How to start coding?
So, for all the beginners out there coding is tough to learn, that’s the truth. But it ain’t impossible!! Sincere efforts and right guidance may help you ace your coding skills. Just make sure you are consistent with your learning, implement whatever you’ve learnt and revised the concepts frequently. Learning to code is not a cup of cake, even if you don’t understand have patience. Work for it with a positive mind and you’ll be good to go.
Now, a new programmer has a lot of confusions. Don’t get worried as everyone goes through the same phase. It’s common to watch YouTube video, read blog posts and quora about “How to start coding”. Up to a certain extent, it's okay to research but once you get a small idea about coding just start doing it without any hesitation.
Ask yourself- Why do you wanna code?
This should be the very first question to be asked, not to me, but you need to ask this to yourself. What is that you would contribute if you learn to code? If you choose to code just because its cool or your parents want you to learn it then sorry my friend- You won’t go a long way. Because coding requires energy and an inner motivation to push you ahead. If you are not mentally fit then you may lose confidence in the long run. There would be a time when you will have to spend hours in the problem and you won’t be able to do it until you are patient. And all of this requires a vision to do something great with coding.
Which language to choose?
There are four important aspects of learning any programming language- the way it stores its data, the way it operates upon it, its input and output process and the manner in which it controls its statements.
Why am I telling this to you?
Because you need a little effort in learning these things while learning your first programming language. Thereafter when you switch from one language to the other the process becomes much easier. Any language could be learnt as a beginner. Definitely, nowadays python has become famous and it’s highly recommended because it’s syntax is easier to understand. But even if you start with C, C++ or Java you will be able to grasp the concepts with practice.
Where to learn?
You may find plenty of YouTube video playlists for the language of your choice. But most of them aren’t in a systematic manner. If you’re a beginner it would be hard for you to understand the concepts from there. But even if you wish to learn from there here are few channels recommendation:
- Apni Kaksha, run by Aman Dhattarwal has taken a new initiative to provide quality education for free. This channel is highly recommended for Hindi speaking people.
- Telusko is recommended for English speaking people
- FreeCodeCamp has long videos but still, they are good to be understood
Apart from them, you may discover some other channels which may provide quality education to you. But if you don’t wanna waste your time searching for the right content then do go to the websites like Udemy, Coursera etc. These websites contain educators who charge you some amount of money to sell their courses. You may even check the reviews before spending the amount.
You also have coaching centres (both online and offline)like Coding Ninjas, Coding Blocks, Coding Elements which are devoted specifically for coding. But the prices here are too high. Go for it if you want to afford it.
“Focus on the logic building”
This mistake is committed by a lot of new programmers. People mainly focus on learning the structure of a program instead of building the logic!!
The structure is easy to learn but that isn’t the only purpose of learning a language. You need to learn logic building. And this could be done only by practising a lot of problems. I would highly recommend you to buy a book for this. Once you understand the program draw the algorithm or flowchart. Write the actual code and check whether it is wrong or right by running it on the IDE. Once you complete practising the questions from your book, there are some websites like HackerRank, HackerEarth, GeekforGeeks where you could polish your coding skills. These websites have tons of questions for you to solve.
