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Asking for summer learning recommendations, specifically for coding

Nebula

By Nebula
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Nebula Newbie

Nebula

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I have some time after school closes for summer next week, so I'd like to do something more useful than my general strategy of wake up in the middle of the night to play video games until I crash at four. Personally, I am an introvert and so would prefer to learn something at home like coding. I don't know where I'd start or even what to start if I wanted to code though. Is starting by reading some primer on Java a good idea? Do you have any recommendations for anything more useful I could try?

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barn Newbie

barn

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Hi @Nebula

Welcome!

 "He who has a WHY can bear any HOW"

I'm glad you are taking your life seriously, kudos on your responsibility!

I think you could create a valuable product, it would teach you a lot and apart from benefiting you and the world, it'd be a unique personal experience.

I'm no programmer but willing to help spreading the huge value it is within/Chipping in by doing work. A massive gain (self-knowledge) that affects every area of our lives, is becoming more popular by the minute.

About Nathaniel Branden

About Sentence Completion

Barnsley

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Nebula Newbie

Nebula

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Barnsley, I'll think about it. It probably be a lot of work to create an app, so I don't think I'd want to wreck these people's project while I am learning. However, I will think about creating my own app, something a bit simpler. 

3 hours ago, barn said:

I'm no programmer but willing to help spreading the huge value it is within/Chipping in by doing work. A massive gain (self-knowledge) that affects every area of our lives, is becoming more popular by the minute.

As for chipping in, I see what you are saying about learning from chipping in through small ways so that I could learn something. That though would honestly be very different and uncomfortable for me considering I have never done anything of the sort. I am not sure what I could even do, or if I could help. I am not so sure about learning that way, but I'd like an elaboration on what you think are benefits. Maybe, if I think through it more, I can will myself past some unease.

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barn Newbie

barn

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Hi @Nebula

The importance is in the starting quote, knowing what you want to achieve.

Let's say that summer have just ended, what would you have completed by the end of it? (clear goals)

As for the "chipping-in part", I was saying basically that I'm trying to help people whose goal is parallel to mine but have a better set of skill to do something I couldn't. (e.g. - I don't know how to design a building, but that doesn't mean I can't help building it.)

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barn Newbie

barn

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1 hour ago, Nebula said:

@barn

Summer Goals:

1. Finish summer school so I can "skip" 11th grade

2. Finish Paul Johnson's Modern History

3. Something?

That's all of them, unfortunately. 

1. Curriculum goal. Clear, Gotcha.

2. Reading. Clear, Gotcha.

3. Erm... a tad bit on the vague side of things? ('crickets symphony:whistling:')

 

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Nebula Newbie

Nebula

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@RichardY

Thank you for your concern, Richard. I know coding/ game making isn't going to take me anywhere, and I don't really want it to. My dad was a programmer a while ago, and my mom ( kinda ), but I don't have the mindset necessary to be successful with it. However, my dad has had his hand in some more entrepreneurial ideas before during which it was evident that having some knowledge of coding would be useful. Of course, I am not sure what language I should begin with. As for history, I'll probably finish Modern History by the end of the month, so it would be nice to have some suggestions for what next if you have any.

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RichardY Newbie

RichardY

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@NebulaSome people live to work(High conscientiousness), others work to live(Low conscientiousness). The golden grail being in the middle. If you're the later(low conscientiousness), perhaps consider a commonplace book, to avoid retreading old ground and organise your psyche a bit better,  perhaps like a Mages spellbook or a movie director scrapbook.

The thing is only you can decide what to do, which is a massive problem if your mind happens to be chaos & you're neurotic . However, what you could try to do is raise awareness, sounds cliche, but I would equivicate it with casting out a net, travel would be one way.  Whats that Shakepspeare quote "But above all, To thine ownself be true, Horatio, and neither a debtor nor a lender be." Also take things as a whole, so you understand the wider context. Unless you're high conscientiousness and work through things like a machine.

As for learning a language, I remember what a cousin told me once, something I should have heeded. Mentioned when he was learning to code, that he would have small things on his pc that he wanted to code, so he'd just read a bit and do it. Learning by doing, just a natural process to him. Works at a bank designing the software for their servers now.

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lorry Newbie

lorry

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On 5/6/2018 at 8:06 PM, barn said:

Hi @Nebula

Welcome!

 "He who has a WHY can bear any HOW"

I'm glad you are taking your life seriously, kudos on your responsibility!

I think you could create a valuable product, it would teach you a lot and apart from benefiting you and the world, it'd be a unique personal experience.

I'm no programmer but willing to help spreading the huge value it is within/Chipping in by doing work. A massive gain (self-knowledge) that affects every area of our lives, is becoming more popular by the minute.

About Nathaniel Branden

About Sentence Completion

Barnsley

I agree with OP, not a good idea. The stack for the app is HTML + CSS + Js + React Native + Redux. It is no short order and tbh, if you can do all of that you're well beyond hobby projects. The app itself is really simple because the stack is complex. Because I have said stack (sans React Native, but I know React and have the resources to learn), it isn't really that hard (for me), just a question of finding time given... broke up with GF, working full time, studying part time, moving cities (most likely), finding a new home, job hunting (for a better role), and I still have something very import to write which I have been putting offer for so long but I finally figured out why I am putting it off.

Best, G.

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lorry Newbie

lorry

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On 5/6/2018 at 5:55 PM, Nebula said:

I have some time after school closes for summer next week, so I'd like to do something more useful than my general strategy of wake up in the middle of the night to play video games until I crash at four. Personally, I am an introvert and so would prefer to learn something at home like coding. I don't know where I'd start or even what to start if I wanted to code though. Is starting by reading some primer on Java a good idea? Do you have any recommendations for anything more useful I could try?

[In ones best Randian accent] Best? By what standard?

 

Best for learning to program qua learning to program? C.

Best for games? C++.

Best for general employability? Java.

Best for employability right now? Js.

My favorite language? Python.

Best for larping? Haskell.

Best for working in finance? C#.

Best for working in analytics? R.

 

TBH any general programming book will do you right if it includes information about how to plan out a program, ie,  how to make a programming flow chart and write psudocode. After that it is a question of what do you want to build? And the answer to that question is pretty easy to, you just ask.... what problem do I have that I want to solve? Then you plan out and solve the problem.

 

Got any problems you want to solve?

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barn Newbie

barn

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2 hours ago, lorry said:

I agree with OP, not a good idea. The stack for the app is HTML + CSS + Js + React Native + Redux. It is no short order and tbh, if you can do all of that you're well beyond hobby projects. The app itself is really simple because the stack is complex. Because I have said stack (sans React Native, but I know React and have the resources to learn), it isn't really that hard (for me), just a question of finding time given... broke up with GF, working full time, studying part time, moving cities (most likely), finding a new home, job hunting (for a better role), and I still have something very import to write which I have been putting offer for so long but I finally figured out why I am putting it off.

Best, G.

Well, maybe I'm wrong but it does seem to me that's just an excuse that could justify lack of involvement in it, soothe an anxiety. (and I'm not saying it is for certain that's going on, for sure)

If a project isn't for you, it isn't... all good, do something else. No need to go on about your doubts, it's counter-effective. Me thinks.

I never said it was easy(Although it is a lot easier than many other things) but I certainly think, the argument you put forward is part of what's generally referred to as negativity.

People who want to make stuff happen are conscious of the obstacles but aren't stopped by them. An innovator, a person who makes the world (and his/her circumstances) better, looks for realistic goals, NOT HOW SOMETHING CAN'T BE ACHIEVED.

There are many indie games that are not flashy, complicated, yet they still compete against other triple A titles, simply because they are imaginative, well put together (minecraft anyone?).

I'm adamant, the concept is fantastic, it has the potential to aid many many people, spread/popularise self-knowledge and reflection among an even greater amount of people. It can make the world a better place, that's been always clear for me. (Having completed the first batch myself and have seen what it could do.)

I hope you understand why I wanted to clarify, explain a few things to you @lorryand you take it how I intended, a clarification.

Have a good one,

Barnsley

p.s.

 

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lorry Newbie

lorry

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1 hour ago, barn said:

Well, maybe I'm wrong but it does seem to me that's just an excuse that could justify lack of involvement in it, soothe an anxiety. (and I'm not saying it is for certain that's going on, for sure)

If a project isn't for you, it isn't... all good, do something else. No need to go on about your doubts, it's counter-effective. Me thinks.

I never said it was easy(Although it is a lot easier than many other things) but I certainly think, the argument you put forward is part of what's generally referred to as negativity.

People who want to make stuff happen are conscious of the obstacles but aren't stopped by them. An innovator, a person who makes the world (and his/her circumstances) better, looks for realistic goals, NOT HOW SOMETHING CAN'T BE ACHIEVED.

There are many indie games that are not flashy, complicated, yet they still compete against other triple A titles, simply because they are imaginative, well put together (minecraft anyone?).

I'm adamant, the concept is fantastic, it has the potential to aid many many people, spread/popularise self-knowledge and reflection among an even greater amount of people. It can make the world a better place, that's been always clear for me. (Having completed the first batch myself and have seen what it could do.)

I hope you understand why I wanted to clarify, explain a few things to you @lorryand you take it how I intended, a clarification.

Have a good one,

Barnsley

 

Yeah, no.

 

The median wage of a React Native developer in the UK is ~ £65k. This is 30% more than the median wage of a software developer in the UK.

In the US your looking at about $100k for a this skill set.

There is a reason for this.

The reason is this shit is complex.

 

And I know this is a good idea, which is why when I didn't have the time and skills to do it I put it out there. Now I have the time and skills I will do it, but my needs come first.

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barn Newbie

barn

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3 minutes ago, lorry said:

And I know this is a good idea, which is why when I didn't have the time and skills to do it I put it out there. Now I have the time and skills I will do it, but my needs come first. 

Sounds reasonable. Understood. I'm in.

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barn Newbie

barn

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7 hours ago, Nebula said:

Thanks @lorry, your list is exactly what I was looking for.

I'm genuinely happy you got your answer, I have no say in what lorry has put forward (he works! in the field, I don't), my question is about something else.

Do you know what you want to achieve by learning a type of coding?

Maybe I'm completely wrong when I see it as 'buying buttons for a coat you haven't found/made yet'.

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Nebula Newbie

Nebula

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@barn, I do kind of have an idea for coding, a website. I was learning HTML for school and had gone far beyond the curriculum when I realized that I want to make a website for myself. But, after reading some more. it became evident that I needed to know some Java ( or maybe some other language to add what I wanted to the website ). I then thought that maybe learning Java wasn't the best way to begin programming and that, in the long run, maybe it would be better to begin with a foundational language ( if there were any ) before learning Java. @lorry's answer is super helpful in that sense because I now know some of the better languages for not only doing what I wanted originally but also doing any project ideas that may come to me later for other fields.

( I know I could create a website using some website builder, but I'd rather learn how to build it up for myself so I can do exactly what I want and so I can understand how the Internet functions in the sense of acquainting yourself with your surroundings. )

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ofd Newbie

ofd

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what is the difference between a cookbook and introduction? And more specifically, what is a coding cookbook?

A coding cookbook confronts you with typical problems you have to solve with a language and it presents the solutions how to solve them. Trying to solve them makes you proficient in different aspects of that specific language. It's meant for beginners who mastered a language and who are looking to get better. There are intermediate and pro cookbooks as well.

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lorry Newbie

lorry

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On 5/10/2018 at 2:10 AM, Nebula said:

( I know I could create a website using some website builder, but I'd rather learn how to build it up for myself so I can do exactly what I want and so I can understand how the Internet functions in the sense of acquainting yourself with your surroundings. )

JavaScript dude. You want JavaScript. (Java and JavaScript are very different).

 

Here is an online JavaScript book,

https://eloquentjavascript.net/index.html

 

Here is the MIT Open Courseware Introduction to Computer Science,

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/

 

And here are three free courses from Udacity that are pertinent,

https://eu.udacity.com/course/intro-to-computer-science--cs101

https://eu.udacity.com/course/html-and-css-syntax--ud001

https://eu.udacity.com/course/intro-to-javascript--ud803

 

Stuck? Go to Stack Overflow, 

https://stackoverflow.com

 

Good luck, dude.

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