Recommendations for a new programmer?

[Destroyer]

Hello there, I have a simple simple question. Where do I start? I am going to University next year and want to get a head start over other student in terms of programming. I have started "learning" Python on code academy which have found good for learning the basics however quite difficult to master for the harder problems with lots of searching for the answer and working backwards from there. So basically all i'm asking is should I have started with Python? Am I just being dumb for the harder questions on Code Academy or is there a better website for learning off?

Thanks in advance.

[madknight3]

Python is an excellent language, and can be a nice one to start learning with. However, it might be more beneficial to start learning the language you'll be using in your first semester of university. In my case, we started with Java.

 

The jump from Python to something like Java might be a bit of a shock. The syntax is different, there's types involved, you're forced into object oriented programming right off the bat, etc. Might be helpful to start learning that stuff now.

[iLash]

I'm not a pro programmer myself but in my opinion cs50.tv would be a good place to start even if you think you know a bit about programming. It's an introductory Computer Science course by Harvard, you can find all the lecture recordings, slides, problems (kinda like assignments) and stuff. Just follow along the 2014 course or the 2013 one.

 

But they use C, so maybe after finishing that you can go to a site like Codecademy and improve on the language you'll be learning in your university.

[Satlen]

Yeah, python is very different than everything else that schools usually start with like C# and Java. Python is not as strict in term of the syntax and very simple which can make it harder as you get more complex. I would suggest starting with Java or C# if you can.

[Redliub]

Python is not as strict in term of the syntax and very simple which can make it harder as you get more complex.

I'm sorry, what? Simple syntax makes it harder as you get more complex? It doesn't work that way...