Hello everyone, I have been wanting to start to learn how to code on my own. I have an idea of where I need to start but I would love input from anyone who has experience. Where should I start? I have no prior experience. Thanks.

Edited 6/2/2022 15:41:29

https://old.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/wiki/faq#wiki_getting_started

Thank you.

I think from a perspective of most all-round and easy to get into, Python is a very solid choice. Not the fastest, not the most efficient, but easy to read and write. If you want to make a ton of money, learn COBOL.

Python is a very solid choice indeed

@Nave: To start in a fun way I recommend a site like https://www.codingame.com/start. The site works with various languages. Apart from that you haven't given any information if you are just trying to have some fun or want to move into a related profession.

Regarding languages the fact that there are different ones out there has on the one hand historical reasons but then as is stated in the link from Fizzer, different languages fit different purposes. For example I work mainly in the backend in a conservative environment and with very critical software. Here usually Java with some "heavyweight" frameworks get used. If you however want to build websites, Java is a bad choice.

Edited 6/5/2022 06:05:14

Real programmers code in assembly.

Thanks everyone.

@Norman I would like to eventually make money, but as of right now just getting the basics down is my biggest priority.

I would recommend not attempting it solo and having a community and/or mentors, as well as some project-based work that guides your learning (if your goal is to focus more on being able to make stuff). I think early on what matters is just the motivation to keep tinkering and building and exploring. Later on, once you get the handle of how to manage a medium-sized codebase by yourself, you can branch out into the fundamentals and start working on your toolkit of building blocks and approaches.

I'd be happy to help out along the way as a sounding board. I think we're already connected on Discord? If not, I'm l4vr0v#2623 on there.

There's a lot to learn and a lot of rabbit holes to dive down. The best way to manage that is to keep pestering others with questions so they can show you what's important and identify fundamental gaps in your understanding.

Edited 6/7/2022 05:09:35

I will look for mentors, It would be very helpful! Added you on discord, thanks.

I'm btw a heavy user of Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/) when I want to learn a new skill. Working in the software engineering field can come with a (depending on what you do) constant task to learn new skills. I also have never read a job description where a company is looking for a "programmer". These should be the job descriptions people focus on:
- Web Designer (not really a programmer I guess)
- Frontend Developer (needs either React, Angular or Vue)
- Mobile Developer (specialization in either Android or iOS)
- Backend Developer (specialization in one of various languages and related frameworks)
- DevOps Engineer (somehow they got rid of the old admin role...)

As a good practice you focus on one of those fields in depth and have a comparatively flat understanding about the other fields. Sometimes I read job descriptions or resumees where everything is required or apparently provided at an expert level. However also from experience I can tell that this nonsense if not to say a red flag as being a plain lie.

Edited 6/8/2022 18:04:13

just read CLRS lmao

Edited 6/10/2022 01:58:57