Best way to teach yourself how to code

For the past few years now I've attempted to teach myself how to code. But with so many different languages to choose from and without a clear end goal in mind, obviously, I've struggled. Has anyone here managed to teach themselves how to code? If so, where did you start, how did you stay motivated, and what language did you start with?

 

Like everything else in life, I think there are two ways to learn. You can sit and study the basics in a vacuum, or you can decide what you want to created, and then learn as you make your first thing. I heard this about the guitar. Some people think you should learn all of the major chords and practice them repeatedly, and others think you should find a song you like and learn the chords for that song, and then after you can play that song, learn a different song.

Computer programming is the same thing. You can take a course and learn the basics and maybe do a few standardized projects that you may not really be interested in, or you can decide what you want to program, and then find youtube videos that teach you how to accomplish that goal and learn as you go.

For me, I learned C# by making games. I found the type of game I wanted to make, then followed a youtube series that taught me how to make that particular type of game, and learned C# in the process. Every once in awhile I would come upon some important programming topic, and then learn that on its´own in another video.

 

This is a difficult part for me. Because when you try to interpret a hard-code programming into simple terms. It will just make whole idea into another form of confusions. I have a problem in the past to deal such ideas, even my understanding barely grasp the simple line of code into higher level of programming. I understand people who have difficulties of programming languages, especially Java programming. It has a lot of bug features, when ever you try to add some export compiler.

Every person has talent to easily understand like programming. Some even easily grasp this idea, because they tend to drop some common knowledge into a new idea. That's the other strategy of prodigy, they tend to inter related some knowledge, so that it will easily to understand.

I think you should not focus more on ideas of prodigy people. Try to take some ideas of simple form such as JavaScript. I really love JavaScript. It has a lot of potential, because of its simplicity, and a client friendly programming.

 

First of all, I recommend you to set yourself a goal, And from there, start searching until you find the language that suits your needs. There are plenty of resources on the Internet as well as many free websites that offer you a pre-established curriculum. Learning to code is a really tedious process and you should establish yourself a routine that keeps you away from burnout since studying many hours without rest does more harm than good. And finally, create things. It will serve you any purpose to read a lot of books if you do not put into practice what you have learned; even a simple "Hello World" Program teaches you a lot.

I recommend two websites which are the ones that helped me the most to grasp the concepts of programming: Freecodecamp & Codecademy. These websites have a pre-established curriculum and teach you how to make websites on your own. They specialize mostly on HTML5, CSS, and Javascript. Good Luck.

 

This question is akin to asking "what is the best way to learn anything"? With that, be rest assured that the answer remains as analogous as ever: read! Never stop reading especially quality books that serve as guides to whatever programming language you wish to learn. These kind of books focus on the basics of programming languages; which ever one you choose to pick.

Another thing you must keep in mind is constant practice and application, converting every instructional line in the aforementioned guide books into code lines no matter how little they may seem. Just keep in mind that the small victories are building blocks towards the ultimate goal of being a good programmer.

Lastly, this generation, in my opinion remains the luckiest in terms of knowledge gathering and assimilation. The internet has given us the chance to learn anything from anywhere at anytime. So, for you who wish to grasp the framework of C, Java, Visual Basic, Python, e.t.c., online platforms like Udacity, Freecodecamp and the rest are there for your taking. They even make it easier by offering currriculum-type programming tutorials and also present the chance of you meeting with fellow minded people in respective forums.

It is up to you.

 

There is not one answer for the question: "The best way to learn yourself".
You need to find what is the best way for you to learn, for me it was watching some videos, and then go and start "play" with the program, for example I watched a short video about pygame on python, and then I have started to discover new things on my own.
You can try mane things: udemy, youtube, reading a book, reading articles, try it on your own and much more.
Just remember to make projects, don't just learn theoretically, make it practically.

 

Programming is the hardest discipline I have ever encountered, it's so difficult as it's evolving rapidly over time, and even professional programmers have to study constantly and be aware of new technologies. I wouldn't say that I have learned programming, but I have managed to program some applications that I needed, just by downloading some existing programs, removing what I don't need and adding some new features. That's the way to go. dive right in, before even knowing how to write "Hello World".