Every time, with difficulty overcoming life’s obstacles, I want to take and reshape this world for myself. Unfortunately, we were not born the creators of this universe. For those who want to satisfy their creator's ambitions, only the virtual world remains.

Although to create here you will need not so much magic and knowledge of runes as knowledge of the basics of programming. Therefore, for all aspiring creators virtual reality we will tell you how to learn to program.

What a teapot needs to know

As much as I would like to admit it, in reality programming is not such a magical thing. Creating code can sometimes be compared to walking barefoot on a seabed covered with sharp rock fragments.

To become a programmer, you need to be not only smart, but also patient and persistent. Learning to program is always accompanied by headaches, red eyes from lack of sleep, and a distant look. This is how you can easily recognize a programmer.

Many beginners consider writing code to be almost the most romantic profession. The number of people wanting to learn programming has especially increased after watching the movie “The Matrix”. Exactly main character This picture Neo pushed many to take the path of comprehending software sciences:

But most of those who start studying give up after a few weeks. And the main reason for this is the wrong direction of study, methodology, or even a programming textbook.

After the collapse of the USSR, all domestic universities for a long time They didn’t even try to reshape their training system to meet the needs of the modern market. Technical universities were no exception to this rule.

Programming as a separate branch and specialization did not exist as such. Its fundamentals were taught only as a link to other engineering disciplines. And even those crumbs of knowledge that were given to students in this area did not meet modern standards and lost their relevance 20-30 years ago.

In countries former USSR The main programming language taught in technical universities was BASIC.

The situation has not changed radically even 10 years later. Only a few educational establishments, sensing the trends of the new time, at the beginning of the 2000s they began to reshape their training to meet world standards. And only from that moment on, programming began to be perceived as a separate profession and specialization of training:

At the same time, various specialized commercial courses and educational institutions began to appear. But the quality of teaching and the knowledge provided was at an extremely low level. There was a shortage of competent professionals capable of teaching newcomers not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical programming skills.

And this is the most important thing in the programmer profession important aspect. Therefore, most of today's gurus of the Russian IT industry began their programming training from scratch on their own.

To some extent, this trend continues to this day. Although in our time the number of professionals involved in teaching has increased significantly.

Which language should I start learning programming from?

Comprehension of software sciences is characterized not only by hard training, but also by its beginning. It is sometimes difficult for a beginner not only to begin self-learning, but also to determine the coordinates of the starting point of the process. Therefore, we will try to help you get around all these difficulties:

Before you break your teeth on the granite of science, you should decide where to start learning programming. At the first stages it is very difficult to decide on a specialization. Therefore, let's start with selecting the first language.

Most often the choice falls on the C programming language. This is where most beginners around the world begin their training. The majority of programming languages ​​have been created based on C, and in many ways they inherit its structure and syntax.

By learning C, you learn the basics of not just one programming language, but several.

Let's look at the features of this language that make it optimal for learning:

• An easy-to-understand basis - some of the built-in capabilities of the language are included in separately plug-in libraries for simplicity. These elements include most of the mathematical functions and methods for working with the file system;
• Optimally tailored type system - thanks to a simple set of data types and strict typing, the risk of making errors in the process of writing program code is reduced;
• The focus of C on the procedural type of programming, in which a clear hierarchy of all code elements is observed;
• Access to machine memory using pointers;
• Minimum number of supported keywords;
• Name scope support;
• Support for custom data types ( associations and structures).

Simply put, C is where a beginner should start before learning to program in other languages.

Programs (compilers) for programming

To learn programming, it is not enough just to have a desire and a computer with Internet access. To write programs in C you will need specialized software– compiler.

Compiler – special program, which translates program code into a form understandable by a computer.

Here are some specialized compilers that support the C language:

• Microsoft Visual Studio is a professional tool that supports many languages, including several server languages. Suitable for beginners, if you take it “for growth”:

• Borland C++ is a free compiler ideal for beginners. Unlike the previous tool, it has a clear and understandable interface. Therefore, mastering it will not cause any particular difficulties even if you independently master the basics of programming:

• Code::Blocks is a free development environment that supports writing code in multiple languages. Medium difficulty option:

As for specialized literature, we will not recommend books by certain authors. Here, as they say, choose what you want. Because in most cases, choosing a programming tutorial is an individual process. Use the source that is most suitable for you.

And you can find a lot of information on the Internet. For example, on our website an entire page is devoted to specialized literature on IT topics.

Trends in the programming market

After mastering the basics of programming, many people will immediately wonder where to move next. Already at this stage of training, you should think about choosing a major specialization in the field of programming. Here are the ones that are most in demand in the modern market:

• Web programming - here you will need knowledge of PHP, CSS and HTML;
• Mobile application development operating system Android - this platform is built on the basis of Java. Therefore, knowledge of the basics of this language will be required;
• C# (si sharp) is a distant descendant of C. The ASP.net web technology from Microsoft is built on the basis of C#.

And one last piece of advice to all beginners. Before you start learning programming from scratch, you should be patient. And also: headache pills, coffee, tea and shaving your skull bald. Because while comprehending software sciences, students often tear out the hair from their heads along with the roots. Have a good start!

1. On your own

If you have iron willpower and a burning desire to become a programmer, then you can achieve your goal through self-education. This is not the easiest or shortest path: you will have to understand the information chaos yourself and fight procrastination. But you can study at a convenient time for relatively little money or for free.

The easiest way to start is with interactive online courses. There are many on the Internet, the materials of which clearly explain the basics of programming and set the direction for further development. Special attention Focus on those courses that teach using examples of real projects, that is, they tell you step by step how to create a specific program or website.

Platform with free courses for web development freeCodeCamp

Remember that you won't succeed without practice. Study in project-oriented courses and try to write programs and websites based on them yourself. Look for lectures on YouTube about projects that you would like to develop. First, copy other people's work and analyze it. Then try to move away from the original, experiment, change individual elements until you can create something unique.

In addition to courses and video lectures, there is official documentation available on language websites, and. Once you understand the basics, look for the latest publications with the subtitle Best Practices for your chosen programming language. Such books contain best tricks development.

Be sure to set a goal to create your own project and constantly work on it.

This will help you consolidate your knowledge and understand what information you still lack. Your skills will develop along with the project. When you finish it, work on a new one - more difficult.

If you have any difficulties during the learning or development process, you can always turn to programming communities like Toaster and Stack Overflow for any question. For example, they will help you solve a problem, choose a good course, or point out errors in the code.

Questions and answers service on technological topics “Toaster”

It is convenient to hone your skills on special platforms where you can compete with other programmers, solving various practical problems using code. Such services include Codewars, TopCoder and HackerRank.

If you feel that your development has reached a dead end, or want to speed up your learning, try the following options.

2. With the help of a mentor

A mentor is a personal mentor who points out mistakes, warns about pitfalls, and helps chart a course of study. Useful advice, received at the right time, can save you from many problems and save a lot of time. Therefore, a mentor will not hurt anyone.

Find out if any of your friends are developers. Perhaps one of them will want to help you. If you don’t know such people, you can look for them in programming communities. For example, on the same “Toaster”. Only mentoring services are not cheap, and for nothing you spend a lot of time on strangers no one wants to.

3. Teachers of “live” courses

Distance and face-to-face courses with teachers who teach programmers from scratch have become incredibly popular for last years. In this format you will also have to work a lot on your own. But you will study according to a professionally prepared program, and the solutions to the problems will be checked by a living person. The disadvantages of the courses include high cost training.

Popular Russian-language online platforms that provide systematic training for programmers: “Netology”, GeekBrains and Loftschool.

If you prefer to study in person, you can look for educational centers that teach programming in your locality. Unfortunately, such establishments are most often found only in big cities. An example is the STEP computer academy, which has branches in several countries.

4. At the university

If you have a lot of time on your hands and you are sure that you want to spend your life programming, you can study computer science at university. But keep in mind that traditional schools are lagging behind, so... modern languages You will have to master programming and other technologies yourself.

On the other hand, the university will provide fundamental knowledge of mathematics, algorithms and other areas that will help you become a highly qualified programmer. Over the years of diligent study, you will develop the right type of thinking, thanks to which you will grasp everything on the fly in the professional field.

How to choose a direction and language

In the IT industry, there are several areas, each of which uses its own set of languages. We list the main directions in order of increasing complexity:

1. Web development. Popular languages: JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby.
2. Mobile development. Popular languages: Java, Swift.
3. Development of games and programs for desktop computers. Popular languages: C++, C#, C.
4. Big Data, machine learning. Popular languages: Python, R, Scala.

What to look for when choosing

To do right choice direction and, in particular, the language, take into account the following factors: the difficulty of mastering and the number of training materials on the Internet, your personal preferences (what exactly you want to develop) and the demand for the language in the labor market.

Graph of the demand for languages ​​on the international labor market / research.hackerrank.com

You can easily check the demand for a language in your region on job search sites. Just open the section for software developers and see the number of available vacancies.

If you can't decide

If you're confused, take a look at JavaScript, the language in which almost the entire web is written. Many organizations and programmers advise beginners to choose this language as their first language.

For example, the founder of the educational resource freeCodeCamp Quincy Larson JavaScript for beginners. Larson makes a very simple argument:

1. JavaScript is relatively easy to learn. And to write something and run it in this language, all you need is a code editor and a browser.
2. JavaScript is the most in-demand language on the international labor market and has great prospects. Large companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook are investing in the JavaScript ecosystem.
3. JavaScript has a very wide range of applications: from websites and browser games to mobile applications.

In addition, a large developer community has formed around this language. The high interest in JavaScript provides a huge number of courses, books and other educational content.

What else should a programmer know: mathematics and English?

Any programmer would benefit from a deep understanding of . For fields such as game graphics development or big data, a mathematical mind is a must. But when it comes to web development and creating simple programs, in most cases you can do without mathematics. Although there is no consensus among professionals on this matter.

But understanding English, at least at the level of fluently reading documentation, is mandatory for all programmers. Official documents and most educational materials appear primarily in English. often become outdated before the translation is even published. In addition, knowledge of English opens up prospects for working with the whole world.

How to get your first experience and first job

To find your first job as a programmer, you must have a portfolio. This is a project you created, or better yet several, that demonstrate all your developer skills. Most courses include developing projects that can be included in your portfolio.

A very valuable item on your resume will be work experience, especially team development. But where can you get it if you are looking for your first job?

1. Complete several orders on . This could be Freelansim or Upwork. Offer your services for free, then the first customers will come to you.
2. Find like-minded people and create a common project with them. People unite for such purposes at almost every educational platform where there are programming courses.
3. Select courses whose organizer helps with job placement. For example, at GeekBrains, after training, you have access to internships from different companies, including paid ones. GeekUniversity and STEP guarantee employment to their graduates.

Before doing this, don’t forget to search the Internet for lists of tasks and questions that are often asked to job seekers.

You should start your path to a career as a programmer by answering the question, do you need programming at all? This question does not apply to those who are studying or have studied in a specialty close to programming. If you were better at math at school than the humanities, if you like to spend a lot of time on the computer, if you want to learn something new, then programming is for you.

Where to begin

There are several options for the development of events, as a result of which a person becomes a programmer. The first is parents-programmers who taught their children everything. These children don't even need to go to university. The second option is the fashionable profession of a programmer. After school, we had to choose where to go to study, and we chose the fashionable field of IT, which we seemed to like. And the last option is a hobby that has grown into work.

If none of the above happened to you, then you have a choice of four options:

• Self-education. This option can be used either independently or in combination with other methods. The Internet is full of applications that help you study various languages programming and technology. But this is the most difficult path for beginners.
• University. If you finish school and want to be a programmer, then go to university. If not for knowledge, then for the crust. It can serve as a bonus when applying for a job. Although you will also gain some knowledge. But don't forget to educate yourself. Choosing a university should be approached very responsibly. Carefully study the training programs and choose the best technical universities.
• Mentor. It will be very good if you find a person who agrees to help you and point you in the right direction. He will suggest suitable books and resources, check your code, give useful tips. By the way, we have already written about where you can find a mentor. You can look for a mentor among familiar programmers, at IT parties and conferences, on online forums, and so on.
• Specialized practical courses. Try looking for courses in your city that will teach you some programming language or technology. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of such courses in Kyiv, including free ones and with subsequent employment.

Which language, technology and direction to choose

When you become a programmer, after a year or two you will be free to choose any language you like. But when choosing a first programming language, a beginner should consider the following criteria:

• Availability of vacancies on the market. The ultimate goal of this path is to find a job as a programmer. And this will be difficult to do if no one is looking for developers in your programming language on the job market. Check job sites, see who is most sought after, write down a dozen languages. And move on to the next criterion.
• Low entry level. If you have to spend long time to learn a language, it may discourage you from programming in general. Read about the languages ​​you selected above. Review the literature you will need to read to learn these languages. And choose those that are described as easy, or that seemed easy to you. Such languages ​​may be PHP, Ruby, Python.
• The thrill of the process. If you don't enjoy writing code in your chosen language, you won't enjoy the process, your work, or your life. Do you need it? Make the right choices.

You will also have to decide on the direction of programming. Mobile, desktop, games, web, low-level programming and so on. The most popular and relatively easy industries are development for web, mobile and desktop clients. One language may be suitable for each direction and not another at all. That is, when choosing a programming language, it is also worth starting from this factor.

Either way, learn web technologies. This is a markup language, styles and that will make your page dynamic. The next step is to learn a server-side language (Python, PHP, Ruby and others) and web frameworks suitable for it. Study the databases: almost every programmer vacancy mentions this.

How to get initial experience

Without experience you won't get a job. Without work you won't get experience. Vicious circle real life. But it’s okay, we’ll get out of it.

First, don't wait until you've read every book on your chosen programming language. Start writing your first lines of code after the second chapter of the book. Complete all the tasks from the books, retype the examples, understand them. Complicate the examples and tasks from books with your own ideas. Create your own tasks for the material you have covered. Solve these problems.

Secondly, you need to find your first projects. This is probably the most difficult option, but working. You will have to look for orders yourself, fulfill them, and bother with payment. For a beginner, this is extremely difficult, but then all other options will seem like a piece of cake. Completed projects can be recorded as experience and shown to your future employer. Real projects are a big plus on your resume.

If you know English language, it is better to register on English-language exchanges. The market is bigger there. If you don't know English, learn it. In the meantime, Russian-language freelance exchanges are available to you. Look for small projects that are at or just above your skill level. Apply for a couple dozen of these jobs. And get ready to receive a sea of ​​refusals. But if one or two applications come through, you'll have a chance to gain real experience.

Another good option for getting real experience is open source. Such projects always need new people, even beginners. You can search for bugs in the project or look in the bug tracker and suggest methods for solving them. You can easily find such projects on GitHub or . Feel free to ask questions there.

The fourth option for gaining experience is helping fellow programmers. Ask them to hand over small, simple tasks to you. If something doesn't work out, you will always have someone to turn to. And at the same time you will participate in a real project.

The last way is your own projects, various hackathons or working in a coworking space. It’s difficult to start your own projects on your own; it’s better to look for acquaintances or friends.

Why choose Python

Let's talk a little more about choosing your first programming language. The first language should be simple and popular in the market. Such a language is Python. I highly recommend choosing it as your first programming language.

The Python program code is readable. You don't even need to be a programmer to general outline understand what is happening in the program. Due to Python's uncomplicated syntax, it will take you less time to write a program than, for example, in Java. A huge database of libraries that will save you a lot of effort, nerves and time. Python is a high-level language. This means you don’t have to think too much about memory cells and what to put there. Python is a general purpose language. And it's so simple that even children can learn it.

In fairness, it is worth mentioning other programming languages. Java could be a good choice for a beginner. This language is more popular than Python, but also a little more complex. But the development tools are much better developed. One has only to compare Eclipse and IDLE. After Java, it will be easier for you to move on to working with low-level programming languages.

PHP- another very popular language. And I think it's even simpler than Python. It is very easy to find a mentor or a solution to a problem on the forum. This is because there are a huge number of PHP programmers in the world. different levels. There is no normal import in PHP; there are many options for solving the same problem. And this complicates learning. And PHP is designed exclusively for the web.

Languages C And C# very difficult for a beginner. Ruby- a good choice as a second language, but not a first. JavaScript- a very simple language, but it won’t teach you anything good. But the task of the first programming language is still to teach you something correct, to set some kind of logic.

Is English important?

Important! Do not know? Teach. Do you know? Improve. Learn to read, write, listen and speak English. Focus on technical literature. Listen to English-language podcasts. Read English-language programming textbooks.

What you need to know besides the programming language

Of course, besides the programming language and English, you need to know something else. But what depends on the direction you choose. A web programmer must know HTML, CSS, JavaScript. A desktop programmer teaches operating system APIs and various frameworks. A mobile application developer learns Android, iOS or Windows Phone frameworks.

Everyone needs to learn algorithms. Try taking a course on Coursera or finding a book on algorithms that suits you. In addition, you need to know one of the databases, programming patterns, and data structures. It's also worth checking out code repositories. At least with one. Knowledge of version control systems is required. Choose Git, it's the most popular. You need to know the tools you're working with, the operating system, and the development environment. And the main skill of a programmer is to be able to Google. You won't live without this.

Last steps

You need to prepare a resume. Not just a resume, but a . You shouldn’t write there, but you also don’t need to remain silent about your skills. Once you are invited to an interview, you must prepare for it. Go through the material that is listed on your resume. You must be confident in your knowledge. Look through the projects you've worked on, think about the technologies you've used. And forward - to a bright future with new profession programmer

Programming is one of the most valuable skills for career growth, self-development and creating something amazing. Ten tips for those just starting their journey into the world of programming, from Lifehacker.

10. Find out why you want to program

The chosen direction of study will depend to a large extent on why exactly you want to learn to program and how much time you are willing to devote to this process. If you want to become a programmer, the first thing you should do is enroll in professional courses (Google has compiled a list of skills and courses for those who want to become software engineers). If you want to create games and websites for fun... free time, best choice are interactive courses. Bloc has created a comparison chart of courses based on download, cost, and reason to learn programming.

9. Choose the right language

7. Try apps for kids

Nowadays even kids are learning programming. Although many children's learning programs are quite simple, some (like Scratch) are suitable for all ages. It doesn't matter how old you are, even kids' animation apps can teach the basics of coding (edX has a new Scratch tutorial).

6. Take advantage of free online training

Free online trainings and projects (Codecademy, Hour of Code, etc.) can help you write your first program. Tutorials from Khan Academy, Codecademy, Code.org and others will introduce you to the basics of programming and everything you need to create a game, website or other project. Find the source you need based on your programming language using . This is a good starting point, but further learning is your responsibility.

5. Take an online course

Online programming courses provide more extensive educational training than sites that offer online training in a single language. These courses are designed to teach basic skills over several months in university-level classes. I'm a big fan of Harvard's online course CS50 (it's free to take). There are also other possibilities. You can even get a university-level education by choosing one of 15 online courses.

4. Free books on programming

If you are stuck on a problem or need to find the answer to your question, don't forget about reference books. You can find it on GitHub huge collection from over 500 free programming books. A collection of e-books covering 24 programming languages ​​is also available.

3. Learn by playing

Sometimes the best way to learn is through games. While many programming tutorials teach you how to program simple or complex games, some tutorial sites are games themselves: Code Combat and CodinGame are tools you can use to have fun.

2. Find or become a mentor.

The programming community is full of people willing to help the next generation of programmers. Hack.pledge() is a site that will help you find a mentor. Or you can become a mentor for someone else. Teaching what you've learned will help you remember the information better.

1. Parse someone else's code

Programming is one of the most valuable skills for career growth, self-development and creating something amazing. Ten tips for those just starting their journey into the world of programming, from Lifehacker.

10. Find out why you want to program

The chosen direction of study will depend to a large extent on why exactly you want to learn to program and how much time you are willing to devote to this process. If you want to become a programmer, the first thing you should do is enroll in professional courses (Google has compiled a list of skills and courses for those who want to become software engineers). If you want to create games and websites for fun in your free time, online courses are your best bet. Bloc has created a comparison chart of courses based on download, cost, and reason to learn programming.

9. Choose the right language

7. Try apps for kids

Nowadays even kids are learning programming. Although many children's learning programs are quite simple, some (like Scratch) are suitable for all ages. It doesn't matter how old you are, even kids' animation apps can teach the basics of coding (edX has a new Scratch tutorial).

6. Take advantage of free online training

Free online trainings and projects (Codecademy, Hour of Code, etc.) can help you write your first program. Tutorials from Khan Academy, Codecademy, Code.org and others will introduce you to the basics of programming and everything you need to create a game, website or other project. Find the source you need based on your programming language using . This is a good starting point, but further learning is your responsibility.

5. Take an online course

Online programming courses provide more extensive educational training than sites that offer online training in a single language. These courses are designed to teach basic skills over several months in university-level classes. I'm a big fan of Harvard's online course CS50 (it's free to take). There are also other possibilities. You can even get a university-level education by choosing one of 15 online courses.

4. Free books on programming

If you are stuck on a problem or need to find the answer to your question, don't forget about reference books. You can find a huge collection of over 500 free programming books on GitHub. A collection of e-books covering 24 programming languages ​​is also available.

3. Learn by playing

Sometimes the best way to learn is through games. While many programming tutorials teach you how to program simple or complex games, some tutorial sites are games themselves: Code Combat and CodinGame are tools you can use to have fun.

2. Find or become a mentor.

The programming community is full of people willing to help the next generation of programmers. Hack.pledge() is a site that will help you find a mentor. Or you can become a mentor for someone else. Teaching what you've learned will help you remember the information better.

1. Parse someone else's code