

Ask HN: How to get started with programming, web development? - dvdhsu

I know this is a question that's been asked countless times, but I can't seem find any recent discussions on HN. I would appreciate it if anybody could point me towards a link to a discussion or something similar.<p>I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, and I'm fairly well versed in computer hardware. Unfortunately though, I have absolutely no programming experience whatsoever. What do you guys suggest doing if I want to get started with programming/web development?<p>Currently, I've decided to start with HTML4, checking out books from the library on that. Basic HTML is fairly easy, and uses pretty similar syntax to BBCode, which I've used on forums.<p>What methods do you guys suggest to jump from basic BBCode into actual programming and/or web development?
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verysimple
Zed Shaw has some guidelines about that <http://learnpythonthehardway.org>.
You'll learn some basic programming in a very good and versatile language. I
learned web programming a few years ago. In my opinion, I gained about a 3
weeks head-start in productivity by choosing PHP, but I ended up making up for
it for the next 3 years. There are other commendable books geared towards
beginner programmers, but only a few that also target _web enabled_ languages
come to mind.

JavaScript: <http://eloquentjavascript.net/> (I recommend the interactive HTML
version). Ruby: <http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/>

If I were to begin programming with the goal of working in the web today, I
would love that someone pointed me to any of these 3 resources.

Like I said there are other beginner books and online tutorials using
languages that aren't usual for the web like _The Little Schemer_ (Scheme).
It's always a plus.

You'll need to learn to use a good text editor or an IDE. I'm biased toward
Vim, it takes time, but it's a good investment.

You'll need to learn HTML and some CSS. There are countless lists of
recommendations out there for _best books on x_. Just checkout StackOverflow
with similar queries for JavaScript, CSS and HTML. e.g.
[http://blog.reybango.com/2010/12/15/what-to-read-to-get-
up-t...](http://blog.reybango.com/2010/12/15/what-to-read-to-get-up-to-speed-
in-javascript/)

You'll need to learn to interact with databases. You'll need to learn some
SQL. However, I've been doing this for quite some time and I've only recently
been playing with document oriented databases (aka NoSQL), it is _my_ opinion
that there are very few situations where they might not be suitable. Seeing
that nothing prevents you from mixing solutions (SQL + NoSQL), I would frankly
recommend to a beginner to invest in NoSQL _first_. Redis, MongoDB, CouchDB
are the NoSQL DBs I've played with and would recommend.

~~~
dvdhsu
I really do appreciate those links, I will be sure to check them out.

Thanks!

