learning programming

**abduljones** · October 22nd, 2014

Right, guys, this is not a question that fits into any category, so I'm starting with you as the words education and science are in your title, and you presumably know a bit about computers and programming.
My son is in his final exam year and, but before that he has to apply to local schools/ colleges to do his further edcation for the next 2 years (If your from the UK like me, you'll understand he can do what my generation call A levels, Btecs, apprenterships, vocational courses at his current or other school or a local college. It is currently a total pigs ear, but out of it he has to get some further qualifications that will land him a job).He enjoys and is good at IT and would like to be able, eventually to be able to create his own games, and learn programming to a level that is useful and would make him an attractive prospect to a future employer. My son hasn't seen any courses offered locally that would teach him what he wants. I have yet to get to grips with scratch, so I can't advise him. So I wonder, ladies and gentlemen, if it is possible for him to teach himself? If so, where does he start? Are there programs about that can teach him some basics and beyond. Are there any good on line REPUTABLE courses that are worth looking at? He's got a very long summer holiday next year and I would like to set him a challenge to create a simple but addictive game by the end of it. Any ideas, recommendations and advice would be appreciated. The gem rb engine has been mentioned. I know nothing!!! And yes, that should say learning programming, but I can't amend it. Oh, and by the way, he's got an unused raspberry pi in his desk drawer, so a challenge that includes that would be good

**rewyllys** · October 24th, 2014

A good place for your son to start would be with MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) offered by Coursera.org.

Coursera courses are open to anyone. Most of them are at undergraduate or graduate college level, but there numerous introductory courses that your son would find helpful.

There are a large number of courses that deal with programming: e.g., Python, Java, etc. If your son Googles "coursera online courses programming", he's practically guaranteed to find something that will start within a week or two or three. Or you could do some initial searching, and give him a set of courses that he could consider.

Good luck to both of you!

**abduljones** · October 25th, 2014

Thanks for that. I've given him the address to have a look at.

**rewyllys** · October 26th, 2014

Originally Posted by abduljones

Thanks for that. I've given him the address to have a look at.

You're welcome.

Some other URLs worth looking at are:

http://online.stanford.edu

http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

https://www.edx.org/

**Matthew_Harrop** · October 31st, 2014

I'm probably a little older than your son, but I (With the help of my dad) taught myself programming (School was hopeless and self teaching was our only hope, we live in the UK too)

What part of IT is your son interested in?
If its programming then:

I started with a language called Lua which is documented for free online ( http://www.lua.org/ ) and used a compiler called Corona ( http://coronalabs.com/products/corona-sdk/ ) and went from there. Lua is a really simple scripting language that has tons of cool stuff that you can do with it, and with corona he can develop some mobile apps that'll work on his phone that he can show his friends. I then took it further and applied the stuff I'd taken from Lua and used it to learn other languages.
You might want to try http://www.w3schools.com/ too. That is a really really great website that i used to learn all sorts of basic stuff about SQL, HTML and others.

If its service providing then try:
http://www.itil-officialsite.com/ This is the UK standard for service providing in the IT industry. One of my bosses made me study for it (Even if I didn't take the exam) so that I knew the concepts

Hit me up if you need any more help/resources, I've got loads

**flaymond** · November 27th, 2014

Try Python to get some basics as relatively programming is not easy if there is no much efforts and patience. If your son want to create games, try C++, it was a very good programming language enchanced from C language. But first, try Python.

**user1397** · November 27th, 2014

Free courses:

http://imgur.com/9V6fuxG

http://codecademy.com

http://codeschool.com

http://code.org

http://codeschool.org

Python specific (great starting language):

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book

http://www.diveintopython3.net

http://swaroopch.com/notes/python

The C language:

http://c.learncodethehardway.org/book

**sunil_kumar3** · February 9th, 2015

well first decide which programming is good or he want to choose? like window based or web based? because you will countless free support in search.

i would suggest window base first, because it will help me to grasp web based later on.

**9nonnatus** · March 31st, 2015

It sounds like edX & Harvard's Introduction to Computer Science course https://www.edx.org/course/introduct...harvardx-cs50x is right up your alley. You should check out the introductory video for yourself, but it seems to cover all the bases, and ends with a final project of your own choosing (e.g. a game like you were talking about). The course is free to "audit", and still quite cheap if you want the certificate at the end.

I do have some other general advice as someone who was in the same situation recently:

1. Don't stress over choosing a language. I started with Ruby on a whim, and got hired at a company working mainly with Python & .NET. When I told the interviewers I didn't have any experience with those, they just said "You won't have any problem learning." The most important thing is that you *do* start learning, instead of stressing over which language to start with.

2. It's hard, and you will feel stupid. I see other people's code every day that makes me feel like an idiot. Every now and then I have a week where I feel like I don't know anything, but I seem to make the most progress when I work through those periods.

3. Following along with an online course (like the one I've linked to) is a great idea. When teaching yourself, the hard part is figuring out for yourself what to do. The structure really helps you stay on track.

4. Get to know people. If there are conferences around you, go to them. It helps a lot with landing a (good) job if someone at the company knows you beforehand. Referrals are a huge deal.