[aliqot]

You've got this, it's never too late. Pick any language you can get installed, and then learn how to do these things:

lvl 0

- Make a program that prompts you for your name, and greets you.

- Now make your program write that name to a file.

- Now make your program read from that file.

lvl 1

- Put the file with your word or name on a server somewhere, like Github, it's free.

- Make your program read that file with an "HTTP Request"

- Just about any language can store to a SQlite database, write a program to create a table called 'stuff', with a column for strings, and store your name as an entry in a row.

- Combine the HTTP Request program and the DB program

lvl 2

- Learn another language, repeat this process, reflect on the differences between the process in both languages.

After this, you'll have an intuitive knowledge of where to go next, and how to find solutions and basic structures to accomplish the things you want to do.

I believe in you!

[Forgeties79]

I’m not that guy, but wow this is getting me all amped to learn how to code. Thanks for this! I think I’m going to take a crack at it tomorrow.

[aliqot]

That makes me so happy, thank you :) Stick with it, you'll do fine. It can be tough at times, but persistence is key! I believe in you!

[zeppelin101]

I think your template for getting into programming was pretty great and could make a great article.

[aliqot]

Thanks! It's yours now, tell a friend :) Use it how you wish.

[Volrath89]

But this is after you have already grasped the basic concepts of variables, assignments, conditionals, loops, functions, etc?

Your suggested path is great to learn a lot of stuff about web development. It's actually very very good, the more I think about it the more I see you basically covered most of the things one actually does in the job. Especially the googling part right at level 0 ;)

But I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend this path to someone that knows absolutely nothing about programming, isn't it better to start with little puzzles like fizzbuzz and the like to get to know the syntax of the language first?

[aliqot]

ok

[boppo1]

How does one complete step 5. Get hired for something entry level?

[aliqot]

Nope, find a problem you have, then solve it. Next, find a problem someone else has, and tell them to pay you to solve it. Being a programmer means you choose to have a boss or not.

[senectus1]

does it matter what language you choose to start with?

Is Rust a good one to start with?

[bruce511]

This was a theme in the original article as well. This sense of not getting going because you might pick the wrong language.

This hesitation is likely because human languages are such a huge learning environment. Learning Spanish or Chinese is such a lot of work, and I don't know which would be more useful.

Good news though is that in programming, the language you learn doesn't matter. Because in programming moving between languages is trivial - the concepts underneath are 90% of the work, and are transferable. An expert in say c# could be proficient in say Rust in a matter of days.

So I get the "which language should I learn" question, but the truthful answer is that it doesn't matter.

For a reference, when at university, to prove the point, we implemented the same small program in 10 different languages in 10 days. Language is just syntax, which is trivial to assimilate. Programming happens first in the head, those techniques are the important things.

[Winsaucerer]

I am fond of Rust, but I suspect it would be a difficult one to start with. If you want to get some wins to help boost your confidence, it may not be a good place to start.

On the flip side, if you have an existing motivation to learn Rust, that could help you to stay engaged :)

[aliqot]

Just about any language will do fine for this, Rust is a great language with an enthusiastic community. D

ownload Rust, install it to your system and get started with "How do I print in Rust". This will allow you to tell Rust to make words appear on your screen (no toner required!)

Bon voyage my friend, I hope you end up loving it as much as I do :)