This article is a bit of a help for people who are just learning how to write programs. Starting out is just as difficult as learning a new foreign language because everything is alien and nothing relates to all the stuff you already know. Fear not, as the tips advice and strategies listed below will help you to learn programming with pleasure (and sometimes more efficiency).
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You do not have to learn the language before touching it
The common tip is that you should learn the language of programming before you have a go at it, but that is the worst advice ever. It is like telling a kid that he has to learn all about the hyper-rectangle or rectangular cuboid before he is allowed to play with his Lego.
Starting from basics in a practical manner is very effective
Learn how to do the most basic of functions and you will soon see how programming is just about putting one idea on top of another. You will see how all you are doing is communicating with a computer in a language closer to its own.
Learn by doing and copying what you see
Trying that first routine is always good, when you generate your first program so that it does something simple such as divides numbers in half. It is easier and more fun to learn by doing and copying than it is to learn by reading pages of text.
Do not progress onwards until you fully understand what you’ve been taught
This is very important because you can bet your bottom dollar that what you learnt in your previous lessons will be called upon again in coming lessons. Often it is something that is important for future understanding, so make sure that what you have just learnt is understood. You do not need to learn the ins-and-outs of it all, just make sure you understand the concept before proceeding.
There is no trick or secret for learning this stuff
Adverts that tell you the secrets to success or the tricks for learning are just conning you out of your money or time. There is no more a trick to learning programming as there is to learning French. You simply have to get in there, start from basics, and give it a go as often as possible.
Make notes as if you were writing your own book
This is good because you can check on things you have forgotten when they turn up again, and you can check that you understand the concepts and principles of what you have just learned. Your notes come in handy later when you are sure you understand a certain thing and yet you cannot get it to work.
Make up your own demonstrations
They do say that the easiest way to learn is to teach, so consider making up your own demonstrations of some of the concepts that you have learned. You will find that it makes learning it all a bit easier to remember.
Enjoying what you are doing is what separates programmers from normal people
People who take up programming will often have the feeling that they can rule the world. It allows people to take what they see every day (their computer) and bend it to their will to the point where they feel in complete control. This idea is fun to some people, and having fun is what makes programmers want to learn more.
Learn tricks that enable you to enjoy programming
This sounds a little wrong, since one may not be able to enjoy programming until one is good at it, but look at it on a very basic level. If you were learning the guitar, then learning the many techniques of Spanish fingering and playing is going to make you a good guitar player. However, if ten minutes of your lesson is also spent learning how to play modern rock or learning how to play the music of your favorite video games, then suddenly it becomes more fun and you want to practice.
The same principle may be applied to programming. Sure, you can learn the many rules for “if” or “else” statements, but you can also do fun things too. You could look up the code that opens up IE Windows on different websites. You then get your little brother to click on your program when nanna is around looking at his homework. A quick double click and your young brother is showing nanna all the wonders of the pornographic world on full volume. Such a side project is far more interesting than learning all the ways one may add comments to their programming code.
Kate Funk is a freelance writer at www.aussiessay.com. She is mainly focusing on technology, gadgets and all the latest trends which are interesting for networking enthusiasts.