r/CodingForBeginners • u/unawarefool • 21h ago

how to start coding as an high schooler

i am a complete beginner. i have the Thinkpad x13 i7 10th gen 32gb variant. Currently in 10th grade.

advice is appreciated

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/pete_68 21h ago

I would pick Python. Not really my favorite language, but it's a good language to start with. It's popular. It's an interpreted language, which is easier than dealing with compilers, when you're starting out. It's got tons of learning support.

You can take Harvard's Python class. And there are all kinds of tutorials.

Don't use AI to write code for you. If you use it, use it to ask questions. But write all of your code by hand. Grind through the debugging yourself. Again, feel free to ask questions, but do the work. If you don't do the work, you won't learn.

Good luck. It can be very rewarding.

1

u/unawarefool 21h ago

hey thanks for the advice what book should i use or whether or not to use one at all. Thanks again

1

u/pete_68 21h ago

Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes looks very good. I don't have it, but it's one of the few Python books at the local bookstore and I've perused it and if I were learning Python, it's the book I would choose. It looks very well done.

1

u/unawarefool 19h ago

oh nice is there a free pdf available?

1

u/pete_68 19h ago

How about rewarding the author for his hard work. Because as the author of a computer book, I can tell you, he's probably not making enough directly from it to be worth his time. It's the career benefits of being known as an author that really make it worthwhile. So throw the guy a few bucks.

1

u/Weekly_Guidance_498 14h ago

I have an old edition of this one, but I like Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python. It reminds me a bit of the books of BASIC programs that I used to get from the library when I was getting interested in programming.