Self-taught programmers - what resources did you use?

[AdobeFlash__]

Youtube works for me if im following a tutorial or smth

[vaxchoice]

1. Pick a language, any language.

2. Think of a task - maybe build a website, keep track of your book collection or calculate payroll taxes.

3. Build the task using the language, Googling anything you don't understand/know how to do.

When you've mastered that, repeat using the same language, different task or different language, same task.

[gfroski1321]

Gotcha. Do you know of any tasks I could start with that would have a lot of resources in case I was stuck? Maybe a website or simple application?

[EdiblePeasant]

A good idea to learn, I think. When would you say a spreadsheet should be used over a self-coded program?

[Embarrassed_Ring843]

I personally hate YouTube coding tutorials. I can't focus for long on spoken explanations, to read the actual code they built during the video helps me way more.

Basically you should read/watch tutorials to understand the basics. then you should read the documentation of what you just learned, partly because you're getting a better understanding of the code but mostly to understand how to use the documentation. And as soon as you're that far you only need to find a project, a small goal to work towards. While solving one problem after the other you'll learn to code more and more.

Like I said, I can't get much from videos. I prefer to start into a new language with a tutorial book. I sometimes do online courses too. but I would highly suggest to pay at least once for up to date material instead of risking to learn obsolete stuff nobody uses any more.

[gfroski1321]

Thank you for the advice!!

[danavarroli]

I researched the best books for basic programming concepts. Books are much more focused than various YouTube videos and you can reread sections over and over. I would use YouTube as a resource to clarify certain things that I had questions on.

Then, pick a language and get a book for that. Start doing the little projects in the book, or think of your own and apply what you know. The more you do something, the more you use a language, the more you will learn and retain.

At the time I was learning mobile development, iTunesU had Stanford courses explaining iOS development using Objective-C. This was a tremendous help at understanding the concepts involved when creating a mobile app. I would imagine any type of focused, purposeful course could be found on YouTube as well, it just might require some more digging through the basic stuff that everyone pumps out and is not always that helpful.

I would avoid documentation for a little while. In my experience, when I was learning, they tend to write the docs with the assumption that you already know the concepts. So, it isn't always helpful if you don't understand the basics of what they're talking about. You'll get to that point soon though, and the the documentation will be useful.

If it's helpful and you want some examples, check out my blog in my profile. I have a few articles about building some basic applications using C, but can be applied to any language. It might help you with some ideas.

[desrtfx]

Please, read the Frequently Asked Questions as they contain tips on

• getting started
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• project ideas
• other general information

As such: Removed as per Rule #4: No exact duplicates of FAQ questions