktop apps. pretty much any kind of software
 
Post Reply

Post Reply

Member
Aug 1, 2018
4,508
SteveWinwood said:
how do i find the actual code bibles

not workbooks or classes but an actual super dry here's a list of every command and one super boring example showing formatting mostly with x y and z. sometimes i think that's the best way to learn but they seem harder to find then they should be

what do i google? what's the term here that im missing (and please don't say wikis)

i have some for sas and fortran on paper on hand but that's obviously not super 21st century
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think what you're looking for is the documentation for whatever language you're hoping to find information for. Just google " [insert name of language here] documentation".

For instance, here's the Python documentation https://www.python.org/doc/

Stackoverflow and the official documentation is where people spend most of their time, haha
 
SteveWinwood

SteveWinwood

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,676
USA USA USA
Post Reply said:
I think what you're looking for is the documentation for whatever language you're hoping to find information for. Just google " [insert name of language here] documentation".

For instance, here's the Python documentation https://www.python.org/doc/

Stackoverflow and the official documentation is where people spend most of their time, haha
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Documentation! That's the word! Thank you! Exactly!
 
Cantaloup

Cantaloup

Member
Oct 27, 2017
282
SteveWinwood said:
how do i find the actual code bibles

not workbooks or classes but an actual super dry here's a list of every command and one super boring example showing formatting mostly with x y and z. sometimes i think that's the best way to learn but they seem harder to find then they should be

what do i google? what's the term here that im missing (and please don't say wikis)

i have some for sas and fortran on paper on hand but that's obviously not super 21st century
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Search for "xyz language reference" if you want syntax, built in functions/classes, etc. Or search for "xyz API reference" if you're looking for info about the runtime environment (Node, DOM, etc.).
 

Deleted member 41520

Banned
Mar 29, 2018
7,078
The fun stops when you start getting deeper in, in my experience.

Programming can be so rewarding but it feels like shooting in the dark with bad lag for a long time.
 
sleepnaught

sleepnaught

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,538
I started an HTML/CSS course on Udemy, with plans to pick up JS after. My biggest hurdle is the fact I have absolutely no eye for good design at all. I wonder if I have any business learning web dev considering that.
 
thesoapster

thesoapster

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,907
MD, USA
If you're going to be using JavaScript, I'd say maybe venture a bit further and learn some basics of jQuery after you've learned the other fundamentals. JavaScript by itself is pretty basic. Shit can get wild with JS libraries and frameworks.
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
Put me in the "don't use w3schools" camp. MDN is so through that Microsoft stopped maintaining their own web documentation in favor of it.
 
Vincent Alexander

Vincent Alexander

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,742
Syril said:
Which classes on there are good? They have a sale through today.
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They have sales A TON. I don't quite understand...but for Java, I am doing this one: Java Programming Masterclass for Software Developers. Just because someone is really good at something doesn't mean they are a good teacher, so what I really appreciate is that Tim (so far) has a really good grasp on how newbies think, and is just an overall great instructor. I'm only about 30% of the way through, but there is 80 hours of content.

Komo said:
Another good thing to do Java for is Minecraft. It's super easy to get into and a very versatile code base to mess with.
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Oooh. I didn't know this. Thank you very much !
 
Pau

Pau

Self-Appointed Godmother of Bruce Wayne's Children
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,838
Midnight Lunch said:
My best advice is once you feel you have enough of a base knowledge and an idea, start working on a project you want to work on and aim for completion. So much learning with coding comes from solving problems that you simply have to overcome to proceed, and when it's your own project the drive to figure it out is much stronger.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Agree with this. It's also really helpful for interviews when you don't have professional experience.

Push yourself as much as you can in your course if there is a project component. Don't do the bare minimum.
 
Animus Vox

Animus Vox

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,506
NYC
If you really want to get more involved with coding than just front end work, dive right into Python and create a backed using something like flask and have both talk to each other. Incredibly satisfying.
 
bombermouse

bombermouse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,056
HTML, CSS and JS is fun and all but there are too many layers for a beginner IMO.

Mobile development is also better paid if you look at it that way. If you want a pure language try Python, or R if you are in the academia.

Otherwise, like other said, find a SMALL project you want and complete it. Finishing the project is one of the main issues with software development.
 
Hampig

Hampig

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,703
You can definitely learn on your own by just seeing what works and sinking in the time, but please pay attention to established patterns and lingo. It sucks to work with people who don't speak the same language as you when programming or prefer to do things their own way just because it's how they've always done things. Also, don't expect to really get everything right away, everyone moves at their own pace. People will try to convince you that they know more than they do, but there's just so much, nobody knows it all and that's okay.
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,234
Hampig said:
You can definitely learn on your own by just seeing what works and sinking in the time, but please pay attention to established patterns and lingo. It sucks to work with people who don't speak the same language as you when programming or prefer to do things their own way just because it's how they've always done things. Also, don't expect to really get everything right away, everyone moves at their own pace. People will try to convince you that they know more than they do, but there's just so much, nobody knows it all and that's okay.
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This. Please don't write creative or "clever" code. Learn good coding practices and follow the conventions for your language of study.
 
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