As of June, 2014 C and Java are the two most popular programming languages in the world. With Java alone used by 9 million developers and many people trying to tap into the booming app market, there is no denying that learning programming languages is worth the challenge. Luckily, tech gurus (and coding newbies) love to share. It’s all about learning new tricks and remembering all the bits we’ve not used for months.There are tons of free, easy to access and learn-at-your-own-pace sites that make it possible for you to get started coding.
- Stack Overflow – This is the place to ask the world your programming questions. It is in effect the greatest interactive programming FAQ. With over 7 million questions asked, if you can conceive of it, it’s probably been asked, answered, and curated by a community that rivals Wikipedia. Everything from conceptual understanding, to the most obscure and complex piece of code you’re ever likely to come across. Best bit? It’s 100% free. No strings.
The following are a bunch of great resources you can, and should, call upon when you embark upon your coding journey.
- Code Academy is a great place to kick things off. It’s interactive and playful; learning while doing.
- Khan Academy is one of the original non-profit MOOC’s for budding learners, made popular by their philosophy and expansive high quality content.
- Code School is a marvellous site devoted to teaching a few specific languages. The pathways offered by Code School allow you to jump around and they link well with the more interactive Khan Academy lessons.
- Lynda.com is a huge database available for QUT students and staff (others will need to pay to join) that provides a large array of videos for training. The section on coding offers hundreds of hours of content.
- Coder Dojo is an international network of free coding schools for people of all ages. There is one in Brisbane – it’s the first in Australia!
- HSBNE (Hacker Space Brisbane) is a wonderful conglomeration of interested parties with disparate skills but often overlapping interests. It’s a great place to tinker, bring your ideas to life and be part of a well-established social group that meets at regular events to learn new skills. This group is heavily focused on prototyping and engineering.
And in case you aren’t quite ready to lay down some code but are interested in how all this internet stuff works, then this video is for you: The Web Is Not The Net.
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