So you want to teach yourself code but you don’t know where to start. Well you have come to the right place! Let’s start at the very beginning. Learning to code can be as easy or as hard as you make it. For a start, which language do you want to learn? Let’s go through them.
Teach Yourself Code – The Languages
- Python – This multi purpose language is easy to use and implemented by companies such as Youtube, Facebook and Google. Rating: Easy.
- JavaScript – Most popular language. Generally used in conjunction with HTML/CSS for web page building. Can also be used to make basic games. Rating: Moderately Easy.
- Ruby – Used to develop web applications in conjunction with Ruby on Rails. Rating: Moderately Easy.
- Java – Cross platform general purpose programming language. Rating: Moderately Difficult.
- C or C++ – programming language that is used for software and systems. Used a lot in-game development. Rating: Difficult.
To sum up, most languages are fairly easy to get into, unless you want to go into gaming development. This can be a massively rewarding career on many levels. However, this below will be you when you begin.
Teach Yourself Code – Free Courses
So now you have worked out which coding language is the right one for you, what now? Let’s start with the best free sites to actually learn your chosen coding language.
- Code Academy is the daddy of them all. With over 20 million users and a vast library of resources. And best of all, it’s completely free.
- Code School doesn’t have quite the depth or breadth of Code Academy but is a really useful resource with plenty on offer. The biggest caveat is that not everything is free. You can get started for nothing but eventually they try to funnel you into paying for lessons.
- Coursera is another great resource. Not quite as shiny and polished as the others but all the information is laid out in an easy way to access and read.
- W3Schools is a great resource for those wanting to learn JavaScript. It can also help you to build your knowledge of CSS and HTML, giving you a rounded education when it comes to website building.
- Udacity has a load of courses that you can browse for free.
- Khan Academy also has some great free resources. It is however mostly related to JavaScript.
So now you have somewhere to begin your learning for free. But what about if you get stuck or want to talk to like-minded people? Where do you go for that?
Teach Yourself Code – Free Web Resources
First up, here’s a couple of great sites where you can talk to other coders. Great for if you need a question answered or get really stuck with something.
Stack Overflow: The first stop for everyone working within the industry. Filled with helpful people, job listings, documentation and tons more.
Stack Exchange: Very similar to Stack Overflow and another place to get your questions answered. Or, as you get more experienced, help others.
Now on to the last of our resources. You have a language picked out, you know where to learn it and where to go for answers. But this next one is the one you will use the most.
GitHub: Here is where you can host your code. Manage all your projects. Collaborate with other users or teammates. It’s a brilliant resource and the de facto site for the programming industry. Go sign up there and access your work from anywhere.
It might seem as you start out to be a long journey. And it is. But if you follow the material and keep at it, in no time at all this will be you.