Most people will try to stay away from programming by simply claiming that;
- I am not the programming (geeky) type of person,
- I am not good at coding,
- Programming is not for us ladies
- Programming is a waste for time: too many 1s and 0s,
- I am not even an I.T person, so why think of programming.
They are probably a number of reasons why most people might hate/not like programming. I have been in programming class and some days you won’t understand a thing your lecturer is saying.
However, Programming comes in various language and you can start with what will be easy for you. I started with C and C ++. Then I did move on to Java, Python and JavaScript. “A programming language is a formal constructed language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer.”
There are over hundreds of programming languages and it’s not that you can master all of them. However, there are some languages that you need to master like; Java, C Language, C++, PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript and SQL. These are the most used programming languages all around the programming world.
According to LifeHacker, 5 best programming languages for first-time learners are; Java, Ruby, Python, C/C ++ and Java Script. So any first-time learner can start with this.
In Uganda, they’re fewer programmers compared to most of other countries and most of these fall within the 20 -32 age bracket. There are even fewer women taking an interest in programming in Uganda. Some say programming is a waste of time. Some will prefer a shopping day to writing a few lines of code. However, organisations like Women in Technology Uganda (WITU) and GDG Girls are working hard to see that more women and girls learn how to program & basics of IT.
Learning to code does not matter what gender you are, what matters is whether you are interested or not.
Nowdays, people are backing away from coding, simply because they are now templates. Templates we introduced to ease one’s work. All one needs to do is look for a template whether paid or free and download it and it’s ready for use. The rest is mostly a Copy & Paste job hereafter.
Some of the programming work that used to be necessary has been cut out for the developer, for example WordPress, Joomla, Bootstrap and Drupal have paid and free templates for use when designing websites. This has made some programmers a bit lux.
You can learn to program whether; you register for a class, person training, and online studies. There are number of website out there that teach you to do this from scratch.
Here is a list of some websites that can get you started with the programming lessons/classes;
Code School
Code School is an online learning destination for existing and aspiring developers that teaches through entertaining content.
Code
Code.org increases diversity in computer science by reaching students of all backgrounds where they are — at their skill-level, in their schools, and in ways that inspire them to keep learning.
CodeAcademy
We’re committed to building the best learning experience inside and out, making Codecademy the best place for our team to learn, teach, and create the online learning experience of the future.
Code Avengers
Our team includes a mix of school teachers, academics, software developers, designers and business people from families of educators, united by one mission: to use technology to create optimal learning experiences for YOU.
edX
Open edX is the open-source platform that powers edX courses and is freely available. With Open edX, educators and technologists can build learning tools and contribute new features to the platform, creating innovative solutions to benefit students everywhere.
Treehouse
Treehouse believes in the democratization of technical education. There are currently too many barriers, economical and psychological. Treehouse students learn at their own pace and become job ready within months at a fraction of the cost.
Udacity
With industry giants Google, AT&T, Facebook, Salesforce, Cloudera, etc. Udacity offers Nanodegree programs and credentials, designed so professionals become Web Developers, Data Analysts, Mobile Developers, etc. Their students acquire real skills through a series of online courses and hands-on projects.
GitHub
GitHub is how people build software. With a community of more than 12 million people, developers can discover, use, and contribute to over 31 million projects using a powerful collaborative development workflow.
MIT open courseware
MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity. Through OCW, students find additional resources to help them succeed; and independent learners enrich their lives and use the content to tackle some of our world’s most difficult challenges.
Code Combat
If you want to learn to program, you don’t need lessons. You need to write a lot of code and have a great time doing it.
