Learn the Basics of Four Programming Languages to Get You Early in Programming
When you’re just starting out to learn to program , it’s hard to tell if you have the basics and are ready for a programming career or side job. Explore Python The Hard Way By Zed A. Shaw suggests: Learn the basics of four programming languages.
The show details the difference between novice and early coders. Newbies have no experience, so they’ll need to learn really simple things like opening a terminal – things that other programmers might take for granted and assume people already know. On the other hand, early programmers already have some experience and basic skills and just need more training, especially in problem solving.
To get basic programming skills from novice to novice programmer, Shaw recommends learning four different languages:
My current method of teaching newbies is to teach them the basics of 4 programming languages. I’m not sure why 4 seems like a magic number, but after reading 4 programming books and learning how to write tiny programs plus all the syntax, they seem to have gotten the basics firmly in place. This stage is about learning concrete simple things, but also understanding the idea that concrete things are simply replacing abstract concepts. In one language || (the two pipe characters) could mean “or,” and another language will use the actual word “or,” but this is the same concept and the character does not matter. After they have mastered the fourth language, they have mastered it and can move on to early programming.
Four sounds like too many languages to learn for a beginner, but the idea is to gain a broad understanding of programming and the basics.
What programming language should you learn first? Pick one . Then go on.
Early and Beginning Coders | Zed Shaw