Learning to code?

I've had a few people get in touch with me about learning to code and what it takes to code hence why i thought maybe i should create a quick post giving you the information you need to make a decision on what you want to do.

Programming is a very valuable skill that you can pick up easily nowadays if you manage to get your mind around it, whether it be for career prospects or to challenge your brain and create something brilliant. If you're just getting started on journey into coding I wish you the best of luck in your efforts. The direction you want to go in will depend on why you want to learn to code in the first place and how much time you have to devote yourself to learning. If you want to be a professional programmer, signing up to courses online which are absolutely free could get you started. If you want to build websites or games for fun and maybe turn it into a profitable venture in your spare time, interactive tutorials might be better. Personally, I would recommend maybe hopping onto Code Academy and getting fluent with HTML as it allows you to fully create and design websites. Once you get into it, you would have a better understanding of code and how it works along with understanding basic principles better.

There is not a programming language which is the best and once you've learned one, it's fairly easy to pick up another, so don't get frustrated on choosing your first language. That being said, some languages are more beginner-friendly than others. The language you choose to start with might depend, again, on your purpose. (For example, if you want to write an app for IOS, you'll need to learn Swift.) There's a case for starting with C if you're serious about programming, although higher-level languages, like Python, are easier to jump into right away. No matter which language or learning method you choose, you should start at the very beginning and take your time along with being patient as mistakes can always be made and personally I've felt like breaking my laptop in half when i can't complete a task with coding.

When David Sinsky taught himself to code in eight weeks, he spent one weekend getting an introduction of Python and one weekend getting an understanding of Django and had been going through the tutorial, deleting all of the tutorial code, and working through the tutorial again from scratch (read about his story in this article - https://medium.com/@dsinsky/how-i-taught-myself-to-code-in-eight-weeks-b23eb9c39090). Start with the basics and be patient with yourself as you progress. To take your first coding project from start to finish, break down the project into simple steps. If one method of learning isn't working for you (e.g. books, online), try another method before giving up because the reality of it all is that once you let yourself understand it all, that's when it'll be of second nature to you.

Even kids like my younger sister are learning to code these days and I think that's actually a great thing for all of us. Although many of the programs designed to teach kids to code are very simplistic, many of them, like Scratch, are suitable for all ages. It doesn't matter how old you are even kids' animation apps can get you started with the basics of programming. Free online training sites like Code Academy, Code.org and many other organisations will introduce you to the basics of programming all while creating a new game, site, or other project. These are good starting points, but you'll need to take the initiative to further or continue your learning after these introductions.

List of free recommended coding websites:

- www.codecademy.com/

- code.org/

- www.khanacademy.org/

- www.sololearn.com/

I hope the article has been useful and do get in touch with any questions/queries you might have and thanks a lot for reading.

Be back soon :)

#code #codeacademy #sololearn #codeorg #khanacademy #coding #learn #2018 #scratch #start