The journey of learning to program is an uncomfortable one, most people quit very early on. In this short post, I'm going to give you few tips on how you can to get through it.
No one will tell you this but when you first learn to program, you should expect it to be boring.. learning for-loops and if-else statements; not very exciting for most people. Programming is a lot more interesting once you make it past the initial stages. When you learn to use libraries and build small interactive programs. However, you have to MAKE IT PAST the initial stages of learning the basics, which can be very tedious but you have to persist in getting through these topics:
- Declaring and Initializing Variables
- Control Statements
- Arrays and Strings
- Classes and Object
This initial difficulty in understanding the abstractions involved and practicing the basics until you have basic proficiency is the main barrier to entry for beginners. Once you have passed this stage, programming will become a lot more enjoyable. It will be a lot more about problem-solving and an exercise in abstract thought. So stick through the early stages, grind through it, if you get stuck, go to the million different sources available online to see a different explanation of the same concept.
Regardless of what language you choose to learn, the most important thing is to get past the initial stage of learning the basics. Programming is very abstract, similar to maths, It's hierarchical, everything builds on previous knowledge. You have to grind through it, there is no other way to put this. With the right amount of procrastination, it might take you six months but in the end, it will be worth it. I recommend javascript or python for beginners.
Few resources worth checking out:
- Learn Code The Hard Way
- Treehouse
- Stack Overflow
- Udemy
- Coursera
- Codecademy
- Khan Academy
- Eloquent JavaScript
- Processing
- Treehouse
- Programr
- Udacity
NOW GO DO IT!
GOOD LUCK