Last Updated on August 28, 2023
You may find it hard to access the right information on the internet, so we are here to help you in the following article, providing the best and updated information on how to learn programming for beginners, how to learn programming for free. Read on to learn more. We at collegelearners have all the information that you need about programming tips and tricks. Read on to learn more.
How To Study Programming
It seems like there’s always something new to learn in the world of computer programming. Regardless of where you are in your computer programming and coding education, going the extra mile will ensure you have all the knowledge you need to succeed. Check out these seven tips to help you learn how to become a computer programmer faster and more efficiently.
1. Focus on the Fundamentals
Think you don’t need to go over the basics? Think again. Like in any field, getting a good grasp of the fundamentals is critically important to achieving long-term success. The information you learn at the beginning of your programming education or coding bootcamp will allow you to grasp the logic of more complicated topics further along. If you don’t learn basic computer programming, you could fall behind in the future. So, even if the fundamentals seem boring or unimportant at first, you need to recognize how essential it is to learn them.
2. Learn to Ask for Help
Knowing when to ask for help is a skill you’ll need throughout the course of your life, not just in your coding career. The fact of the matter is, you aren’t going to know everything, especially when you’re just starting out. The fastest and easiest way to gain the skills you need to have for a successful coding career is to ask those who have the answers. After you try to figure out the answer to your question on your own, be sure to ask someone else. Whether you do it in person or online, speaking to your mentor or teacher and listening to what they have to say is critical when you are learning to become a computer programmer.
3. Put Your Knowledge into Action
If you really want to learn how to code, you need to do more than just read the book and take some notes — you need to put the information you’re learning into action. You might be surprised at how something you read can seem so simple until you try to do it for yourself. Therefore, you should actually start coding as you’re learning. That way, you put the information to use immediately. When you learn by doing, the information will be more likely to stick with you.
4. Learn How to Code by Hand
It might seem old school, but if you really want to succeed in computer programming, especially if you are seeking a coding career, learning to code by hand is one of the most important skills you can learn. First of all, it will make you a better coder because you’ll have to be more intentional — you won’t be able to run your code halfway through to see if it works. This results in an increased level of precision. But learning to code by hand doesn’t just improve your skills; it can also help you get a job and jumpstart your coding career. Employers looking to hire computer programmers often require applicants to take a coding test that involves coding by hand. Therefore, it’s essential that you acquire this skill.
5. Check out Helpful Online Coding Resources
These days, you can find countless sources of information on the internet on just about any topic. This information can be especially helpful when you are learning how to code. Whether you decide to sign up for a coding boot camp or simply want to check out free tutorials on YouTube or other streaming services, you can learn a lot about coding by just going online. One of the main benefits of learning this way is that you can find the answers you need in many different formats. Therefore, if one explanation doesn’t make sense to you, you can always find a different explanation elsewhere. Seeking out additional resources on becoming a computer programmer will help you take your coding career to the next level.
6. Know When to Step Away and Take a Break from Code Debugging
Debugging can be one of the most frustrating processes when you are learning how to code. After all, it can take hours to find a bug, and you can easily lose your sense of time when you are trying to fix the problem. This can lead you to feeling overwhelmed or stressed, so you need to learn when to step away from the bug and take a break. Try doing something you find enjoyable, like reading, cooking, or exercising. Taking this step will allow you to clear your mind enough to go back to the bug with a renewed sense of focus.
7. Do More Than Just Read Sample Code
When you get your hands on sample code, it’s easy to just read through it and think you have an understanding of what’s going on. But when you really want to become a computer programmer, you’re going to have to take this a step further. You should actually run the code and tinker with it to figure out how it truly works. This is a much more effective way to learn than simply reading through the code. Remember, being able to read the code isn’t the same as understanding it. To start a successful coding career, you need to cultivate a deep level of understanding, and playing around with sample code is a great way to do that.
how to learn programming for beginners
The first and foremost step is to choose the language to learn. It is recommended to start with Python as it is simple like English and so easy to learn you can check out some of the best Python tutorial and get started. But you may choose the language that interests you and also based on the project that you would like to develop in the future. So if you plan to develop a mobile app you may want to begin with Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS, and if you want to build a website Javascript is suggested, to begin with. For a profession in data science, AI & ML, Python & R are the languages to study.
You may want to learn the languages in one of the following two ways:
1. Through Interactive Websites
Websites like Codecademy and Freecodecamp are recommended for interactive coding sessions. These were built with the idea that many beginners are stuck at the beginning when they start to learn to code while setting up the development environment. These websites offer online text editors and compilers to begin coding instantly.
2. Through Video Tutorials
If you are a person who likes a detailed study with step by step guidance then we recommend you enroll into any online programming tutorial that teaches you from the beginning to install and download the required IDE to basic concepts of the language and it ends with a capstone project to test your coding skills. Some tutorials and courses also offer certifications that could help you later when you look for the job. We recommend Pluralsight and Lynda for searching the beginner tutorials for the preferred language. You may also want to check out some top-rated tutorials at Hackr.io.
Focus on Learning Programming Basics
It is always suggested to make your fundamentals strong so as to be a pro coder. Learn the basics thoroughly and try your hands on the code by making your own problems and solving them. Stress on the following topics to begin learning as they are common in almost all the languages.
- Data Types
- Variables
- Functions
- Array or Lists
- If statements
- Conditional loops
- Classes and objects
- Exception handling
- Trees, maps, and more.
Build your First Project
Building your personal project is the best way to analyze and learn what you have learned. Building a project of your choice would give you practical learning experience of the language in much detail as you would come across the implementation of the concepts that you have learned earlier and also learn how to deploy the project to be used by you and all others. Moreover, as you build your projects add it to your profile or your GitHub account, this would help you in the future when you look for a job in development.
The biggest question that arises at this stage is:
How Should I Choose a Project?
This is where most people get stuck at the deciding stage so what to build? The solution is simple. Let us see it below:
1. Choose What Interests You
Whether it comes to studying or coding you must do what interests you the most. You must enjoy the project area you choose so that you are passionate about it and it keeps you engage until built. If you choose something that is not of your interest you may end up giving up your project in the middle as you might eventually lack interest in it. So choose something that keeps you held upon itself like if like playing games then you might just want to develop a video game of your choice. Similarly, if you like photography you might want to build up your portfolio website showcasing your work or if you are someone who is interested in trading you might design an app or website to analyze your stock charts. Analyze and give it a thought that what you like before you begin to build.
2. Start With Something Simple
Being confident about your capabilities is good but being overconfident is not. So it is recommended that you begin with simple and easy projects to explore the language more before you dive into building complex projects.
For example, if you choose to build a video game do not straightaway begin with the complex video game League of Legends instead begin within something like tic-tac-toe or if you want to build a website do not start with building something like Amazon or Facebook instead go for something easier like a to-do list.
3. Build Something Useful for Yourself and the Community
Be innovative and build something that is useful for you as well as that interests the community. Building something of community’s interest would give an opportunity to have several downloads or viewers to your project and this way you would have something to showcase your and also have an edge over other candidates while looking for a job.
Few Ideas to Get Started
If you are puzzled about where, to begin with, we have got you few ideas to start with your project building. You could begin with a simple website like making a to-do list or if you want to make a game app then games like Tetris, sudoku, and the flappy bird are good to start with learning programming.
If you want something challenging you might want to consider building a website similar to Twitter but with not as many features as Twitter offers but with some basic functionality like to tweet and follow. Hackr gives you many project ideas for several languages ranging from the beginner level to the advanced level. Check out the projects of different languages here:
- Python Projects
- Java Projects
- HTML Projects
- Android Projects
- PHP Projects
Feeling Stuck?
There would come a time while you develop the projects that you would feel stuck it could anything from getting errors, your program crashing without any message or even your coding executing fine but not generating the output you desired you might get so restless even sometimes that you might want to give up. What do you do in such scenarios? Don’t give up! Stay motivated, and to help consider below the points to continue working on your project.
1. Learn to Google the Error Correctly
This is a crucial step that you must master. Searching and surfing the error of your code would help you correct your code within few minutes but on the other hand, if are not sound at this skill it would be like diving into a whirlpool of code without a map. A tip that I would like to share here is put the error generated by your compiler in double-quotes (“ ”) before searching on Google. This way Google would specifically target the error as the same sentence and that would give a much accurate filtered result.
2. Popular Websites to Guide You
Websites like Stack-Overflow and Reddit top the charts here to guide developers around the world with their code. It is a full-fledged community of developers from all fortes that come up to help each other in their projects. Posting your doubts here could even take 2-3 weeks to get a response but it is worthy, although you might already end up finding the solution to your error as many people might have come across the same error before. It is also suggested that you answer some of the questions that you can to help others and so this way you would also learn.
3. Events and Meetups
This step might be difficult to start with as it requires you to leave your comfort zone but trust me once you start doing it you would enjoy it. So, start by looking for people who have similar interests as yours and get to know or maybe work with them. You could try searching for some “coding events” at your Facebook’s event page or visiting the meetup site and connect with people to learn more.
Get a Job or an Internship
Finally, many learn programming languages to end up in a development job. So when you are confident enough or believe that you know some basic programming you may want to step in the development industry by starting with an internship. Start working as a paid or an unpaid intern in a project that is of your interest or you may even assist or work with some experienced developer to learn. Working as an intern gives you an opportunity to learn and enhance your skills and sometimes even get paid. Even if you are not getting pain you get an opportunity to make your network in the industry for future references and placements.
You may want to begin your internship search in the following ways:
- LinkedIn: It is the most trusted source that reaches a wide audience and can help you find a variety of internships of your interest.
- Career Fairs: These are pretty helpful as you get an opportunity to meet the recruiters in person and hence can discuss your interests and analyze if the project interests you too.
- Networking: This is the most recommended way of getting an internship as you get into a job through someone’s reference you are certain to get an edge over other candidates as they tend to trust you easily if someone from there firm refers you. You can build up your network by going to events and meetups as guided above.
Computer Science Degrees or Bootcamps: Which is beneficial to learn to program?
Whether to study by enrolling in a degree program or into a Bootcamp? Is a common question that comes for those you begin to learn to code. There not a certain answer to this question as it entirely depends upon person to person and also their learning capability. To further guide you, if you are a high school student who is yet to enrol in graduate school and programming is the career then you must go to for a degree in computer science but if computer science and coding is something that interested you later in your career then you might want to go for a Bootcamp in a programming language of your choice. However, it is also recommended that you begin with an online course either paid or free to get a flavour of coding first before spending on the Bootcamp as they are expensive.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the guide to learn to program. I hope after reading this article you are urged to learn to program and start coding your first project. We at Hackr.io have shortlisted the best courses for almost all the programming languages that you might want to check out. So gear up and begin your journey of becoming a developer. Do you have other tips that you would like to share with others in the programming community? Let us know. Happy Coding!
