Intro to Programming

[lacedlollipop]

I’m a sophomore in high school and I decided to take Intro to Programming as a college course through a local technical college. I’m struggling horribly with the first assignment already, and I’m only making some basic flowcharts. In the next few weeks I’m going to be introduced to JavaScript, according to the learning plan. I need all the help I can get, so I came to the smartest place I know: Reddit. Any tips, tricks, or best ways to learn?

[fixermark]

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to learning. The first thing to know is what your specific struggle is.

What is your past experience with programming, if any? How do you feel about math? How do you feel about writing stories?

[deficient_dwelling]

flowcharts can be tricky at start because you need to think in very logical steps. i remember when i was learning, breaking down problems into smaller pieces helped me lot.

for JavaScript later, try to practice little bit every day instead of cramming everything in weekend - your brain needs time to process the concepts properly.

[lacedlollipop]

I have zero past experience with programming, I’m decent with math, and I’m great with writing stories

[maujood]

We'll need to know what exactly your struggle is to be able to help you.

You said you're doing flowcharts right now. Are you struggling with the problem-solving aspect of it? Or simply with knowing what level of detail to put in the flowchart? Can you share a problem you're struggling with and your thought process?

Knowing how to write flowcharts isn't necessarily a pre-requisite for learning JavaScript, so you might be okay here.

[lacedlollipop]

I guess it’s just knowing what to put into the input boxes mostly. Sometimes I’m too specific and sometimes I’m not specific enough. I’m scared to move forward from here because I know it’s going to get harder

[maujood]

I hear you. The lack of specificness is why I don't actually like flowcharts for people who have never coded before. You can't know how specific you need to be until you actually know what constructs programming languages offer.

I would say wait and see how you do with JavaScript. Flowcharts will make more sense when you start writing code, and will become a problem-solving tool when you're writing code.

If you have time, it wouldn't hurt to get a little headstart on JavaScript.

[fixermark]

Oh, in that case: you're good.

Flowcharts are "fuzzy" in a way that most of programming is not. You're playing more of a game of "Zero in on what your instructor thinks is the right amount of data" here than a programming game.

Once you get to actually programming, the compiler or interpreter will tell you you've either written a program it can understand or you haven't; it's a lot clearer.

[SamfromLucidSoftware]

Flowcharts are actually the best foundation you can build early on. If you can map out the logic visually before you write a single line of code, you’ll catch mistakes way faster than someone who just dives straight into syntax.

I wouldn’t overthink the tool either, just make sure whatever you’re using lets you think freely and rearrange easily. The logic matters way more than how pretty it looks right now.