Programming 101 : Getting Started With Programming

This is the first post from my new blogpost series "Programming 101" a series i started to educated,enligthen and encourage novice programmers.
Back to our post for today 'Getting Started With Programming' , you are probably wondering what it takes to be a programmer and what is it like to be a master in programming , well you guess right it is tough , fun and fulfilling to be a programmer but to be a master in programming is another whole new level of deep,intense and sleepless night of writing,debugging and looking for that one single semi-colon(;) you missed when writing that 5,000 lines of pure codes.

Let me not scare you out of this post with does harsh word, to be sincere when i set out to be a programmer i expected it to be a smooth ride but i thought wrong , that is one key reason that prompt me to start this series . In other not to experience a rough ride in your journey to attain the greatest height as a programmer i urge you to follow this series closely.

How To Learn Your First Programming Language.

1. Know What You Want.

knowing what you want will help keep you going no matter the odds,you knowing what you want keeps you determined and makes your choice of programming languages to learn easier.

2. Know What To Learn.

There are thousands of programming languages out there each with different application and some can be substituted for others.If you know what you want,you will know what to learn this brings us to one conclusion that is you must first of all know what you want before you learn any programming language.

3. How To Get Resources.

You know what you want and the language you must learn to achieve that thing you want to do? what is next is resources where do you get all the materials needed , you can do that by using the following :

i. Google - Google should be your number one help desk as a programmer, you are not the first to encounter a problem thousands of people have face thesame problem as yours and has found a solution to it , which can be easily be accessible via google so if you have any problem whatsoever Just Google it and see hundreds of solutions accessible for free .
Remember Google is your friend..

ii. YouTube - World largest video collection database , YouTube is every programmer second help desk , Use The Search Button , input your keywords and watch a pro break it down to you in the simplest way possible.

iii. Udemy - An online website that offers lots of programming tutorials both paid and free.

iv. Sololearn- An Online / Offline Programmers Community with wide range of programming tutorials

v. W3schools - This is my favorite, W3schools has tutorials on the most used programming languages that can be access free..

vi. Cool Python Codes - For fun things to do with Python and to increase your knowledge about Python, this Python blog is the best for you

There are so many other websites, apps and books you can download or visit to learn programming which i can not mention all here but i promise to write an article on that soon.


4. Start From The Basics

You have all your resources at hand , don't flip pages yet start from page 1 - End . Yes , learning programming can sometimes be boring but don't stop that from making you read every single word, line,paragraph or page. Knowing the basics is a very good approach to learning any programming language.

5. Know What Works For You

You don't like reading no problem try watching you don't like that either, Hmmm ok lets see try Listening if that doesn't work try learning verbally and practically from a programming school. All humans are not equal not every one like reading ebooks , some like watching videos while others don't , Listening to audio files is a bit odd but some people prefer it while others can't learn without a tutor. So knowing what works for you helps a lot in learning programming.

6. Learn Less, Practice More.

Programming is all about practicing and being creative if you keep on learning without practicing you are just waiting you time, you are likely to forget all you learn in a month time but with consistent practice you will forever remember what you learnt 20 years ago.

All Work without play makes jack a dull boy.

Final words

I think we have cover enough for this week series of 'Programming 101' in addition to the above listed, learning programming should not be rushed ,take your time , learn in a quiet place with less distraction, keep practicing and stay positive..