Learning path to programming (for Beginners)

The very first day I joined C-language course, these are the words my programming guru Mr. Srikanth sir said, “Welcome to programming. Programming is a cream thing. But the best part is that it’s a one-time learning.  You learn programming once and for all. You might learn syntax 10 times. But programming, you learn only once”; and that’s absolutely true.

In times before him, in spite of being an IT graduate, I thought that learning programming is very hard. I always used to tell myself that I cannot do it. Most of the fresh graduates have this myth about programming that there are countless programming languages in the world and one need to learn all of them and it’s a huge feat that one cannot achieve etc etc… (Even I used to think the same.)

Yes, there are countless programming languages with syntax which differ from one another. Languages might be many, but programming is not. Learning programming is a onetime task. You don’t learn ‘how to program’ or ‘how to code’ again and again. You learn the syntax again and again. It is important that you understand this. In fact, this is the first thing that you should understand if you want to be a programmer.

CLASSROOM IS QUINTESSENTIAL:

Now-a-days people (even beginners) are trying to go with e-learning, video lessons, online classes etc. But that is never a good approach for beginners. If you can learn everything form a website then why do you think universities like Stanford and oxford still have classrooms? A traditional classroom method of teaching/learning is still the best one. So get yourself to a classroom. Not just any classroom, pick a classroom which trains you on par with the industry standards.

LAY A STRONG FOUNDATION:

The very first programming language you would learn is the most important one for you because; this is where you would lay your foundation to programming. Whatever is the first programming language you might do, you must do it to your maximum level. You cannot know about a programming language thoroughly without writing a minimum of 100 programs in it. So, write at least 100 programs in ‘whatever is your first programming language’. It gives a strong foundation.

In this generation, everyone is starting their programming with C Language. It is so because C is the base language for many high-end programming languages like JAVA, C# etc. but C was never intended for beginners. Well, there is nothing wrong in doing you first programming in C; you just need to be extra careful.

READING IS RECOMMENDED:

Before getting into actual coding (and even after), you have to know what is what about the programming language you are learning. So I would recommend you to read a text book on it. If you cannot afford to by book(s) then refer a library, if not that, get a soft copy, if not that try to read programming tutorials. But the thing is, DO READ. It helps you a lot.

INVEST TIME ON PRACTICE:

Practice is the most important part of learning programming. Write as many programs as you can. 100 programs don’t mean to stop with that. Keep writing. Don’t just type the programs from your course material or text book. It doesn’t help you. Remember, you want to become a programmer not a typist. So write programs. Invest as much as time you can on practice. This investment will give you high dividends.

THE TERROR OF ERROR:

You might not like it, but believe me an error helps you a lot in building your programming skills. Don’t be afraid of errors. They won’t hurt you. You can’t get everything right at the first time. You might run into errors. But that is not the end. Remember, even world’s great programmers ran into errors in their early days. The point is that, they did not stop there; they tried and eventually succeeded. You too have to try and solve the errors. Then only you can become a programmer. Do not give up, try, try, and try until you succeed.

TEST YOUR SKILLS:

Once you are sure that you had learnt a language up to the mark, it’s time to test our skills. There are many books available to test you programming skills. Many websites have free online tests. You can take these tests anytime you like and any number of times you want. These help you in knowing your strong and weak areas in that particular programming language. You can use this feedback to enhance your programming skills.

KEEP LEARNING:

It is a common mistake with the students that they stop learning as soon as their training program comes to an end thinking that they had learnt enough. Do not stop learning just because your training program ended. You have to keep learning. Information Technology is a field where nothing is permanent, except ‘change’. This field changes from time to time that too at a fast pace. If you want to be ‘wanted’ in this field then you must adapt to change. So keep learning. Update your knowledge from time-to-time.

TIPS:

• While practicing, don’t go straight to the computer. First write your code (or pseudocode) on a paper. Work it out well and then work on a computer.
• Some of the websites for free online tests are w3schools.com, techgig.com

P.S: The above learning path was suggested to me by my programming guru Mr. Srikanth sir. From my personal experience, I can say that this path works amazingly well. Much of the article is written in his words. I started training under him with C Language and now I am getting trained in JAVA EE. Thank you for reading. Hope it would help you.