Anyone can learn to code for free. Here's how...

I really want to learn to code I just don't know where to start perhaps I could do it to an expert enter I've come to learn to code so I'm really keen to get started that's it but there's no chair on the floor ok I'll sit on the floor then wait so what do you know about coding well nothing that's why I'm here that's not a good place to start you have to be very very clever to code are you very very clever arm you don't look very very clever what language do you want to learn what you know of computer architecture what about data structures and algorithms have you heard of a linked list computer networks databases distributed systems it's not just hello world you know hello who hello okay yeah do it so when you first start it can feel a little bit like that it can feel completely overwhelming it can feel that you're in a world surrounded by experts and that you're an impostor and that you don't know what you're doing and there is just so much to learn that you'll never be able to do it you can and you will you just need to do it the right way welcome Giles I've been expecting you what is this place and welcome to the forests of disenchantment the forest of disenchantment what am I doing here look I just want to learn to code you're going to be spending a long time here if you want to learn to code but ignore the man in the bow tie he's a coding snob this is something that anyone can learn to do it just takes time I can show you the path but it's up to you to follow it come with me there's no doubt about it this is a difficult skill to acquire but I really believe that anyone can learn to do it but you do have to give it time you're not going to be able to do it in three weeks or four weeks or or three months even you're gonna have to persevere you know do 10 15 20 minutes a day and know that this is gonna take you 6 12 18 months something like that I can take you no further but before I go let me give you this advice when you're learning to code or learning to program it's not about learning a language yes you have to learn a language in order to be able to program but what you're really learning is the ability to take a problem and translate it into something that a computer can understand now that's universal the ability to do that is universal obviously you need to be able to program in a particular language when you're starting so you have to learn a language but the real skill you're learning is that thought process of breaking problems down into something that a computer can understand that's the skill Python is a very good place to start because it's a simple syntax and you don't have to worry about things like memory management and it enables you to focus on that problem-solving side once you've mastered that you'll learn other languages very quickly indeed now go on your way find the resources that you need so you're gonna start by learning Python other people will give you other suggestions just ignore them learn Python to start with there are several resources that I want to share with you first of all go to green tea prayers green tea prayers is an independent publisher which publishes some really good titles on computer programming the one you're gonna need to begin with and I stress to begin with because there are other books that are going to help you along this journey too but the one you need to start with is think python download that for free go through it from the front cover to the back cover go through all the code examples code them out yourself until you really understand how they work go through all of the exercises at the end of each chapter if you can't do them look at the solution once you've looked at the solution try to do the question again without looking at the solution and make sure that you understand every question and every answer at the end of each chapter once you've done that you're in a very good position then to move to the next step once you've gone through think python you will have reached a really good base level of proficiency but you're not there yet the next thing you need to learn about is data structures and algorithms knowledge of data structures and algorithms are crucial if you want to get a coding job but they also make you a much better coder you'll write much better programs have a much deeper understanding of how your code works and also know whether you're solving problems in the most optimal way I've linked to the Udacity course on data structures and algorithms and make sure you google as well data structures and algorithms in Python and some useful resources will come up there too now as you're working through all of these materials I want you also to check out project Euler where there are some useful coding challenges that will definitely help you hone your skills once you get about halfway through the think Python book you need to start working on your own project and by the time you've reached that point you will probably have a good idea of what sort of project you want to work on this is going to take you some time six 12 18 months stick at it don't be over ambitious but just keep plodding on ten it's a day 20 minutes a day 30 minutes a day something like that you can do more if you want to but don't push yourself too hard because if you do you might just end up giving up so it's quite handy because I can use the little flip out screen on this camera which you can't see but I can as a mirror and it's quite useful when tying the bowtie which I to tie a few times when I was recording this first bit or when I was preparing to record it anyway how's that good looking look good enough will do won't it I suppose hold on a second mmm do a little bit tight so it's quite small the screens I can't see how big they're not a star there yeah okay yeah what do we think nice

Channel: Python Programmer

Views: 65,676

Rating: 4.9459105 out of 5

Keywords: how to code, learn to code, learn python, python, green tea press, think python, data structures and algorithms, beginners guide to code, how to learn to code, which programming language should i learn, learn programming, how to program, udacity, algo expert, giles mcmullen, python programmer, techlead, joma tech, jarvis johnson

Id: liLzTCsph9w

Length: 7min 19sec (439 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 20 2019