Ask HN: Where can I go to learn basic coding?

freshfey · on Sept 21, 2011

I asked a similar question a few days ago here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3007945 (there are some gems in this thread!). I'm actually on the quest to find out what's the best method to learn programming for non-technical people, but I'm still compiling some learnings.

If you're using Ruby on Rails in your startup, start directly with www.railstutorial.org - it's a great introduction to not only programming but all the side things that programmers do (version control, deployment, etc.)

If you need a Python or Ruby introduction, Zed Shaw's are very good too! http://learncodethehardway.org/

keecham · on Sept 21, 2011

Great suggestions, thanks! I'd love to keep touch as we both start the coding journey, could be a good way to keep us both on top of progress!

Edmond · on Sept 21, 2011

You could start by toying around with Phyzixlabs Software. It is a platform for building and using academic applications based on Javascript and SVG. The motivation for PhyzixLabs is to make it easy to build and use applications such as these: http://phet.colorado.edu/.

It is a cloud based programming environment so you wont have to deal with setting up your own coding environment which is usually the biggest road block to new coders.

Below are some live demos of apps built on the platform and a couple of video tours:

*Firefox, Chrome,Safari or Opera required.

Spring Mechanics: http://hadron.phyzixlabs.com/embed/?action=get_main&embe...

Projectile Motion: http://hadron.phyzixlabs.com/embed/?action=get_main&embe...

Here is an example of the above programs embedded in a blog post: http://colabopad.blogspot.com/2011/03/public-release-of-simu...

User Demo : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhZcIMvejVA

Developer Demo: http://youtu.be/wma9MU2e_U0

Feel free to contact me with newbie questions! Ed.

keecham · on Sept 21, 2011

Thanks for the suggestions Ed, I'll be looking into all of this tonight.

Toddward · on Sept 21, 2011

Codecademy is pretty awesome if you really want to start with the very basics. The lessons they have so far cover Javascript, but the features they teach you span most languages.

http://codecademy.com

When I started out, though, I had a clear vision of what it was I wanted to do, bought a book, and started hacking away. I learned best by jumping in head first with the hard stuff, but I realize a lot of people learn differently than I do. I would say that if you find the Codecademy courses too easy or boring, you should try my approach instead.

As far as what to learn...it kind of depends on what you're trying to build. Back when I was teaching myself, I was using PHP and MySQL, but the world appears to have mostly moved on from the LAMP stack of yesteryear. I'm partial to Python these days, but I've always enjoyed Java as well. Javascript has blown up in a huge way in the past couple of years and platforms like Node.js have only made it that much more practical. If I were to start learning web development today, Javascript is probably where I would start.

tnorthcutt · on Sept 21, 2011

I clicked on the parent to suggest this, but with the caveat that codecademy hasn't added new lessons since they launched, which is kinda disappointing. It could grow into a great resource, but so far it's not there. You can finish the lessons in a couple of hours.

Toddward · on Sept 21, 2011

They recently added a second lesson. But I agree, the level of content is not sufficient yet. I was more suggesting that they use it as a resource for learning the very basics and then move on.

runjake · on Sept 21, 2011

Use the search. This question gets asked ALL the time and there's no use rehashing what's been hashed over and over.

You'll probably find a lot of references to LPTHW.

DanielStraight · on Sept 21, 2011

Zed Shaw's Learn Python The Hard Way:

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/