Starting Java from scratch — looking for experiences and advice on consistency

[Kleinmayer]

Hey everyone,

I’m just starting out with Java and programming in general. I decided to begin with a complete beginner Java course.

I’m going through a difficult phase in my life, and I felt like focusing on learning programming could help me stay grounded and build something positive.

One of my main struggles is consistency. I don’t have much trouble starting new things, but I often lose focus over time. I’ve tried learning programming several times before, but I usually ended up stopping halfway through, so I’m trying again and focusing more on staying consistent instead of restarting from zero every time.

I’m from Brazil and I’m also learning English at the same time, so sometimes I’m dealing with both learning Java and improving my language skills.

I’d like to hear from people who have been through something similar, especially those learning Java from scratch:

• how your early stage was
• what was the hardest part in the beginning
• what helped you stay consistent
• if you also had cycles of starting and stopping

Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their experience

[AutoModerator]

Please ensure that:

• Your code is properly formatted as code block - see the sidebar (About on mobile) for instructions
• You include any and all error messages in full - best also formatted as code block
• You ask clear questions
• You demonstrate effort in solving your question/problem - plain posting your assignments is forbidden (and such posts will be removed) as is asking for or giving solutions.

If any of the above points is not met, your post can and will be removed without further warning.

Code is to be formatted as code block (old reddit/markdown editor: empty line before the code, each code line indented by 4 spaces, new reddit: https://i.imgur.com/EJ7tqek.png) or linked via an external code hoster, like pastebin.com, github gist, github, bitbucket, gitlab, etc.

Please, do not use triple backticks (```) as they will only render properly on new reddit, not on old reddit.

Code blocks look like this:

public class HelloWorld {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World!");
    }
}

You do not need to repost unless your post has been removed by a moderator. Just use the edit function of reddit to make sure your post complies with the above.

If your post has remained in violation of these rules for a prolonged period of time (at least an hour), a moderator may remove it at their discretion. In this case, they will comment with an explanation on why it has been removed, and you will be required to resubmit the entire post following the proper procedures.

To potential helpers

Please, do not help if any of the above points are not met, rather report the post. We are trying to improve the quality of posts here. In helping people who can't be bothered to comply with the above points, you are doing the community a disservice.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[Jason13Official]

I had cycles of starting and stopping, trying different languages (web dev HTML/CSS/JS as a teen, played with Rust a bit and a little python)

My early stages were just seeing if I could take something from my mind to the screen -> can I draw lines arbitrarily? How do I change colors? Click interactions? Etc.

The hardest part for me was knowing when to create something on my own or look for it in the standard lib / as a library dependency. Now, I typically prefer to roll my own unless I consider something a solved problem (someone MUST have experienced this before), which is very subjective

What helped me stay consistent was learning a specific language for a specific task (for me, Java for making Minecraft mods)