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Ask HN: What are the problems for non-programmers who need to learn to code?
Hi all, I am interested in the problems and annoyances you encounter in learning to program or applying that knowledge to your non-programming job.
For example if you are a trader who has to use spreadsheets, a data scientist writing python, a landscape gardener who built their own website, etc. Programming to me seems like it would be tough for those who don't do it full time with all the complexity us programmers throw in :-).
- smt88 8y agoA friend once complained that most docs don't have code examples, or if they do have them, they're incomplete or have variables like "foo" and "bar" that give no indication of real-world usage. Despite being a programmer for 20 years, I've found the C# library NodaTime to be very frustrating for the same reason.
- snyena 8y agoI used to write simple CRUD websites (using PHP, MySQL, HTML and CSS) and I am now thinking it would be nice to learn Python. The questions in my head are so many that I don't even know where to start: - what is the best way to go about this strategically - how to set up the development environment on my laptop? (so far I have watched several tutorials and every single one of them recommended something different) - should I be coding locally or upload everything online? - should I start with what I used to in PHP and if so, do I absolutely need to learn a framework while learning Python? - if I need to be learning a framework, should I go for Django or Flask? And many other things I am uncertain about. (Edit: formatting)
- quickthrower2 8y agoThanks snyena and smt88 (sister comment) this is great feedback to know about. I feel the same way with 17 years of experience - e.g. learning even the basics of Docker or Kubernetes makes me confused/uncertain etc. Or even knowing if I should use Docker or Azure Functions or an old fashioned VM or whatnot.