Trying to Learn computer programming/science

[Opkorean]

So I am trying to teach myself computer programming/computer science in an attempt to make a career change. I have read various resources that tell you to start with a certain language first (whether its python, C++, or java etc.) I am trying to find out, with little to no programming experience (I took two introductory classes in college to fulfill elective credits) are there any specific places/programs/books I should start with?

[Zogarth]

I would just go to a university and study computer-science if i was you.

[Opkorean]

I could probably just take the whole going back to school idea off of the table, because of outstanding student loan balances, I wouldnt go back to school until I can pay them down anyways.

[wfredlund]

Most of my friends in the industry ( I work in tech support for a software company) all say the same thing. "Don't waste the money to go to school". In fact, the only person I know that supports going to school for CS is unemployed after getting his BS.

[Archangel Tyrael]

Most of my friends in the industry ( I work in tech support for a software company) all say the same thing. "Don't waste the money to go to school". In fact, the only person I know that supports going to school for CS is unemployed after getting his BS.

I don't know about where you live, but you're definitely not getting a job here without a degree and at least some experience (which you can obtain during Uni).

[Deleted]

When I started with computer science at college, I started with Java using BlueJ. I found it to be a good introduction to object oriented programming. When you are a bit further ahead you can try C# (quite similar to java, but I find it easier to work with somehow).

If you want to go towards the internet side of programming, ALWAYS start with HTML (and everything XML-related, since HTML is just XML) and css. Then start PHP when you get the hang of it. HTML tutorial here.

This is the order I was taught in, and I found it to be effective. Results may vary for you though! I do advice you to start from the basics and don't try too much at a time. If you are copying in code that works but you don't know what it does, you are doing it wrong.

[Grummgug]

Theres an incredible resource on the web for learning programming. unfortunately the URL has curse words so im not linking it or ill probably get banned lol.

[wfredlund]

I live in the US. I should have prefaced that. I don't know how things work in other countries. I only speak for what I have been told here.

[Spelorzi]

I'm one of those guys who don't like/support the 'go to school, college" thing, i've learned alot of stuff by myself (programming, graphic design), but i'm telling you, if you want to work for a big company without a degree you need to be really, REALLY good, and be lucky because sometimes thats not enough, they will simply reject you if you don't have a degree, even if you are good.

What i did was find my own clients and work as a freelancer.

Always pratice, learn more/new stuff, otherwise you will become obsolete.

[wfredlund]

OP, what kind of programming do you want to do? There are several avenues to go down depending on what you want.

[Droodid]

I know where I work, we don't even bother looking at people who don't list a degree when applying (US), the only exception is if you have A LONG RUNNING list of experience. Then, it's still very likely we'll look at others before you. As for where to start, i'd say Java. Java is simple to grasp, easy to start with, and typically leads to better understanding other languages. Also is very widely used.

[Faesroll]

Unless you're some kind of genius self taught "Whizkid" who's been working with PCs since early age, in Holland you won't get far without a degree.

[Zogarth]

I could probably just take the whole going back to school idea off of the table, because of outstanding student loan balances, I wouldnt go back to school until I can pay them down anyways.

Did not know where you live so... yeah. Where i live you get payed to take an education, so self-education is pretty much non-existent.

[Opkorean]

OP, what kind of programming do you want to do? There are several avenues to go down depending on what you want.

I figure I would start with web development because I hear it is the easiest place to start and go from there. I have just heard multiple people say start with python or start with html, or start with java, or start with c++. I am just trying to get a good basis for where to begin. I dont expect this to happen overnight so I want to take my time and learn and just go from there

[Eyechewer]

Hi Voluntaire, let me give you a few tips, my 2 cents:

1) You need a degree. Nowadays employers (specially in high tech industry) won't consider an applicant that doesn't have at least a bachelor's degree, unless he has amazing experience. Which from what you say, you don't have.

2) Studying a programming language is all well and good, but as my abstract data type teacher says "Knowing how to speak a language is not as important as having something interesting to say." Honestly, you could just study C or Java at home, but you will miss the point. You will know how to program, but you won't know how to solve problems. You won't know the foundations of computer science upon which programming is based on. Knowing how to program a computer to run a process, is not even nearly as important as understanding the process / learning how to come up with solutions to problems (algorithms)

3) Studying computer science at university is both challenging and interesting, and I will personally recommend it.

4) A good knowledge of math (specifically combinatorics and graph theory, calculus, and probability) is ESSENTIAL to any computer scientist. You really need a university to be adequate in those fields.

Ask yourself this question: Do you want to be a programmer? a guy who just writes code? If so, stay at home, pick up a C or C++ or Java book and learn the language.
Want to be a computer scientist? Want to be the guy who not only codes, he thinks of the process to solve a problem? For that you want to go to university. As Dijkstra (a famous computer scientist) said: "Computer science is about computers as much as astronomy is about telescopes". Honestly, knowing how to code is insignificant when compared to the importance of knowing how to solve problems.

You ask what is a good place to start? If you want to be a programmer, get a book "C for dummies". Want to be a computer scientist? go to youtube, watch all MITs videos on set theory and discrete mathematics, and sign up for university.

Source: I study computer science and applied mathematics in tel aviv university

[Droodid]

I figure I would start with web development because I hear it is the easiest place to start and go from there. I have just heard multiple people say start with python or start with html, or start with java, or start with c++. I am just trying to get a good basis for where to begin. I dont expect this to happen overnight so I want to take my time and learn and just go from there

Well there's more to it than just I want to learn also. What do you want to create? Mobile applications? If so, which mobile OS? Desktop Applications? Which OS again? I mean, you need to be very specific in order to get a good starting ground. And web development. Do you want client side emphasis or do you want server side? Server side will require learning multiple languages as will client side.

[Viperid]

I'm a graphics major with a technical option in programming so my advice probably isn't the best , but you should practice a language that is good at what ever goal you are trying to achieve. For example if you wanted to practice data structures, there are millions of tutorials/books online that use C++ for that so it might be easier to pick up. On top of that, even if you cant go back to school, most computer science professors post their material for the class online on their personal website in my experience (hw/practice test/lecture material/etc). What you could do is hop onto ratemyprofessor.com for a school that you know is great in the computer science department, get the names of the professors, visit the schools directory, and search said professor's info which usually has their website. Even a quick Google search of them might get you started.

Interest in graphics programming?? Try picking up Javascript and you can use libraries like Three.js. This is what I'm programming in right now for my senior project with a group. The documentation isn't all there, but if you look at his source code on how something was implemented, then you can figure out how to use a certain function/tool.

Whatever you end up picking, the concepts of what you learn tend to jump from language to language while the syntax changes. One thing that helped me was after you figure out how to implement something, try and figure out how to implement it again using a different approach. Not every approach will work for every situation so it is always good to avoid being biased in your thought process on how to get something to work.

[PACOX]

Code Academy is a pretty cool site. I also like tutorialpoint.

[Deleted]

I figure I would start with web development because I hear it is the easiest place to start and go from there. I have just heard multiple people say start with python or start with html, or start with java, or start with c++. I am just trying to get a good basis for where to begin. I dont expect this to happen overnight so I want to take my time and learn and just go from there

if you want web page development, start with html and css. then learn javascript and php. you'll also need to learn sql for database

[wfredlund]

Like the others have said, there is 2 very distinct paths for "web development". Client side or front-end is going to be your HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Libraries like JQuery will fall in there as well. Server side or back-end is going to be your Ruby, Python, PHP etc. If you are looking to do the front-end stuff, you will need to know HTML (at this point start with HTML5) and CSS. Once you have an intermediate knowledge of both, move on to JavaScript. Once you are comfortable with JavaScript you can start fooling around with JQuery.

If front end is your thing, I would suggest picking up a book on UI and UX as well. Having an eye for interface and user experience will be highly valuable to you.