Learning How to Code on Your Own: Here’s How You Can Do It

Learning things on our own is almost always a difficult task. The rewards of learning on your own can be many, from saving money to that feeling of success when you have finally finished an assignment or solved a problem, or even understood something.

Thankfully, today we have the internet, not only as a means to find the next bonus code such as Coral, but as our crutch when it comes to learning new things that interest us. What about learning something as complex as coding on our own? Can it be done? Yes, it can, and here is how.

Understanding the Basics

Whenever we start to learn something, we need to master the basics. Some would skip the basics and go straight to learning how to code in a certain language, always asking themselves, “why do I even need this?”. The problem with that mindset is that the knowledge new programmers tend to avoid is often what underlies the entirety of programming. 

The best way to learn on one’s own is to find a university course and follow what it does. The beginning of almost every university course has a lot of theoretical work which new learners are often tempted to skip. This should be avoided. Books and literature can be obtained online. The underlying theoretical basics should not be neglected.

Take it Slow

If you are completely new to programming and the very concept of how a computer works, the information might overwhelm you. Take your time to understand all the things that are in the literature. Computer science and the underlying theory that programming courses teach are often difficult to grasp, at first.

Understanding the basics and not being overwhelmed makes room for what should follow, actually learning how to code.

Choose a Programming Language

Nowadays, there are so many programming languages which can be learned with relative ease. Languages which were immensely difficult became less difficult, like C and C++.

They are still difficult, particularly for users who are not used to direct control over memory management.

Web languages like HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript and similar ones, are different from what you would find in object-oriented languages like C++. C# is used on Microsoft systems while Java works on every platform.

It is good to dabble in multiple languages to see what they are like, from a standpoint of syntax, as well as to understand what you could do with them. Some are better for a specific task, for example, C and C++ work great for video game engines, system kernels, but are a poor choice for websites, where Javascript shines.

Coding

Believe it or not, coding is one of the best ways to learn code.

The problem with coding on one’s own is that there is nobody to check the code and see whether it can be optimized. This is a problem with learning anything on one’s own. 

Taking up smaller projects and learning how to use a language is the best way to get going. Having someone experienced check your code afterwards is recommended, though not available to most people learning alone.

Learning how to code on one’s own is doable, but it takes extra effort and discipline.