I've realised that I am an old person that is completely out of date in the modern world because I know very little about coding and computers in general.

My query to the wise world of Warzone is... How possible is it to self teach coding and do you have any advice on someone who is starting as a beginner?

Prior experience: I have an undergraduate degree in Maths and did one module on mathematical computing using Maple (which isn't true coding but has some parallels by the looks of it).

Any help/advice very welcome :D

Yes. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet. I suggest learning Python.

Though what I would like to stress out, you don't learn coding by watching tutorials, but by coding actual programs and by solving problems (for example https://adventofcode.com). It is normal to search basic functions on the internet (how to output, how to take input etc.). It is generally suggested to not use building-in functions for coding (like shuffling lists), but to code them yourself when you are learning.

Once you are capable of this, you can move on object oriented programming. You start using build-in functions and create a larger project - this tests your planning and ability to write clean, easy to modify code.

Edited 6/21/2023 20:25:08

+1 to Kallisti

Yes, you can. (I am a self-taught coder myself). With the rise of GPT-chats, it has become very convenient to ask them especially programming stuff.

But to advance, you actually need to solve something, that you (or people, that you can relate to) personally need.

Was chatting to people on discord wz public off-topic and they gave lots of helpful thoughts :)

Think I may stick with learning python since I already did a handful of short tutorial lessons online.

Not really sure what I'm aiming towards yet but seems sensible to stick with one thing :)

When I studied mathematics we had to learn how to code in Delphi. It uses Object Pascal; focuses on object oriented programming. I didn't understand anything about it. That's when I taught myself Python. Whenever we got an assignment I'd first write the code in Python and then translate it as best I could. That's also where I learnt that you can definitely teach yourself how to code in Python. I have been teaching Python for a few years. The route I usually take with non-experienced people is the following:

1) Variables. What are they, how do you store them and how do you call them. What types are there (like int, float etc. Python is really easy with this)
2) if-statements, elif-statements and else-statements.
3) Lists. How do you make a list and how can you call an element from it
4) for-loops. Once you understand a list, you can loop over its elements. This is where the real coding begins
5) Dictionaries. How do they differ from lists and how can you use them.
6) while-loops. How do they differ from for-loops and what is the use of them. With special attention to 'while True:'
7) Functions. Have a bit of code you need to repeat in your script? Why not make it a function!
8) Recursion. This is just because they made me teach it. Avoid recursion if you can.
9) Modules/imports. Use other people's code to prevent having to write it yourself. Learn how to read documentation
10) Program structure, guidelines, conventions. Learn how to get others to read your code and make a comprehensive project

After that, the world is your oyster. You can get into scripting, OOP, big projects, small scripts that work together, API's etc. It's never too late to learn how to code :)

C++ is what my friends have recommended, Altho I have and will probably continue to never code

Thanks Farah :D Thats really helpful!

Yes, you can. (I am a self-taught coder myself). With the rise of GPT-chats, it has become very convenient to ask them especially programming stuff.

+1 to this. I'm currently self-learning coding to a certain extent myself, and ChatGPT can be very, very helpful, just have to use it right, it's better to use it to tell you what the code does rather than write an entire batch of code which is often slightly wrong and you have to debug it, kinda hard without understanding. It can also be used to automate writing things which are very simple but which you aren't bothered to write yourself. But yeah, it won't do the thinking for you, you still have to understand why you're doing things this way or that way. But then you can also ask it that, and it's often right :)
And alternatively you can always just google. But I just wanted to say that my own learning would have been much more cumbersome without ChatGPT, so I recommend trying using it as a resource.

I am not a coder but I would argue that the resources exist to teach yourself pretty much anything. It seems that it largely boils down to the level of time and commitment that one is willing to make towards learning said skill.

It's defiantly possible, but if you want help, ask in the programming forum or ask in warzone or mod makers offtopic channel.

I don't think there's any need to be defiant

I am not a coder but I would argue that the resources exist to teach yourself pretty much anything.

The problem with coding in particular is, that lots of materials are misleading. You do not get better by watching Indian dude coding. You must do it yourself, only googling smaller parts of code you don't know how to make. See Tutorial Hell.

Yeah, you need to do it yourself to really understand what the code does and lookup what various things do (which probably won’t get good search results, better to ask a person who is experienced in the language you are writing in)

Might help you to start some kind of personal project to give you an excuse to learn how to do stuff.

coding is easy, kinda like learning a new language (well, they are coding languages), only that the language has less vocabulary, noone cares about pronunciation and everything makes more sense and is well documented. However, knowing how to speak a language doesnt make you say smart stuff.
You may know how to code and still write gibberish,
just like flat earthers may know english, but use it to tell me that the earth is flat,
or like ppl knowing how to vote, but then they vote trump,
or like you guys knowing how to commit warzone orders, but look at your orders...

anyways, yea +1 for python, good language, very intuitive.

Edited 6/25/2023 02:40:23

^Haha thats brilliant :D

I reckon I am going for python based on peoples recommendations. Thanks for people's help! :)

Haha, thanks Myhand, made my day

Started working through the Harvard CS50 course for python and have done the first couple chapters now :D

Really loving it so far! Thanks for the advice here and on discord that led me to it!