When first learning how to program, it is completely normal to get overwhelmed. Programming is hard! But like anything worth doing, it
should be, and the sense of satisfaction that you will get once you are able to build awesome software is worth your frustrations, trust me.
In order to help you along on your programming journey, I have created a list of tips to guide you, from one software developer to another.
1. Just Do It!
In order to get good at anything, you have to practice. Unfortunately, programming is no exception to this rule, and there is no better way
to practice programming than to sit down at your computer and to simply type out some code. Watching coding tutorials online is great, and
it opens your mind to a lot of possibilities, but don't just watch the video, code along with the guy that is making it! In order to get
better at coding, you have to code, not just watch other people code.
2. Don't stress over choosing a programming language.
Whenever I am online reading coding blogs or forums, I always see questions like "Which programming language is the best?", and to that
question I always say "It depends". There is no single programming language that is best for writing all the different kinds of programs.
Some languages are better for certain things, for example, C and C++ were created for systems programming, like building operating systems,
and that is what they are best at. Can you write a web server using those technologies? Sure, but you'd a lot better off using Python or
Java. With all that said, when you are starting off, it is best to pick a language you like and stick with it. Learn as much as you can about
that one language, get good at it, because most of the concepts that you learn in Python, can be applied to programs written in Java, or C#,
or Swift. So the more you keep switching languages, the more you just keep learning the same basic concepts over and over again, when you
could spend that time starting to get into more advanced topics.
3. Don't be afraid to fail!
As I've said about 4 times now, programming is hard! In order to learn the right way to do something, you have to learn the wrong ways.
You will make mistakes, but the key is to learn from those mistakes, so that you don't make the same ones again. And when you reach the point
that you feel like you are about to bash your face through your keyboard, give your question a quick google search, and you might be surprised
about how much it can help you.
4. Get involved in the community!
There are all kinds of different forums, blogs, and tutorials for you to read and learn about what other people in the community are doing.
One of my favorites is called Quora, which is a website where people ask questions, and other people answer them! There are questions on
there for just about any topic you can think of, but there are also a lot of really good questions about programming. People will ask about new
JavaScript frameworks, new updates to languages, how to do certain things, all kinds of stuff, and a lot of very, very smart people answer the
questions. The key thing here is to make sure that you have some buddies that you can talk to and ask about programming related things. Don't
be afraid to ask questions!
5. Have fun with it!
Again, programming is hard, but it is also extremely rewarding. Once you learn how to do the basics, you will be surprised about what all you can
do. You are only limited by your imagination. So if you want to build the next Facebook, do it! Again, the only way to get better at it is to do it,
and what better way to practice than by building something that you think is really cool.
I hope that these tips help you on your quest to becoming a programmer!
If you have any questions at all or you just wanna talk about programming, my personal email is codyclay88@gmail.com.
I'd love to hear from you guys!
