Can I teach myself programming?

The various mobile apps we usually use and the websites we browse all require programmers to develop. With the development of the Internet and mobile Internet, companies have an increasing demand for programmers. In recent years, programming education has gradually entered the classrooms of primary school students, setting off an upsurge in programming learning. The editor often sees people asking whether they can learn programming by themselves on various forums and Q&A platforms. Based on my own learning and work experience, the editor summarized some methods of self-study programming and shared them with you.

Recommended courses: PHP Tutorial.

Self-study method

1. Learn through video teaching websites such as Tencent Classroom and NetEase Cloud Classroom. These websites provide live broadcast, recorded broadcast and other teaching methods, including free tutorials and paid tutorials. You can learn programming by watching video tutorials. Most of the free tutorials on these websites are just to attract you to experience it and then further consume the paid tutorials.

2. Learn through novice tutorials and online tutorial websites such as w3school. These websites provide graphic tutorials and video tutorials. The editor personally likes to read the graphic tutorials on these websites to learn, which is convenient and fast. Some teachers are not used to ink-writing when watching video tutorials, but for beginners, it is easier to understand by watching video tutorials.

3. Go to the e-commerce platform to buy relevant books and learn by reading them.

Difficulties in self-study

Based on my own learning experience and feedback from netizens in recent days, the difficulty in self-study programming is that it is difficult to understand why the code is written like this? Without the guidance of a teacher, it may take a long time to understand on your own. For object-oriented programming ideas, you can slowly understand it by writing a lot of code. If there is not enough code, many concepts and ideas will be difficult to understand just by reading books or listening to others.

But learning to program is not easy. The following are some of the challenges we will face in learning

1. Can’t find the right and enough time every day

If you are teaching yourself programming, it is likely that you have other things to do.

You may have a part-time or full-time job, or have to stay home to take care of your children. The point is it’s hard to find time for. So, how do you set aside time every day to learn to code?

Some people may say: "If you work hard, you can always find the time." To be honest, I agree.

So the question becomes: "How much time should you spend learning programming every day?" If you can only spare half an hour a day, can you still learn anything?

Only you can answer this question. It’s hard to have an exact answer to how long you should learn programming every day. Some people recommend not taking too long - 15 minutes is enough.

On the other hand, I've also heard of people who learned programming 9 to 10 hours a day for a year or so and made amazing progress. So if you want to find some motivation, you can refer to this.

The bottom line is: only you know how much time you can spare every day to learn programming and make it a habit. Quincy Larson, the founder of freeCodeCamp, once said on Twitter:

It’s not about making rapid progress one day, but making progress step by step every day.

You can look for resources yourself and see what senior developers who have been working in the technical field for more than ten years do. Although this is not necessarily an absolute standard, it will let you know how to do it for yourself. Set a realistic and sustainable learning plan.

2. Find the balance between “not making great progress” and “burning out”

Personally, I struggle with this for a long time.

There were a few days when I just couldn’t understand a code snippet in the book. I was so exhausted that I had to force myself to calm down and go to the balcony to take a deep breath.

Since then, I have been reminding myself not to exert too much force, lest things turn to their extremes.

Learning to program is not easy. You need to focus - especially when you're learning something new. It's a mental burden, and sometimes you can't figure out why the code you wrote doesn't work, or why it works.

I find that whenever I really focus on the problem I'm solving, I'm extremely productive and also very relaxed - when I find a problem that needs solving, when I find it online When it came to solutions, when I tried various things to see what would work, and when I solved them all, I enjoyed the whole process.

In algorithm learning, many of the things we encounter are very complex (data structures and algorithms, etc.), and whenever I learn to code, I apply the "50/50 rule".

I spend 50% of my time doing difficult tasks, learning concepts and algorithms, etc. The other 50% of the time I do the work that interests me the most. So I maintain a balance in my study schedule.

So, frankly, you need to love your job. Let’s look at the next point.

3. Love your job

Although it sounds cliché, it’s true. If you love what you're doing and where you're going...you don't need external validation for motivation.

This kind of satisfaction cannot be faked.

4. Remember to keep learning programming after you have finished other tasks

The truth is, when it comes to self-study, you can never learn without distraction.

We all play various roles in our lives - maybe as husbands, or wives, or parents. You need to take care of your family, or work, or finish your studies.

When we have other roles, where do we have time to learn programming?

Sometimes you really can’t keep studying. The longest time I went without learning programming was two months.

But after that, I immediately picked up the learning of programming again. I found myself forgetting a lot of what I had learned. It can be frustrating when you pick up the same book and don't know how to continue reading. "Oh my god, do I really have to start over and learn it all over again?"

This is when you have to persevere.

You need to tell yourself: "Okay, the first hour of learning may be slow and not very efficient. But it doesn't matter, I can make up for it by studying more tomorrow."

But there’s no point in whitewashing it, we can only move on. You can vent, but as soon as you're done venting, continue studying.

5. No matter what, stay motivated

Teaching yourself is very different. When you teach yourself to program, there is no one around to teach you programming. There are no classmates, no socializing, and no applause for success. Most of the time, you are alone. Most of the time, you are alone.

So you need to find some kind of motivation to keep moving forward.

I've been looking at this site - r/macsetups because there are a lot of developers there. They use powerful hardware to create the software they want to create. It doesn't get much more rewarding than this.

Reward yourself and make it a habit.

Rewards can be small or big. This could be a hot shower at the end of the day or a cold drink. Tell yourself you're doing a good job.

6. Don’t “learn for the sake of learning”, go to interviews, practice, and get jobs

When learning programming, we sometimes deviate from the right path. I feel like sometimes you just want to be lazy—a kind of laziness that hopes that by sitting in front of a computer all day you won’t have to face a real challenge.

Don’t be lazy, don’t forget, you have to be a developer.

Don't fall into the misunderstanding of "I'm studying, this is good enough, and when I'm ready, I'll find a job".

Frankly speaking, finding work is the most important thing we should do. You can reach out to potential clients or even build a website for family and friends for free.

Next time you go for an interview, you'll be able to show off what you've done, which will enhance your resume. The first step is always the hardest, but you have to take it no matter what.

All of these are challenges you will face on your way to becoming a developer. Acknowledge them and face them with the right attitude - all challenges will only make you stronger and better.

Finally, enjoy the process of learning to program and enjoy what you are building, whether it is your project or your own future.

The above is the detailed content of Can I teach myself programming?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!