Best way to learn programing?
 

I want to learn to do some programing. From all the years I've been using a computer, it's the one thing I really wish I would have put more effort into. It's one of those things I kick myt self in the ass now, for not leaning it then.

I'm not after trying to become a paid programmer, meaning writing stuff for others, but just for my own uses. I'm wondering for those of you that have self taught yourself how did you do it? I've tried teaching myself PHP in the past by book but could just never stick with it.

I'm wanting to start with java script, because I need it for a project I'm wanting to do. Then I want to lean PHP. Anyone have any good suggestions, for maybe some video tutorials that aren't boring as hell?

I've learned quite a bit from http://www.showmedo.com/ which has mainly python tutorials but there are others.

I also have a subscription to Safari Books Online which has really expanded my knowledge. I love it because you can copy and paste which you obviously couldn't do with the print version of a book. http://safaribooksonline.com/

There are thousands of free tutorials out there but you get what you pay for.

Years ago I would say pick up a book, check out a few online sites (For PHP: PHP.net is your best friend, and they even have a beginners tutorial and virtually every installation covered (linux, mac, windows). For JS: Sitepoint.com's books have helped me) but more so than just a book, get comfortable with a nice framework like (jquery, prototype, etc), it will save you a lot and shortcut a lot of everyday things.

:thumbsup:thumbsup

find some source code that does what you want... modify it... learn from it....

:2 cents:

All you have to do is just try hard, keep practicing and to be detail-oriented.

Pick up "PHP and MySQL Web Development" from Sams - really easy and a great way to learn PHP/MySQL.

If you mean real programming, try C++ by Addison-Wesley

Anything by Pragmatic Programmers and Manning are also great

and don't bother with eBooks - for programming, especially learning, a paperback is the way to go, with coffee stains and all.

research what people in the field consider the best books for picking up whatever language you intend on learning. generally you will find yourself being recommended the same few books over and over. BUY THE BOOK, READ THE BOOK FROM PAGE 1. DO NOT SKIP OUT ON EXCERCISES. Just start at thebeginning, and do not skip a single excercise the book gives you. By the time you've made it through the book and learnt everything it has to offer you, get online and find a developers forum specializing in your language. Play with source code and code snippets, use your book/books as a reference. When you get stuck, hit the forums. Like anything, so long as you've put forth some effort to learn on your own and have a reasonable question, there will be plenty of helpful people around to step you through things.

all of the above.

Didn't know you could copy and paste from a paperback. Safari books online has the same books, they're just readable online (copy & paste, search, etc). I do miss my old coffee stained "Programming the Perl DBI" book that I got back when I was first dicking with MySQL.

Ah, but that's one of the points - it makes you type it out yourself while reading the code. It sinks in....

Copy and paste and you learn nothing, because you only read the text, then paste it. By typing it out, your brain is working twice on the same code, so it will sink in faster....

Most paperbacks though come with a cdrom or the examples can be downloaded from the internet....

Like back in the classroom - teacher reads, the children read and repeat. That repeat is important...

Seriously, click the pic and order this book now. You'll thank me later.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg

ok thanks for the replies people. I'll have to check out some of the links.

Reading is important as is working thru examples and reading other people's code/modifying it.

Its just a matter of putting the time into it and doing it yourself. Its the only way to learn.

learn basic html first.. practice making pages in notepad.exe

graduate to php, css, java, etc (it's all easy after mastering html)

Yea that is what I decided to do. I started reading the java script tuts at w3school but decided I had better bush up my HTML and CSS first.

I mean I know basic HTML and could build a moderate webpage in notepad, but I am heavily dependent on Apps like dream weaver. With HTML I likely just need to skim though and find out the better or proper ways to do things.

With CSS I'm ok doing basic styles but div type layouts drive me nuts, so I figure maybe it's better to learn the CSS a bit more then move on to the js & php.

I'm just tired of not knowing js & php. I can of course copy and paste and edit the code to a extent, but I can't create it my self.

All good advice so far. If you want to learn PHP i'd suggest making sure you have a very good understanding of databases - terminology, fields, rows, tables, adding, deleting, querying, etc. Make some of your own databases using MS Access just to understand the principles, thats how i got started 17 years ago. If you dont understand databases well then PHP will be alot harder to learn and debug on your own. :2 cents:

Crockett, check out this site, it sells amazing books on quite a few languages.
http://www.sitepoint.com/books/

This book is the one I recommend if you want to learn php
http://www.sitepoint.com/books/phpmysql1/

Also it's good to download some free php/mysql scripts from hotscripts and edit them, you can learn alot of editing code.

Best thing to do is create projects that would require the languages you wish to learn and just do them. I used w3schools for a long time when I was first starting out. As most developers / techies would say, google is your friend. :winkwink:

Just get in there and build something of your own, that's the only way to learn.

www.php.net/manual is your best friend.

you can learn programming in front your PC with apache opening.

I'm grateful everyday that I can afford to pay someone to do my programming for me

first give up all your social existence and contact with humanity for at least 3 months. Leave yourself with nothing more then an 8088 with an amber screen and gwbasic running on an old outdated dos (2.1) or some shit. No hard drive allowed. Nothing more than simple storage to make sure you stay geared to the task. Actually make that a CGA with a CGA Monitor hooked up. Good for graphics mode in gwbasic. Pick up a copy of http://www.amazon.com/GW-BASIC-Self-...2676578&sr=8-1 and then literally ship yourself to a remote cabin with no net connection. When you get back you will have a keen understanding of programming.

Another kick ass thing you might want to take on the trip:

Some BasicA books on games you can enter in. Or try to convert some commodore 64 games into GWBasic. Download source code. By simply figuring out the basics and advancing into a general understanding of the concept, the world is open to you.

PHP is great. its simple and easy to learn. i suggest stick with one.

also once you learn php, you will find javascript and perl very similar looking.

i strongly recommend learning php first.

if not, start with something like BASIC, to help you nail down the concepts. once you get the core concepts, everything else is mere extensions and application of the core concepts.

i tried learning programming, but gave up... you are either born with a logical mind, or a creative one

Sounds familiar. I know people that are self taught that program in 6 programming languages and never read any books. I programmed when I was young in cobol, pascal, basic, etc. but I could never get "the hang of it" or the love for it, later it turned out my passions were in another direction.

here we have http://www.video2brain.com/

something like that would be the best way to start :2 cents:

I dunno man I really don't believe that.. I've always been artistic and I'm into 3d stuff, which has led me into the need to learn some programing. However in my time working with 3D, I've seen more than a few 3D artists that could program well.

My problem is I just lose focus trying to learn this shit from books. I get bored with it. I need some good video training, that or if I'm watching someone in person that is explain it, I can pick it up.

logical mind can be developped. you gotta be patient. creative i would say is more important here.

its not hard to program. you see 12 year old's doing this all the time. its not hard to write several lines, test, fix and repeat.

the harder part, i think is designing everything out. breaking things into logical components, and building things scalable.

Looks nice but I'd have to learn another language first. They offer nothing in English, which is pretty damn odd. :helpme

my suggestion...

Hotscripts.com search and find a script that is similar to what you want, then d/l and modify it. Sometimes you can take pieces from different ones to create something.

Then Google commands you need help with, I found books are worthless (php and VB) since everything is available online.

wow you gave up. way to go :error If you tell yourself you can't do something you already fucked yourself ...


TO OP:
pick this up it's only a buck :1orglaugh

don't cheat yourself and start coding crap you can't re-use and plug into other applications. stick with one language until you master it, don't be all over the place :2 cents:

nice ref code

loser.

If you're talking to me I would send you the $0.001 I would of made from the sale with amazon because I like donating to the handicapped ... if there was a refcode there that was mine ... and I gave a shit.

:GFYBand :thumbsup

i'll add $.02 to this one.

On a side note, way back when, I remember trying to "copy" how to do javascript image rollovers and kept going to the Heaven's Gate website as they had a pretty sweet website back then. Good for those coolaid drinking, sneaker wearing nut bars. They did have a nice website.

Assuming you are talking about web programming, I would start with PHP rather than Javascript. PHP is much simplier and easier to grasp. Javascript can be very quirky and there are often dozens of ways to do the same thing.

1) Become proficient with writing HTML pages with a text editor (no dreamweaver)
2) Get one of the sitepoint books on PHP and go through that. They typically walk you through step by step so they are good.
3) Bookmark php.net and go through their function API on a regular basis.
4) Find a small project you want to work on and start working on it.
5) Feel free to post your code and ask questions if there is a better way to code something on GFY and I'm sure you'll get a bunch of feedback.

Buying a book about php or java or whatever won't do you much good, most of them are written for existing programmers who want to learn a new language. I would take some basic programming class at some community college first, you'll learn the basics of programming. Then you can buy a book about some specific language you want to learn. :2 cents:

Yea I thought about that, but it seems like community colleges always take for ever to get into the nitty gritty. I decided to just give Lynda.com a try. It's pretty damn cheap and they have quite a few videos that seem to be aimed at the beginner.

I did a brush up today on my CSS with their vid from sitepoint and it was rather basic, but still taught me a few things I didn't know. I watched a few vids on js and it seemed like the vids are good enough that I'll be able to get a basic understanding of it. I'm gonna watch a few on php next and decide which way I want to go first.

Practice, practice, practice. That's how you learn.

It's easier to just beg Woj to quit looking at Gay Porn and pay him to do it.

But if you run twink sites I doubt he would ever get anything done :1orglaugh

Dive in !!!

:2 cents::2 cents:

once you grasp the basics, just grab a code and start modding it. this is indeed teh fastest way to learn.

THE best way to learn to program is to need/want something programmed.

You can get all the books you want that teach you whatever language, but you will get bored fast writing hello world and stupid little logic puzzles they come up with.

At least thats how it is with me, I can't just sit and learn a language just to pad the resume, but if I need/want something done, then I have motivation and pick it up fast.

There's a large difference between 'coding' and 'coding well'.

There's also a large mental step: you might *think* you're a good coder, because you don't have the skills to realise that you're actually average / below average.

PHP is an OK choice to learn on, but it neither teaches nor reinforces OOP [although this is changing w/ 5/6] nor proper structure.

However: the biggest issue with PHP and new programmers is security. Until you're proficient, you'll leave yourself, or your clients exposed.

Examples of this come up frequently on GFY.

I see alot of people posting shitty advice in this thread. Don't waste your money on books... they will end up just cluttering up your place. The most important step in learning programming is to learn the logic of how it works. You can learn that very very easily by starting with something simple like Visual Basic.

Download it here for free.
http://www.microsoft.com/Express/VB/

They have ALOT of great resources and tutorials on that site that will help you get a good start....

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/beginner/default.aspx

Next... download Visual C# Express for free
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/

C# has a very similar syntax style to php, perl, javascript, java, etc because they are all based on C syntax. Once you have the basic logic of developing with visual basic it's just a matter of learning how the C syntax works and then you really have an open field ahead. I think that anyone that really takes the time to go through the tutorials on the MS site and has a real desire to learn how to develop applications can learn enough to start building their own applications in less than a couple of months. If you use my method you will be prepared to learn any programming language very quickly.

BTW... I wanted to add... stick with Windows Programming tutorials... the web development side of MS is a waste of effort for you since you use linux servers... windows development will give you the skills you need to develop any web application later anyway.