I don't want to Pajeet it up, I already started off bad having solely used PHP in the 5.x days when I was a kid. I have weak math (pre-calc right now) so I'm addressing that. What should I focus on moving forward?
inb4 "git gud at math first" I can do both right now, though obviously can't do overly complex theory for programming yet. I might be starting with C or Python. Reading material suggestions, or even alternative languages?
SICP, Introduction to Algorithms. Go to khanacademy and finish all math courses
Luke Reed
how to HTML by schoolastic
Jonathan Gomez
Programming is an exercise of independence
If you're unable to read through the amazon books section without handholding, you can't learn programming
Hunter Wood
> if you are not willing to waste money on bad books before finding some good ones, you can't learn programming
kek
Justin Allen
>I am unable to tell which books are good and which ones are bad
>I want to learn programming
Mutually exclusive
Oliver Russell
>I'm not an experienced programmer
>I want to learn programming
>Mutually exclusive
Sure thing boy
Thomas Young
>I'm not a writer >that means I can't tell if this 50 shades of grey is good or bad and need handholding from /lit/ to tell me
wooooow
Dominic Cook
If you have zero experience at writing/reading that would be possible.
Brayden Price
disregard those who say codecademy or HTML, those are the true pajeets C: K&R There is a shitload of python books out there, "Think like a computer scientist" maybe? Python is veeerrry easy. It teaches you how to program, as in: it teaches you the absolute basics and you're developing stuff right away and really fast, thinking just about the logic of the program C is more full of boilerplate, and harder, but you learn the internal details of computer programs and related stuff. You can't do high level stuff as easy, it's way better for implementing stuff close to the machine. I myself picked C when I started, pick what you like. You can always learn the other one, or any other, there's a shitload
also you don't need math
Easton Peterson
C++ is easy and very useful, start with that. It's basically like C so you can actually start with C.
Ryder Smith
Unable =/= unwilling What's the point of wasting days to scramble through useless information when you can get it faster if someone recommends a good source?
Hunter Lee
Markup language != programming language
Anthony Carter
Learn Python the Hard Way
Brayden Myers
>khanacademy
Camden Johnson
>"Hurrdurr don't learn Python 3"-book
How could you recommend that?
Ryan James
lurking
also looking for tips on good starter languages
Colton Hill
anyone else get really hyped about programming once every few months but give up after a few hours?
Landon Allen
I started with this. Bad Fucking Idea. Not very in-depth, moves at a snail's pace and for some reason decries Python 3. Seriously, what the fucking hell is that guy thinking? Use Think Python: How to Think like a Computer Scientist. Infinitely better introduction to Python and to programming in general. Remember, you're not learning a language, you're learning to program.
Alexander Richardson
That's right. Khan Academy is a suitable course to get introduced to mathematics.
Adrian Rivera
C/C++
Anthony Ross
Markup language is loudly equal to programming language?
Gavin Butler
You don't necessarily need advanced math to program. Neither to learn it, or to do it professionally, albeit it depends on what type of programing you are doing. I mean scientific simulations obviously are going to require an intimate understanding of higher mathematics and physics. What math does for any programmer though is that it teaches you to think and approach problem solving in ways that are highly beneficial to programmers.
My stepmom was a math major. She started out wanting to teach math. Her first teaching job was the state history of a fly-over state that she was neither from, nor interested in. So she got into IT instead. This was in the early 70s, and before schools actually offered degrees in CS. She ended up doing mostly business software and databases throughout her career. All that calculus and shit didn't really offer much practical, day to day use. Business math on the other hand was something she dealt with daily, and absolutely had to have a good understanding of.
Also, start with C. It is literally the foundation of modern programming. Very few other languages that are used widely aren't in some way either based on it, or inspired by it. It's not the greatest language. In fact anything you could possibly want to do, there's at least one language that can do it better. C is fucking everywhere though. It's influential, and it's not going anywhere. Understanding it will be of great benefit, and plus it looks good on a resume--rightly or wrongly, it's assumed that C programmers are more knowledgeable and skilled. Fortunately, it's also a fairly small language, and not all that difficult to learn.
The reason people think it is hard, is due to sloppy, bad programming habits, which C notoriously is very tolerant of, and seemingly encourages. If you want a perfect example of C done correctly, look to OpenBSD. Say what you want about it as an OS, and it's devs, imitating them would serve you very well in mastering C.
Jason Rogers
Khan is dumbed down make it more accessible. Sure, it's helpful to watch individual lectures if you have problems with certain topics, but watching it all is a waste of time. Besides, you learn math not by watching lectures, but by doing shit-ton of exercises.
Daniel Garcia
come on, math is not that essential when it comes to programming...if you are going for CS or gamedev, yes, lots of math, but for programming, good logical thinking/problem solving skills + basic operations and you are good
Nolan Parker
typical gay ass alpha nerd right here
Blake White
If you rarely read any books, telling if 50 shades is good or bad is not really possible, unless someone else tells you (which happened to 99% of people dissing it btw), which kinda proves his point.
I used this when I wanted to learn C, it's Harvard's intro to CS course that is taught mostly with C though they do touch on webdev languages at the end. Still, it's a great introduction to both the C language as well as programming concepts in general, and the problem sets are challenging and fun. If you go through this course and have a good textbook as well, you should end up with a solid foundation in programming.