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Some thoughts: * First of all, good on you for trying to learn how to build stuff. * "I need to learn some Java. Material suggestions?" --> I'm assuming you
by endtime 16y ago
Some thoughts:
* First of all, good on you for trying to learn how to build stuff.
* "I need to learn some Java. Material suggestions?" --> I'm assuming you mean JavaScript. I've heard good things about http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html, which is free and has an interactive REPL right in the browser as you do the tutorial.
* "I seriously considered Python/Django..." --> personally I think Python is a much easier language than Ruby for beginners. The syntax is cleaner and more readable. The reason you give for using RoR instead is understandable given your lack of experience, but it's not actually valid. You can make exactly the same apps with Rails and Django, and I don't think one is even more conducive to any specific type of app than the other. I've also heard bad things about the Rails community, though I haven't verified any of that personally. If I were you I'd spend 30-60 mins on Python and Ruby each, and choose based on which you're more comfortable working with.
Good luck!
- Jcasc 16y agoThank you for the javascript suggestions. I am 1/2 way through Chris Pine's Learn to Program Ruby book. I hear http://learnpythonthehardway.org/index http://learnpythonthehardway.org/index is a good resource for beginners, I will take a look. Thoughts? Any other tutorials/books you recommend for Python/Django?
- mryan 16y agoLearn Python the Hard Way will give you more than enough Python knowledge to get started with Django. The Django tutorial [1] is very impressive - it will take you from the initial steps to a very basic (but working) web application, exposing various Django concepts along the way. The Django documentation is so good I learned Python from it - I had never used Python before starting to learn Django. The tutorials and docs on the Django site are better than any of the Django books I have looked at so far. [1] http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/intro/tutorial01/ http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/intro/tutorial01/
- endtime 16y agoI didn't learn Python from a book, I learned it by forcing myself to write something nontrivial in it...but I had prior programming experience. So I'm not sure if I can give you much useful advice here. I'll second mryan's recommendation for the Django docs, though. Also, I see you're in NY. I am too. Shoot me an email if you want to grab coffee some time.
- bmelton 16y agoI also didn't learn Python from a book, but figuring that my ad-hoc learning style might have left gaps in my knowledge (and being a fan of Zed Shaw's work) I ran through the "Python the Hard Way" book and found it to be a VERY solid way to go about things. Turned out there weren't any language basics in there that I didn't already know, but I heartily recommend the book to anybody looking for a quick start into programming.
- klous 16y agoAs mentioned by others, Learn Python the Hard Way is a great place to start. I suggest supplementing it with: The Google tutorial on Python. [1] Python by Osmosis screencasts [2] Django Book online. [3] ProudN00b is a great blog on a similar path from little coding experience to Python + Django [4] [1] http://code.google.com/edu/languages/google-python-class/introduction.html http://code.google.com/edu/languages/google-python-class/int... [2] http://www.youtube.com/user/ryanmshea http://www.youtube.com/user/ryanmshea [3] http://www.djangobook.com/en/2.0/ http://www.djangobook.com/en/2.0/ [4] http://www.proudn00b.com/archive http://www.proudn00b.com/archive
- Jcasc 16y agoThank you very much. Really appreciated.
- thekevan 16y agoAnother resource for Python is the MIT OpenCourseWare class, Introduction to Computer Science and Programming. Some aspects may be a little behind your skill level but it is a quality course overall. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-fall-2008/ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput... Good luck!
- Jcasc 16y agoGreat rec, I actually came upon that a few weeks ago and it nearly made me decide to go with Python. ...Alright I'm convinced.