Start Learning to Program
Programming is easy to get started at, and as long as you have a computer and internet connection, you're ready to get started. This guide will show you which programming language is right for you to start out with and how to get started.
Steps
- Choose the correct programming language. A good start would be either Python (probably the best one to learn) or C#. If you know you want to make Windows programs the learn C#, but if you want a language that will work on Windows and Linux (and Mac) then Python. If you still can't decide, pick Python.
- Learn how to write programs in your language. This will change depending on which language you picked but for a lot of languages (for example Python) you can simply open up Notepad and start writing code.
- Learn to run your program. For most languages you will have to find what's called a complier, which is something that turns what you wrote into something the computer can understand. Most of these are free and you can download and install them quite easily.
- Pick a first project. Think of something simple you want to do. As a suggestion, you could try to make a program that asked you what your name was, and then said "Hello Name" where it would replace 'Name' with your name.
- Learn how to solve your project. This will involve thinking about all the different steps required and finding out how to make the computer do each step in your language. Here you'll either have to follow tutorials online or read what's called the 'Documentation' for your language. The documentation can be complicated but will usually cover all the features of your language.
Tips
- Don't get caught up thinking about which programming language is best. All languages have advantages and disadvantages
- Programming needs patience. You need to have the motivation to spend time programming for several months in order to learn.
- Keep practising and you'll quickly get better.
- Ask for help if you get stuck. StackOverflow is a great forum to ask for help.
Things You'll Need
- A computer
- An internet connection
