
23/05/2022
Programming is taking over the world. Now there is not a single area left where it would not be used: even the work of combine harvesters in the fields and complex medical research are being automated.
Programming is so in demand that beginners are ready to give huge amounts of money to different people and companies that promise to teach them how to code and make good money. And that's great. Although many scold the courses - they say that they last only a few months and release low-skilled personnel into the market. But in fact, in order to learn how to write code, it is not at all necessary to spend five years at the university.
Where to get the base
A computer is a rather complex thing, but it is based on only a few basic principles. After mastering them, it will be much easier for you to understand what is happening in the code. And for such a base, there is nothing better than the free course from Harvard CS50 - it has been translated into many languages, including Russian. I highly recommend starting with it.
If after CS50 the desire to program has not disappeared and has not been replaced by disappointment, start learning the JavaScript programming language. You don't have to know it cover to cover or memorize all the operators and syntax rules. Again, the main thing is to understand the basic things: how to run a JS program, what data types exist, how to write a condition and a loop. This is more than enough to get started.
How to choose your first language
There is a subtle point here: there are a lot of programming languages and they are very different. Therefore, there are many militant experts on the Internet who are trying to prove that their language is the best. But do not listen to them: in fact, any language can be the first. And if you have a programmer friend, feel free to choose the language in which he writes.
If you have no idea what language to take, then JavaScript will be the best choice. It is the most popular programming language in the world. You can write anything on it - even games. Plus, it is full of training materials: both paid and free.
Moreover, JavaScript works in any browser and you don’t need practically anything to start, and you will get the first results very quickly. By the way, be sure to look at TypeScript: this language is almost like JS, only better. Here are a couple of links to get you started:
learn.javascript.ru
typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook.
By the way, if you started learning JavaScript, this does not mean at all that you have only one way - to the front-end and website development. Having mastered one programming language at a good level, you can easily switch to any other, because the programming language itself and its syntax are no more than 10% of all programming.
When to start coding
You can write the first code when you master the most basic concepts. And then the question arises - what exactly to write? The answer is simple: solve simple problems. Yes, it will be difficult at first. But it will pump you up and help you become a great programmer. There are a bunch of different sites with a variety of tasks for programmers. Here are three of the most famous:
leetcode.com;
hackerrank.com;
www.codewars.com
Choose which one you like - first try to solve problems on your own, even if in some non-optimal way. And if it’s completely incomprehensible, google the solutions, retype them, figure out why each line is needed and what it does. By the twentieth or thirtieth task it will be easier.
Is it worth learning from books
I do not recommend reading books on programming right away - they will only slow you down. In addition, the Russian translation can be harmful. It is better to read the official documentation and try to find answers to questions that you have. It is better to read books after you get used to them - they will help to systematize knowledge. The best resource for the most up-to-date information on web development is MDN (Mozilla Developer Network).
And if suddenly you have difficulty understanding English-language texts, documentation or answers from Stack Overflow, then be sure to improve your English - in parallel with programming. The minimum level for a coder is the ability to read and write tolerably. Without this, there is nothing to do in programming.