How To Learn Programming

Programming is an art , whose concept may seems bizarre to newbies or non-techies. However, taking time to study these concepts makes one realise that mastering programming is as easy as learning every other trivia art. But following the principles explained below reduces the learning curve and makes your journey to becoming a programmer a fun filled one.

1. DECIDE YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PROGRAM

This principle  applies to all forms of learning. You would do better if you’re learning something you have passion for.  focus your attention on learning rather than ‘how do I make money from this’. In a nutshell, passion should be your drive not income.

2. CHOOSE A LANGUAGE TO START WITH AND FOCUS ON IT

Now that you have decided to learn to program, you should decide on a language you’re to start with. Trying to learn multiple languages at the same time is an easy route to confusion. Eliminate yourself from language wars at this stage, every language has its good and bad sides so ignore comments as to which language is better than the other. After successfully understanding a particular language, you’ll realize that programming concepts are similar in all language, just a few syntax changes. Hence, learning a new language after your first will be a walkover.

3.START WITH THE BASICS

 Don’t be in a hurry to learn programming. You should start out with the basic ‘hello world’ program Don’t find it as too cheap or trivia no matter your age. Embrace books with titles such as ‘…for kids’,…for dummies’, books such as these usually turn out to be the best for learning as they explain in simpler terms and assume you have zero knowledge about everything. Don’t compare yourself who’s just starting to program with those that have started coding since the days of assembly language. With time, you’ll get there!

4. ‘CODING ALL DAY KEEP D BUGS AWAY’

 Do not be discouraged by bugs appearing in your code. Infact as a programmer,  you’ll spend more of your time debugging your codes than actually writing them. It is nearly impossible even for experienced programmers  to write  20 lines of code without a single bug . However, constant  practice, the number of bugs you ecounter tends to reduce.

5. JOIN PROGRAMMING COMMUNITIES

It can be frustrating trying to figure out how to do things all by yourself. Join an active coding community you can run to for help when you ecounter problems, learn how to effectively make use of search engines to figure out solutions for yourself

6. BUILD SOMETHING USEFUL

Now that you have mastered the language of your choice, it is time to make use of your newly acquired knowledge to build a real life application. At this stage, reinventing the wheel is totally allowed when necessary. The purpose of this is simply to ensure you can put your knowledge into use which is the overall aim of learning to code

7. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

Now that you’ve mastered your first programming, it is advisable to pick up a new language and begin the cycle again. This helps to broaden your horizon and gives you a clearer picture of some programming concepts