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I agree. I've struggled for years with programming. I would complete every Codecademy-like course or tutorial I could find, only to be left feeling as if I just

by kyro 12y ago

I agree. I've struggled for years with programming. I would complete every Codecademy-like course or tutorial I could find, only to be left feeling as if I just learned how to go through the motions of programming. I always knew there was a significant void in my understanding that prevented me from both fully grasping the basic ideas underlying programming and making any meaningful progress. The cliche advice people had was "ok, now create your own project," which is much, much, much easier said than done for a beginner. I have a million projects I started and never finished because I got sick of just not understanding what I was doing. SO answers were utterly baffling and copying/pasting them got me nowhere. What is a data structure and why are they using that one? Why would one algorithm be better than another? And for web programming: What're the basic components of the internet? What are HTTP requests? What are all these protocols? How much should I know for the task at hand? It was so overwhelming. Thankfully I found a set of books that have been wonderful in methodically building my knowledge and skills. There is so, so much more a beginner should be exposed to than for loops and cleverly slicing lists. Edit: For those asking for books/resources, here is what I would suggest to someone just starting out. I chose python for myself because I wanted a language with broad potential (ie web development to statistical and biological computation). It's absolutely critical that you complete every exercise provided. Programming basics: - How to Think Like A Computer Scientist - http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html - Think Complexity - http://greenteapress.com/complexity/thinkcomplexity.pdf http://greenteapress.com/complexity/thinkcomplexity.pdf - SICP - http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ --- Web/Development basics: - Team Treehouse modules on git, shell commands, DNS, etc -http://teamtreehouse.com http://teamtreehouse.com - How Does The Internet Work? - http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande91si/www-spr04/readings/week1/InternetWhitepaper.htm http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande91si/www-spr04/readings/... - Udacity Web Dev course - https://www.udacity.com/course/cs253 https://www.udacity.com/course/cs253 --- Django basics: - Getting Started with Django - http://gettingstartedwithdjango.com http://gettingstartedwithdjango.com - Two Scoops of Django - http://twoscoopspress.org/products/two-scoops-of-django-1-6 http://twoscoopspress.org/products/two-scoops-of-django-1-6

TarpitCarnivore 12y ago
I agree wholeheartedly. I have tried over and over to get into programming and web building. I can go through the courses, retain some knowledge, but when it comes time to build something I'm lost. I feel too often these services focus too much on the middle, but not the beginning and end. As you said, understanding and learning about loops are important, but should not be the full focus. For example the API stuff on Codecademy doesn't go into the full picture of how you build this into page. I have struggled mightily with understanding how the whole process works. I would love to find a service that walks me through building a page in Flask, hosting it and integrating it into APIs of popular services.
- dethstar 12y ago
  I felt like that, when i finished my first programmin course i was like, well how do i make something useful now? Because you know i could solve some Euler problems. Finally when i started to "get it" was simply when i started to do it. E.g You break your problem in pieces and start making something. Wanna make a music player? Well how do you play music oh theres a library that you call song.play, cool. How do you read the tags? How do you get the files? Isnt a playlist just an array? And so on... This is the approach that worked for me.
peapod91 12y ago
>> Thankfully I found a set of books that have been wonderful in methodically building my knowledge and skills Would you be able to share the titles of some of these books?
danford 12y ago
Got any book suggestions? I just started learning how to program about 6 months ago and personally JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 6th Ed. was the first book that got through to me when it comes to Javascript and programming in general, but I feel I'm still lacking in other areas of web development.
austengary 12y ago
You'd suggest SICP to someone just starting out?

by kyro 12y ago

TarpitCarnivore 12y ago

I agree wholeheartedly. I have tried over and over to get into programming and web building. I can go through the courses, retain some knowledge, but when it comes time to build something I'm lost. I feel too often these services focus too much on the middle, but not the beginning and end. As you said, understanding and learning about loops are important, but should not be the full focus. For example the API stuff on Codecademy doesn't go into the full picture of how you build this into page. I have struggled mightily with understanding how the whole process works. I would love to find a service that walks me through building a page in Flask, hosting it and integrating it into APIs of popular services.

dethstar 12y ago
I felt like that, when i finished my first programmin course i was like, well how do i make something useful now? Because you know i could solve some Euler problems. Finally when i started to "get it" was simply when i started to do it. E.g You break your problem in pieces and start making something. Wanna make a music player? Well how do you play music oh theres a library that you call song.play, cool. How do you read the tags? How do you get the files? Isnt a playlist just an array? And so on... This is the approach that worked for me.

peapod91 12y ago

>> Thankfully I found a set of books that have been wonderful in methodically building my knowledge and skills Would you be able to share the titles of some of these books?

danford 12y ago

Got any book suggestions? I just started learning how to program about 6 months ago and personally JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 6th Ed. was the first book that got through to me when it comes to Javascript and programming in general, but I feel I'm still lacking in other areas of web development.

austengary 12y ago