

Ask HN: How did you learn to program? - jwdunne

Not looking for general advice but more personal accounts on everybody&#x27;s learning paths.<p>My path started by downloading VB and being amazed at how I can build applications really easily. I was 10 so my apps were very basic.<p>Next, I used to play a game called Graal Online, which used two scripting languages (v1 and v2). I learned both, the second introducing more,  important programming concepts. This was fun, however I became disillusioned by having to pay $$$ to create content for the game and further my knowledge of the language. This did keep me hooked for a whole as I was amazed at how easy it was to essentially create whole new games with a complex set of assets and MMO capabilities.<p>I found picking up PHP very easy after the above. I was similarly amazed by how easy it was to create dynamic websites. I was also amazed I could do it for free and without doing anything shady.<p>I learned several other languages after this but a good couple of years ago, I have put more emphasis on concepts, ideas,  paradigms, how things fit together. I do notice a pattern of amazement and then a burst forward in my skills. Recently, I&#x27;ve been amazed by Smalltalk, it feels like just learning a little bit has helped me program in OOP languages that bit better.<p>One skill I need to master above all is finishing what I start. This has been too much of a pattern with me.
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colept
Trial and error. The easiest way I have found to learn is to take something
that already exists (i.e blog or forums) and modify it to your liking because
many of the puzzle pieces are already set. This way if an error comes up you
can undo/revert and compare revisions to see what causes errors and what
works.

