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What is the best way to learn a programming language without schooling?
I am trying to learn a programming language without college. C# language. I've been reading about it loosely for the past two years. I haven't made much progress.
Public Comments
- Get a copy of Wirth's "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs" - Amazon usually has decent used copies for under $10. Once you've mastered that (it's a small book) a lot of what's been eluding you will make sense. It's about the best tool for learning programming. (Would you learn Spanish to learn to fly a plane that has controls labeled in Spanish, or would you take flying lessons first?) If C# is still difficult, download VB.net - it's easier as a first language.
- Two things that may help: c++ is easier for me than c# and more useful in my opinion. Php has a very nice syntax that is very similar to c++ and has better documentation. I learned c++ first and picked up php very quickly. Well, I guess theres a third thing. Avoid "in record time"/"in very little time" books. They skip alot of important stuff.
- The best way to learn without school is to try all examples and read them thoroughly until you understand what it does. Just try to recreate a program and them improve upon that program. Look up tutorials, download them read them run them, re-create them. Start small of course. www.codeproject.com this site has many tutorials in different languages and many explanations. Also don't restrict to just one language. Try to read something in c++/Java and try to recreate it in c#
- Not to turn you away from C#, but, if you want to look into Java, there are a lot of tutorials to walk you through how to learn it. This is also a popular OO language to learn: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/index.html You can download the whole development environment for free at this site. The O'Reilly book, "Learning Java" is also worth looking into. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596008734/
