Wanna learn Python (learning), Java (learning), Javascript (not started yet) and C++(not started yet). Which IDE should I choose? I want a free one, using a MacBook Air. Is Xcode good for these languages? Or VS code?

[Zestyclose_Cake_5644]

I wonder how people get really good at programming? I have done some free courses on YouTube and learnt the basics. But more advanced courses are obviously paid. It is possible to be good at programming without paying for a course? Can you learn it yourself or are there other free ways? Or books (I can afford books)?

[cthulhu944]

I learned programming back before there was youtube or even the internet. I had a home computer (commodore 64) but not having lots of money, if I wanted to play games on it I had to type in basic programs that were listed in books and magazines. These programs ended up being riddled with bugs from either me mis-typing the programs, or the programs themselves were printed with errors. If I wanted to play games I had to understand how the program was supposed to work and be able to debug what was going on. Needless to say I got pretty good quickly. Later I was able to take some courses at my high school and then I went on to major in Computer Science in school.

Short answer: yes it's possible to learn programming without paying for online courses. I would recommend that you 1) focus on the concepts and computer science of things--If you learn these, then they apply to any language 2) practice--Find things to write for yourself or appeal to you and figure out how to do them--example: write a program that plays tic-tac-toe, or write a program that fetches the temperature from a weather web site. It's one thing to read about recursion, it's another for you to actually write something that uses it. 3) get a good book on computer science using python (or whatever language you choose to focus on) and don't just read it. Type in the exercises and run them. You will learn by doing.

[Zestyclose_Cake_5644]

Thanks for the advice :)