How to get started?

[light-v]

I really like the idea of programming and I've been trying to get into it since I was a kid however I do need some form of goal or objective to get things done which I can't really figure out what in this case.

 

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless stuff and feeling like I'm not going anywhere.

 

Is there any practical way to learn and create something even if it is crap? I don't mind I just want to learn from the process. Is it true that having a buddy helps? 

[zwirek2201]

1 minute ago, light-v said:

I really like the idea of programming and I've been trying to get into it since I was a kid however I do need some form of goal or objective to get things done which I can't really figure out what in this case.

 

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless stuff and feeling like I'm not going anywhere.

 

Is there any practical way to learn and create something even if it is crap? I don't mind I just want to learn from the process. Is it true that having a buddy helps? 

What are you looking for? Web? Desktop? Mobile? Games?

 

I don't think there is a universal way to learn programming practically. You will have to go through some form of theory of the language you are looking for. I usually like to find a tutorial that is not describing how to do something but is showing it on example, that way I don't feel so bored because I can follow the example and sometimes even add something on my own. 

You will get bored at the beggining, it's inevitable. It's important to not just sit and look at someone writing code but writing your own code, even if it's copying a tutorial. You'll catch some things much easier while getting used to IDE.

You can try to think of an easy program that would be interesting for you and then try to find some resources on how to make it work, but I would recommend doing that when you get a little more comfortable with the language and IDE. 

You can also find some project ideas online. Just google something like "C# project ideas".

 

Programming has a quite steep learning curve because there are a lot of things that you have to learn to even start writing code, but when you learn it, you can try implementing some of your ideas which will make you feel like you've actually achieved something.

[leonfagan71]

18 minutes ago, light-v said:

I really like the idea of programming and I've been trying to get into it since I was a kid however I do need some form of goal or objective to get things done which I can't really figure out what in this case.

 

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless stuff and feeling like I'm not going anywhere.

 

Is there any practical way to learn and create something even if it is crap? I don't mind I just want to learn from the process. Is it true that having a buddy helps? 

I guess the first thing to do is work out what type of programming you want to do and what sort of applications that you'd like to make.
 

I know it's not a language but you could start with batch, it's simple and is pretty basic enough, else python is more of a generic language that is used for a lot of things now so it's probably something to get interested in.

 

In terms of project ideas, I can't think of ideas that easily, I find I'll only do something if I feel like I need to. For example, I hooked up an RFID scanner, a relay and a few window sensors up to my Raspberry PI and made my own very basic security system so that I would know if someone was going in my room as I would hear the motorbike horn attached to the relay going off.

I never really got to the point of learning an entire language, I started on HTML and PHP then CSS and then moved to java and c# 
I just used the language that I found was better for my projects.

In my opinion for myself I found that other people were distractions but then again I'd been programming for a longer time than they had been so I'd find someone who is around the same sort of level as you and a lot of time together to bounce ideas on how things will go together.

 

At one point one of my teachers recommended CodeAcademy however I found that it was unclear at what it was asking and ended up making the examples better during my basic IT lessons, it should have changed by now and so that's always good.

 

Once you understand the basics like a basic calculator for example then just work yourself up towards the more complicated stuff.

Sorry if I'm not too much help here.

 

Regards,
Leon.

 

EDIT: These may be of help: 

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Find something to copy.

 

No seriously. Find something that looks simple enough and try and copy it. You already have something that you know how it's supposed to work, so you have at least a goal to go after.

[limegorilla]

Agreeing with everything that @zwirek2201 has said, you need a project. Start off small through. I chose HTML and my project (which is still ongoing) is my website. If you have assess to it, Lynda.com is a great recourse. Something I also found really helpful was this forum, just upload your work somewhere and link it. GitHub is a great place for that, it's where my website is hosted - for free I might add. Check out other peoples work, try and make a new version of it, build upon what is already there. Somthing that took me a while to learn is that with the right hardware and code, anything is possible with computing.

[light-v]

Thank you all for the suggestions I really appreciate all your inputs

 

I think the hardest part for me is to figure out the kind of project I can do but I'm not particularly creative. I learned a bit of Web design (HTML/CSS) but then I don't really know what to do with a website, the same goes for mobile applications. 

 

I think I need to give a purpose to what I do 

[Cruorzy]

7 hours ago, light-v said:

Thank you all for the suggestions I really appreciate all your inputs

 

I think the hardest part for me is to figure out the kind of project I can do but I'm not particularly creative. I learned a bit of Web design (HTML/CSS) but then I don't really know what to do with a website, the same goes for mobile applications. 

 

I think I need to give a purpose to what I do 

Maybe because you can't see what is possible with a server side language like PHP, you can't find a good project?

What I did, I picked some game i liked or wanted to know more about. And build some functionality around it.

 

Examples : Item Database (Wowhead), Trading site (Most CSGO sites), Quest Information website etc.

 

If you don't see a clear goal yet, see if someone you know have some creative idea. It might be funnier to do since you can show your progress to someone.

 

Else learn components most of your project needs : Login System (Which is hard for most beginners) / Message System / Sending forgot password mails

[Tcrumpen]

9 hours ago, light-v said:

I really like the idea of programming and I've been trying to get into it since I was a kid however I do need some form of goal or objective to get things done which I can't really figure out what in this case.

 

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless stuff and feeling like I'm not going anywhere.

 

Is there any practical way to learn and create something even if it is crap? I don't mind I just want to learn from the process. Is it true that having a buddy helps? 

https://www.codecademy.com/

[cluelessgenius]

9 hours ago, light-v said:

Thank you all for the suggestions I really appreciate all your inputs

 

I think the hardest part for me is to figure out the kind of project I can do but I'm not particularly creative. I learned a bit of Web design (HTML/CSS) but then I don't really know what to do with a website, the same goes for mobile applications. 

 

I think I need to give a purpose to what I do 

you still havent said what plattform i believe...

 

just think of something for you personally. what would you like to have as a piece of software. from time to time when i find the time i will write some nice little tools for myself and even did one for a fellow forum member once e.g. i recently wrote a tool that reads out the german version of craigslist for graphicscard postings and then links them to a database of benchmark scores so now i can get price/performance scores for used cards. or if you are willing to get some hardware i always had this idea of a raspberry pi or something in a really compact case with a batter and some huge storage attached and then it would basically just start copying inserted usb sticks onto its own storage. for quick data exchange on the go. (or stealing data if youre an asshole)

 

basically think of what process are you repeating a lot and then automate it.

[Guest]

You do lessons on codecademy, then buy a textbook for the same language. 

Then when you learned the topic in codecademy, you can do the questions/projects at the end of the chapter in the textbook. 

[Pcgeekbrain]

I don't know how applicable this is to you, but I have always found this technique works for me.

 

Look around your environment (particularly at work) and see if you can find some process that bugs you. (Does your company use an excel sheet to keep track of important information? Are customers consistently calling to get the same info over and over again? Is there something you find yourself doing again and again?) And start working on a solution for that. Generally boosts your interest in actually finishing the project, for me it is enough to make me get a MVP out the door :-)

[Beskamir]

Quote

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless stuff and feeling like I'm not going anywhere.

That's just how learning/teaching tends to work... Although I guess you can also try to come up with your own projects that you'll feel motivated to complete. So like try to automate something you already have to do and consider dreadful or coming up with some fun project you can work on. The hardest part of learning is getting to a level where you can more or less effortlessly do cool stuff. So the only advice I can really give you is try to force yourself to get to a level of skill where you can just mess around with stuff and have fun doing so.

[DrowningFish]

On 10/18/2017 at 6:29 PM, light-v said:

I've looked at many coding tutorials but I always end up doing pointless

This is what I have been following to learn Java....

 

I find programming is always feeling pointless at first. The "Hello World" project is a perfect example. Just because I project seems pointless dose not mean you are not learning. In the end of the day you will be combining  everything to make something great. I will say, learn all the basics. I love seeing people jump right into it, but I have also saw a a lot of people just give up because they do not take the time to learn the small boring stuff. Don't rush it, you will get there soon and will be creating. I would always recommend finding someone to learn it with you, helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of. And just having that coding buddy makes lines of code more fun!  Good luck and hope to hear you figured something out.