How does someone who has literally zero experience with programming go about starting to learn?

How does someone who has literally zero experience with programming go about starting to learn?

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probably with google.

code academy or project euler or something.

Look certain terms and tutorials up on Google but college is always an option

By using a search engine and reading.

thenewboston.com/videos.php

if you don't dream in code, you don't stand a chance.

>thenewboston

this dudes speech impediment always turned me off to watching his videos

well if im starting at something i look for books for dummies and i learn pretty well, in my case its C++ for dummies. Pls no bully anons

What do you want to eventually accomplish? That will decide which languages and supporting knowledge you need. Probably look for "how to be an X developer" type resources which should enumerate those for you, and then you can deep dive into the individual things as needed.

You could also go for one of those bootcamps. Costs a lot but you can actually get jobs after 'graduating' and they help with that too. Just do a little research first to make sure they aren't teaching you outdated shit.

>for dummies

give it up.

You can also do what I did and go for a CS degree. Pro: deep learnings into the science behind programming. Con: you don't get immediately relevant experience, and it takes a long time.

I made sure to do an internship as part of my degree and then I got hired by the company after I graduated. I'm not doing exactly what I want to do right now, however. But experience is one of the most important aspects in getting a software development job.

"Learn x in 21 days" books.

You won't actually become a competent programmer in 21 days but you'll know the crude basics and you can pick up more advance books from there.

The same way you do with everything else
Start with basic shit, then advance duh
Problem is most people can't be assed to think in abstract terms and implement them logically

If you actually have a high IQ not "I know terminal commands and fix my friends computers" go for c or c++. If you're just computer savvy go for the basic web dev stuff(HTML CSS JavaScript etc) then go for Java. After you master those you should have a good idea what you should do after

If you don't have patience and get easily frustrated, just give up already

Wow dude desu

download and read a pdf, here are two suggestions:
Hacking secret cyphers with python
Head First C
Common Lisp: A gentle introduction to symbolic computation

those were three suggestions instead of two. I just added a book and forgot I'd said 'two'

I should also clarify:
python lets you get started doing stuff with the minimum fuzz: you learn to instruct the computer in the most simple straightforward way and have it work.
C lets you program closer to the machine, you get to understand all the nuts and bolts of the metal but you'll deal with a lot of related issues because it doesn't hold your hand
Common Lisp if you want to grow a thick beard and retreat from the world

Alternatively read ESR's "how to becme a hacker" (first result in a google search).
I think I'll give this advice every time I see this question from now on.

What about C Primer Plus, Hacking The Art of Exploitation, Black hat python, etc?

Never heard of C Primer Plus
Hacking great book, could very well be your first as well
black hat python is a bit too narrowed in scope to be an intro to programming.
Hacking is also narrowed down but the first chapter is a complete introduction to programming, and if computer security is your goal then there is no better book to get started imo
Also if you're considering a book such as C primer plus I'd suggest either K&R C or Modern C.
Remember: C is a language that'll teach you what programming is all about at the lowest level. It has little market share and it's annoying for bigger projects where you don't need exacting control over the processor (as in resource-intensive applications and such)

well C Primer Plus don't look half bad. Read whatever book seems to work for you.
Just remember what I said about C. beware

Find a local university and apply for programming classes.

If not, there are millions of videos on the internet who tutor you in the basics of programming and how variables, datatypes and objects work.

Library and interlibrary loans and/or this.

Codecademy's pretty neat; That's how I'm currently learning python

Examine a decent undergrad CS degree from a university at just above your level, e.g. if you expect a 600 SAT Math then go for UCSB curriculum, but if you expect 750 SAT Math then go for MIT curriculum.

codeacademy is good and structured, but i really think project euler is under-appreciated if you're reasonably self-driven but don't quite know what to do. it gives you sufficiently complicated problems that the intuition behind it is obvious but doing it by hand is insane, so you have to find ways to define functions and whatnot the come up with the solution. i feel like it's a really neat trivialization of exactly the kind of stuff you do when you program (or when i program) - have a complex problem, break it down into something relatively discrete and computable, and write code to do that. recompose into more complex components as necessary.

Press "F12", click the "console" tab if it isn't already selected, then type "alert('am I a programmer now?')" and hit enter.

When I first started I tried C++ and tried to make a virus, and it just made me quit for a while, then I came back and started in bash and python, and perl. Programmed in that for a little bit, and worked towards C#, and android programming. Things are becoming easier to program after starting in python.

Serious answer: read How to Design Programs and do all the exercises. It's a great text for self-learners and forms the foundations for some Coursera's online course as well.

So I suppose "C, A Modern Approach" and "C in Easy Steps" the best intros to C?
I have basic experience with Python which was fun but I hear learning C makes all other languages easy to learn

The best intro to C is Chapter 1 of K&R C

What about C Primer Plus?

looks pretty high level, mang

I started with java then moved to more web development programming. I used lynda, youtube and several academic articles.
www.user-curb.com

basically this

Start drinking coffee. Seriously. Then Google the language you want to learn, and start writing little programs with it.

>Start drinking coffee.
A fucking good advice. You're a true one user.

OP first decide what type of programs you want to create...and then come back for advice

Also, you won't mistake if you choose any popular language (c++, java, python, c#) because there are many books for it and lots of sites for advices.

i started with c#, i'm quite happy what i managed to learn on my own

what's a good book for C++?
they all look like shit

Not OP, but I also have no knowledge about programming. I'm going to learn C as my first language. Why? It's my dream to shit on all CS majors. Why? Every group project I had to do in college with a CS major was such a shitty experience. CS majors are the worst people on earth, and that's my belief as someone who is racist.

>not meth
y'all cowards won't even smoke it

If you want to learn how to code then go to a community/2-year college. A traditional 4-year university will teach you Python and about how non-CS majors created fucking everything that you're studying.

fuck there's some truth to this.

time to switch to math

hello sir

>time to switch to math
Why math? If we take for granted that CS is a meme, then wouldn't some other IT related major make more sense?

You got it wrong.
You go to college for CS in order to get the degree(basically a certification) and to do internships.

Computer engineering?

So on-the-job training is the only thing that matters? Also, most CS programs don't even require an internship

Check archived threads. Question's been asked 1000 times. This month.

rightclick in the browser, select "View source...", be amazed of what a page actually looks like, start googling for this shit, follow a shitload off tutorials.

I'm not saying to do it because it's required. Your university should have a career planning office that receives notices from local companies looking for interns. They don't do this shit with community colleges. Combine an internship with the degree and some projects you've contributed to on github or something. You will find a job easily with all of this on your resume.

For any IT-related field, having a degree in anything is the same as having a degree in CS

At community colleges students get internship info from the professors. All of the career planning help at universities tends to fall on deaf ears. While it certainly is useful, the large majority of students just assume they can easily get a CS-related job after graduation with just a degree

>Browse job openings
>Requirements: Bachelor's degree
>Requirements: Ability to write a Hello World!
A degree in gender studies is literally just as useful as a degree in CS

>have a complex problem, break it down into something relatively discrete and computable, and write code to do that. recompose into more complex components as necessary.
That's how I did math homework in school, except for the coding part.