Ask Slashdot: How To Get Started With Programming? [2017 Edition]

Reader joshtops writes: I know this is a question that must have been asked -- and answered -- on Slashdot several times, but I am hoping to listen from the community again (fresh perspective, if you will). I'm in my 20s, and have a day job that doesn't require any programming skills. But I want to learn it nonetheless. I have done some research but people have varied opinions. Essentially my question is: What is perhaps the best way to learn programming for my use case? I am looking for best possible resources -- perhaps tutorials on the internet, the right books and the order in which I should read/watch them. Some people have advised me to start with C language, but I was wondering if I could kickstart things with other languages such as perhaps Apple's Swift as well?

Comments

Find a way to make it relevant

[chispito]

Find something routine or complicated that you do and automate it. Maybe your job involves TPS reports. Well, automate adding the coversheet. Maybe you like gaming. Look into modding.

Or you could go to school where you have deadlines and lab classes. Whatever the case, avoid trying to learn a bunch of theory in a vacuum.

Find a problem to solve.

[Anonymous Coward]

...then solve it using a program.

If your day-job is doing stuff with Excel, then perhaps automate something. Write a script to extract stuff out of a .csv file, etc. If your job is non-tech, then perhaps use your tech skills to build on hobbies.... e.g. if you're into video games, build a tiny game in JavaScript... if you're into sci-fi books, write a program that finds stuff in text of sci-fi books, if you're into finance, write a program to find correlations between closing prices of various companies, or extract anything useful out of earning reports---automation is the key. Find something you're interested in, then automate it (or a part-of-it), etc.

Note that language/platform doesn't matter much. Yes, you can do complicated ``programming'' in Excel. It's just not something most people do, but that's what you're into, then go for it.

Started languages I'd suggest: JavaScript (mostly because you can get started quickly, show off your work quickly, and go from nothing to something fun quickly). As second language, learn SQL... yes, you can do wonderful analysis in SQL. Then I'd suggest PHP... and/or Perl (yah, lots of folks would object, but if you learn Perl, you'll never have to learn another "useful" language ever again), then learn C/C++, since you don't start appreciating the ease-of-use nor overhead of other languages until you learn C/C++.

If you have an iPad, go through Playgrounds App

[SuperKendall]

All iPads with iOS10 either come with, or can have installed for free the Playgrounds app into which you can install playgrounds that teach programming.

It sounds silly and at first it may seem like it as you play through a programming a kind of game figure. But the lessons get more and more advanced, and along the way you are learning Swift.

As you can far enough along you can decide if you like programming enough to really get serious, then perhaps investigate stuff like the Stanford programming course videos (free), including a course just on iOS development... but you don't have to go that way, the concepts you learn learning Swift apply to most languages pretty well.