The best way for me to study for test was to read through a lot of worked out problems. This works great for the short term, but not for the long term. Retentio

The best way for me to study for test was to read through a lot of worked out problems. This works great for the short term, but not for the long term. Retention from reading is a lot less than from doing. Sure, you may learn programming faster by reading lots of examples and books ... but it will discourage experimentation. You'll only learn what you read, and you will likely not understand it as in-depth. I learned programming without guidance, on my own. Having to figure everything out with only one or two books and no Internet is an invaluable experience. I really feel that going through that was my competitive advantage.