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Ask HN: How should a 60-year-old get started with programming?

• jstewartmobile 7y ago
  Pick a language, read the manual, and try to do something in it. Grind it out! If you already have safe money, that's one hell of a runway, so I wouldn't even bother looking for "work". Make a product and sell it. That way you have have equity, so if you get sick, or want to goof off for a few months, checks will keep coming in.
• Rannath 7y ago
  Pick your passion. Start with tutorials. RTFM. You need to work through a project.
• troydavis 7y ago
  As others have said, follow your passion - whether that’s games, Web apps/sites, productivity software, or something else. Choose very small projects. If you want a specific direction… work through this short, free ebook. It will be useful no matter what you do: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer%27s_Tutorial_for_Python_3 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer%27s_Tutorial_fo...
• dennis_jeeves 7y ago
  Given that even something like building a web page has become extremely convoluted, understanding the basics can be difficult. My suggestion have a mentor, who is an experienced developer guide you. ( I volunteer, you may contact me...) >Which area could be a good fit? This is actually tricky to answer. Almost all areas of software have some demand for people all the time ( I do not have numbers). Your bigger hurdle will be that people will rarely hire if they learn you are 60 years old.
• heymijo 7y ago
  > who has never done any programming Suggestion/hope for anyone looking to answer this part--please answer this: -------- What does the map of the programming terrain look like? -------- I have come across so many articles/tutorials "for beginners" that suffer from the Curse of Knowledge, forgetting that total beginners may not even be able to parse why something like: "Pick a language, read the manual, and try to do something in it" that jstewartmobile offered is in fact good advice. Thanks for hearing me out!
• gus_massa 7y ago
  I'd recommend Python. It's very beginner friendly, there are plenty of tutorials, and there are a lot of advanced libraries. [1] Don't read the manuals, follow a few tutorial. Try to think a variant of the exercises in the tutorials and try to code the variants too. (Each person has their own style, I don't like reading the manuals. You may like to read the manuals.) Try to find a problem in your area that is easy to automate. Some thing that is small, repetitive and boring. It's good to make a few toy/small projects that make something that is useful for you. I don't know how realistic is to expect some side money from this, but if you are an expert is some field sometimes you can use programing to solve exactly what the people in that field needs. [1] I prefer racket. It has a strange syntax, so sometimes people get scared of it. The advantages of racket are easier to see when you have been programing for a while, so start with Python and then try other languages later.
  • dennis_jeeves 7y ago
    >Don't read the manuals I second that.
    • brwr 7y ago
      Until you are more experienced. Then you should ignore tutorials and read the manuals.
• codedrome 7y ago
  I agree with gus_massa about Python as it is probably the simplest mainstream language but in recent years has moved way beyond being a toy/educational language to major commercial use. Try building something "real" like a simple program to store details of your DVD collection, a calendar/diary or whatever. Most importantly forget about being 60. It's irrelevant.
• sharemywin 7y ago
  I would argue the least amount of age bias is in cobol and then c++ and then .net cobol is also pretty easy to learn. Most of it will be maintenance of insurance and financial software. But basically nobody's looking to get into entry level cobol maintenance. https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Mainframe+Cobol+Programmer&explvl=entry_level https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Mainframe+Cobol+Programmer&exp...
• xdatcat 7y ago
  Python, its easy to learn and you can find a lot of tutorials on youtube.
• cylinder714 7y ago
  I'm going with Common Lisp as my first language: https://oneofus.la/have-emacs-will-hack/2011-10-30-common-lisp-is-the-best-language-to-learn-programming.html https://oneofus.la/have-emacs-will-hack/2011-10-30-common-li... Based on what others have said, I figure it'll give me an edge when learning other languages. (but I'll also work through SICP) I also ordered a copy of Brian P. Hogan's Exercises for Programmers: https://pragprog.com/book/bhwb/exercises-for-programmers https://pragprog.com/book/bhwb/exercises-for-programmers
• sloaken 7y ago
  I suppose the first question is which type of programming are they interested in? Web pages? Embedded - where you build something with Raspberry PI? etc etc Is this just to remove boredom in old age, or starting a new career? For pure programming I recommend whichever language they can get a obtain that has a GREAT debugger. If not then you, as their friend get to help them debug.
• matt_the_bass 7y ago
  If you plan to try to do remote work, you need a network. With all due respect, 60+ is late to build a network for generic programming contracts. I would suggest that you focus on your current network. What do those people need from a programming point of view. Target languages/technologies that match that niche. If the programming is only for fun, then don’t worry about the network And focus on what is most interesting to you.
• Pete-Codes 7y ago
  I'd tell them to go on Indiehackers for the business side of things. To be honest there are probably tons of problems people in their 20-50s totally ignore that a 60 year old could make lots of money from. If they have imposter syndrome, send them to www.nocsdegree.com
• probinso 7y ago
  Its important to consider what their goal project is. Narrow all technologies to their goal product. If they just want to learn programming, I would suggest learning Ada because it is clear and has very good compiler errors. This is very bad advice if they want to build websites. Have them ask a seasoned industry representative to write a soft syllabus with resources based on their interest
• bhumi1102 7y ago
  perhaps an easy way to get a taste for building things is with no-code tools
• soul4krsna 7y ago
  I suggest installing a basic Linux distro or even Linux From Scratch. Get a taste for command line tools and an overview of the environment that supports programming. Its a vast ocean of possibilities. Start anywhere since its a hobby. Have fun and learn the principles of implementing solutions. There are tons of Youtube videos that spoon feed any language you choose to learn.