So if you see my linkedin profile You may see that I know a lot of programming languages and frameworks. And you may (or may not) be wondering how I learned all those at such a young age or do I even know all those. The answer to the first question will be given in this post and the answer to the second question would be given in my next post
Prerequisites to learn new programming languages
The first thing I'd suggest is for you to become fluent in coding fundamentals. After you learn to code in one programming language, other languages will be easier to learn.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
- Chinese proverb
You should start with one than learn more. You must remember, computational thinking and the coding fundamentals apply to every programming language no matter the complexity. If you already know one language you can move on the learning new languages.
First learn the basics
First, learn the basics of the language then move on to libraries and frameworks. At first, if you start with too much then you will give up easily. A good site to learn the basics of a programming language really fast is learnxinyminutes Or if you want a broader selection containing programming languages, frameworks mathematics, etc. check out codecademy's list of cheat sheets
Then code something
The next thing you should do is to code something other than Hello World. Try new projects, see a list of projects to code and pick one then try it. You should try a few more projects until you think you understand all concepts. I keep a git repository of all of these projects I do, You may also want to do the same. Speaking of understanding all concepts
You must make sure you understand what you're doing
The common mistake I often see beginners make is that they use tutorials too much, I do agree tutorials are good for teaching a specific thing in a specific way. But for programming, you must be creative and be able to build your own stuff too not just stuff made by others in tutorials. Copying code from StackOverflow is also similar, You should not copy code you don't understand, trust me it will cause issues later down the line.
General tips
- Read the documentation This is something I see a lot of people hate especially people just starting out with programming. documentation is important and you must take advantage of it.
- Coding challenges You should try coding challenges with your new language with sites such as leetcode, exercism, edabit, project euler, codewars, codingame
- Find a coding partner Find someone that codes in the language you want to learn, this can be a irl friend, family, or even a discord buddy
- Learn to ask for help Whatever language you wish to learn be sure to ask for help when you get stuck somewhere, this can be in stackoverflow or Google or ask in programming specific reddit and Discord communities
- Take breaks You don't have to sit in front of a computer for hours and hours at a time. Try to take breaks and do the other things you have to do except programming. Sometimes you spend hours and hours to find the bug but you don't get the solution for your code so it's good to take a short break. It will restore your focus and help you find solutions to your problems
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