Best ways to learn to code

[elite]

I would really love to learn how to code in various languages, or at least be able to modify programs...

What is the best way to learn? Should I take classes at scool, buy books, use online tutorials, or what? And are there any good online tutorials for PHP & Perl? I know there are some perl ones but not sure about PHP.

Thanks guys!

[tedloh]

www.phpbuilder.com (http://www.phpbuilder.com) has some nice tutorials.[nbsp][nbsp]You can also try www.webmonkey.com (http://www.webmonkey.com) (can't remember the exact URL).

HTH



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Ted (Chief Do-It-All)
Tygre Systems Co Ltd
Bangkok, Thailand, Land of Smiles :) :)
http://www.tygresystems.com (work in progress)
ted@tygresystems.com

[Justin]

www.DevShed.com (http://www.DevShed.com) - Great place full of tutorials.
www.BigNoseBird.com (http://www.BigNoseBird.com) - Another good one.

HTH

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Justin Nelson
FutureQuest Support

[Rich]

There is a saying in software design that goes, "if you've learned one programming language, you've learned them all." While this is not exactly true, it is correct that the design concepts and coding structures are transportable between high-level languages.

If you have never programmed before, I would highly recommend a formal classroom course. You may not find a university setting that teaches the exact language you want (like Perl), but you should find C available. Avoid the object oriented courses, like C++, or visual basic, where the orientation is more toward higher-level constructs of ojects and the interfaces are more visual. The syllabus for the course should stress coding constructs and basics, debugging, and top-down design.

Once you have this "core" knowledge, you can turn to the books relating to the specific language you want to learn.

In short, the classroom alone will not give you all you need, but it can help accelerate the learning curve. Ultimately, you want to be able to learn what you need to know from studying several good books on the subject combined with much trial and error (i.e., practice).

Rich

[elite]

Thanks,
looks like I have my work cut out for me lol :)

[tedloh]

What Rich says makes sense - I started as a BASIC programmer, never learned C, went to Visual BASIC and found it quite easy - but getting back to straight BASIC programming seems to have become tougher.

Perl is a mixture of stuff from C, BASIC, UNIX and some other stuff (if I recall correctly).[nbsp][nbsp]PHP and SSI, though, make some of this easier.[nbsp][nbsp]I would recommend starting with them first, unless you intend to do detailed programming.

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Ted (Chief Do-It-All)
Tygre Systems Co Ltd
Bangkok, Thailand, Land of Smiles :) :)
http://www.tygresystems.com (work in progress)
ted@tygresystems.com

[Terra]

I learned coding the Nike way...

'Just DO It'[nbsp][nbsp];)

--
Terra
--You can run, but you can't hide from the coding closet - a dark room with lots of coffee and reference books--
FutureQuest