[__rito__]

It takes me some days to a week or two to learn the syntax. I do that from a book or YT playlist. And I do it really fast, because, I know, if I forget something, I am just a Google search away from an answer.

About the more advanced parts, I rely on search engines and advanced books. I get deep into the documentations, some blog posts, some SO page, etc. And I don't do these pre-emptively. I do these when the need arises.

Unless I am scouting for a language that other will also work on, I follow this approach.

[_mlbt]

The problem I've found recently is that it's getting harder and harder to find books that are up to date and reflect the current best practices for a given language and its surrounding ecosystem. It seems like most of the current content comes from blogs, paid courses, and YouTube. I'm guessing it's due to the time vs. profit tradeoff of writing long form books versus blog entries or recording videos. There are also some advantages to videos for topics like mobile or web development that benefit from a visual representation. However, I still miss a good book when it comes to information density. In my opinion books are by far the best way to learn a new programming language's syntax and standard library.