The ability to code is one of the most valuable skills. In this article, we’ll show you some actionable ways to learn to program.

Understand Why You Need It

You must understand why you want to learn to program. Once you’ve identified your direction, you can create a training plan and schedule.

If you want to create web applications or games for fun in the evenings, documentation and online practice guides are a better choice. In both options, you need to build on your interests.

Decide On The Programming Language

There is no “best” programming language. The choice of language should depend on the area of ​​development in which you decide to develop. Most importantly, once you have mastered one language, it will be much easier to learn any other. So don’t worry too much about choosing your first language.

However, there are languages ​​that are easier for a beginner to master, and there are those that are more difficult for an unprepared student. For example, if you are serious about programming and would like to program operating systems, then C / C ++ is the right choice. But the path that you have to go will be many times longer than if you started, for example, with Python.

The choice of language should be based on your preference. If you need a whole stack of languages ​​for web development, from markup to server-side programming, then for iOS development, you can start with Swift.

Start Small

Regardless of the language and area of ​​development you choose, you will need to learn everything from the very beginning. Break the learning process down into small pieces. Divide the training project into parts so that it is easy for you to work with it. Repeat the process again when finished if there are many white spots left. If some method of learning does not help you (for example, the books did not go in), try another.

Try Children’s Programs

Today there are many educational programs, even for children. And although many of these programs are greatly simplified, there are some that are suitable for all ages (for example, Scratch).

Do not be afraid to start even with such simple things, especially if the training is hard for you at the start. These seemingly simple programs can help you learn the basics – and that already means a lot for a beginner.

Use Free Sites To Learn To Program

Free sites with interactive tutorials like Codecademy will help you write your first program. Tutorials from KhanAcademy, Code.org and many others will help you quickly understand the basics of programming. And all this is based on the example of writing a simple game, website or another interactive project.

Sign Up For Courses

There are a huge number of online courses on the Internet for teaching programming. Courses offer a more comprehensive and personalized approach to learning programming and related subjects. They will help to acquire fundamental knowledge and skills at the level of professional educational institutions. In addition, many of the courses are given by the most famous universities, such as Harvard and MIT.

However, you should understand that a university course, even online, requires a lot of time and attention. You will have to both study the course program and work independently outside the classroom.

Use Free Tutorials

When you get stuck with a specific problem, look for a reference. If you want to thoroughly expand your own knowledge, refer to the books. Come to our channel with educational literature in Telegram: there are many useful and free books on programming.

Play Programmer Games

The best interactive learning tools are games. Most textbooks suggest writing games, both simple and complex. But there is an option to literally learn programming while playing: for example, the Code Combat and CodinGame sites can make your learning much more interesting.

Find A Mentor

There are many people in the programming community who want to help junior fellows, for example, on the Hack. Pledge () site, you can find both a mentor and someone looking for help.

Parse Someone Else’s Code

When you read someone else’s code and try to understand line by line what the author is doing and how it works, you begin to understand the big picture much better. By reading the code and trying to understand it, you not only master the language in a broader sense but also learn from someone else’s experience.