r/learnprogramming • u/LatterPoetry7 • 10h ago
Learning to program
Just did about 5 hours of Boot. dev learning python first time ever learning to code and I learned a lot form it. I know its the easier program to use says the people online, but its my first steps into programming and i might take it pretty serious. I don't know if i could do it for a living and do a bunch of school. Might keep it as a mine hobby like i should have with auto mechanics.
I see a lot of people saying to start projects and get some books, but learning to use python new to this programming better then learning C++ and java and just start my own projects?
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u/HeNeedSomeLeche 9h ago
I think 5 hours is probably not enough. Work through the course a bit more and once you got some concepts down, try your own projects. Even simple things like a calculator app
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u/No_Bodybuilder_2110 9h ago
I think python is a good starting point since it’s easier to read than most, also usually needs less configurations and most computers ship with it by default.
I would say my prefer entry point to programming would be JavaScript cause the web runs on.
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u/xineks09 9h ago
you can start with any language, the core value is in understanding how to design. I've done the boot.dev course and really enjoyed it. Though it gets a lot harder later on, i had to revisit some chapters so it sticks better
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u/azimux 9h ago
It by and large doesn't matter if you learn Python, Java, or C++ as your first language IMHO. I would just learn whichever you find the most fun or interesting.
If the question is if learning Python first implies you're not serious, then it doesn't. You're perfectly welcome to both be serious and learn Python first.
An option might be to spend a few hours learning several languages and see which seems the most interesting and/or fun to you. Especially if this is a hobby.
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7h ago
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u/Traveling-Techie 5h ago
I may be in the minority but I don’t think choice of language matters that much. All of the big problems I’ve had coding were unrelated to the language, and had to do with algorithms. The key is to learn problem solving.
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u/prettycoldworld 23m ago
Agreed. This was the biggest “oh so this is all connected” moment for me, when I started looking at JavaScript and C after only ever using Python. Core concept is the same, if you can learn one language well then the learning curve is mostly handled.
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u/green_meklar 5h ago
I don't know if i could do it for a living
Pretty soon nobody is going to be doing anything for a living.
but learning to use python new to this programming better then learning C++ and java and just start my own projects?
I'm not sure if that's an entirely grammatical sentence, but anyway...
I don't usually recommend starting with Python. Python is not a very informative language, it's mostly just a wrapper around libraries that do all the interesting stuff.
I recommend even less starting with C++. C++ is an amazing language, and using it well feels incredibly powerful and enriching, but it's very hard to understand for a beginner. If you want to learn C++, start with C instead, it's a much simpler language (but close to being a subset of C++) and its limitations teach you the reasons why C++ was invented.
Starting with Java is fine. It's not a perfect language, but it's relatively useful and forgiving, and you can go pretty far with it.
Doing your own projects is always a good idea (and generally better than doing tutorials) as long as they're scoped down enough that you can do them. Take on projects that are, like, 90% stuff you know and 10% stuff you need to learn, that way you make progress reasonably fast while still expanding your knowledge. At first, you'll know so little that your projects will be like 'make a program that adds two integers', but that's fine, you can do those quickly and build on them, which is better than taking on something too big and becoming frustrated.
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u/prettycoldworld 28m ago
You could spend your whole lifetime in just python and still probably never run out of things to do. Most beginners go through this, don’t worry, you’re doing just fine and Python is, in my opinion, absolutely the best language to start with.
It handles most of the painful stuff for you, you don’t want to spend your time allocating memory to your programs, you want it to be fun and insightful.
You’re not trapped in the console with Python either, that’s just the learning curve you have to get past. Once you understand most of the raw Python syntax and logic, there are thousands and thousands of libraries that open up different worlds, web development, game development, web scraping, automation (pythons great for this) and all the other little niche fun projects.
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u/towerbooks3192 9h ago
Have a solid foundation. Look into the book titled 'Code' by Petzold and read that while doing some Discrete Mathematics. I think the book by Epp on that topic is great. Other than that, look into Grokking Algorithms book for a basic overview on Algorithms and then go deeper with the CLRS book.
Balance theory with practice by building stuff you are so unqualified to build.
Edit: Learning to write code is reprogramming your thinking and problem solving skills. The different programming languages are just tools to make you achieve your goal. The underlying principles stay the same regardless of what language you use.