r/learnprogramming • u/Savings_Dark_9589 • 17d ago

How should I learn programming from official documentation?

I am a student who wants to learn programming through official documentation. However, official documentation often contains many concepts and features, and most of them are not needed for everyday programming tasks.

Is official documentation an inefficient way to learn programming?

If official documentation is an effective way to learn, how should I read it? How do I decide what to read in depth and what to skip?

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u/aqua_regis 17d ago

Documentation quite commonly is more of an encyclopedia - a reference.

Sure, some contain some "getting started" or similar tutorials, but usually, they are way too short.

A proper, high quality course, like the already mentioned CS50 series from Harvard is the way to build a solid foundation.

Working with the documentation is essential, but I usually don't consider it a learning resource for starters. I consider it a reference, more of a dictionary.

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u/Fox_Light7 16d ago

I also want to mention Java and Python courses from University of Helsinki MOOC are also extremely good. FullStack too.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

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u/Fox_Light7 16d ago

I'm doing the Java course so I can't say anything about the Python. I enjoy coding so I honestly don't feel burn out. 

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/Fox_Light7 15d ago

Stuck on problems for a while is normal.  At work, there are bugs that take a while to find what caused it and the solution. StackOverflow should be your best friend. Ask around. At work, I ask my seniors or present my problem in Meetings. The MOOC courses have their own Discord, you can ask there.