I think the better approach would be something to break each piece down into something that can be ingrained over time. I find it much better to hack at a langu

I think the better approach would be something to break each piece down into something that can be ingrained over time. I find it much better to hack at a language in a text editor and compiler first, then move towards an IDE if applicable. Sometimes I find that I get more comfortable in a text editor and the IDE is just more overhead than I need. I think something like this would be a better approach: 1. (If Applicable) How do I compile the code? What is the shortcut? 2. How to I get something to display on the screen/website? 3. How do I build unit tests in this language? 4. How do I run the unit tests? 5. Are there any tools like AutoTest available? 6. What are the preferred source control tools? 7. What frameworks are there? Are any of them by far the leader? This can be expanded as far as you want to take it, but I think this approach would make things a little easier to swallow. By focusing on one question at a time, I believe someone would be less likely to bite off more than they could chew before they were ready for it.