What about Learning Python the Hard Way? Would you recommend it for a newbie to programming who wants to pursue a career in CS? I downloaded that book due to Internet recommendations but havent dived into it yet. I would appreciate insight into what i should start with if i want to program seriously for the long haul.
For most people who’ve never programmed before, Learn Python the Hard Way is what I would recommend for getting started. It builds intuitions for programming little by little, without any huge “leap a tall building in a single bound!” parts of the learning curve. Most programming books are written by people who have forgotten what was once hard for them; LPtHW doesn’t have that problem.
I did not want to overload the list. I have read ‘Learn Python The Hard Way’ and thought it was good but not outstanding.
I have added it to the list now as the second book to read.
Would you recommend it for a newbie to programming who wants to pursue a career in CS?
The list is mostly based on my personal research of what to read. I am not a CS person. But if you are a complete newbie then you have to start somewhere and ‘Learn Python The Hard Way’ is a good choice, yes.
I would appreciate insight into what i should start with if i want to program seriously for the long haul.
That’s up to your background in mathematics I would say. I guess if you know all the math over at Kahn Academy (probably excluding linear algebra), then you are well equipped to start programming and probably earn money with it at some point. And here I would recommend to start with Python.
From what I have heard it is not recommended to start with languages used in an engineering, science or industrial background like C/C++ or Java. But if you are really devoted that probably won’t be problem either. I recommend C++ Programming in Easy Steps followed by Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example. After that there are quite a few very good advanced books.
What about Learning Python the Hard Way? Would you recommend it for a newbie to programming who wants to pursue a career in CS? I downloaded that book due to Internet recommendations but havent dived into it yet. I would appreciate insight into what i should start with if i want to program seriously for the long haul.
For most people who’ve never programmed before, Learn Python the Hard Way is what I would recommend for getting started. It builds intuitions for programming little by little, without any huge “leap a tall building in a single bound!” parts of the learning curve. Most programming books are written by people who have forgotten what was once hard for them; LPtHW doesn’t have that problem.
I recommend Udacity.
I did not want to overload the list. I have read ‘Learn Python The Hard Way’ and thought it was good but not outstanding.
I have added it to the list now as the second book to read.
The list is mostly based on my personal research of what to read. I am not a CS person. But if you are a complete newbie then you have to start somewhere and ‘Learn Python The Hard Way’ is a good choice, yes.
That’s up to your background in mathematics I would say. I guess if you know all the math over at Kahn Academy (probably excluding linear algebra), then you are well equipped to start programming and probably earn money with it at some point. And here I would recommend to start with Python.
It is also possible to start with web programming. Maybe try Murach’s PHP and MySQL or JavaScript and DOM Scripting, but I am not sure.
From what I have heard it is not recommended to start with languages used in an engineering, science or industrial background like C/C++ or Java. But if you are really devoted that probably won’t be problem either. I recommend C++ Programming in Easy Steps followed by Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example. After that there are quite a few very good advanced books.
For Java check out Introduction to Programming in Java: An Interdisciplinary Approach, which is probably going to be a tough but thorough introduction.
If you do, start with Ruby and Rails, they will serve you better than PHP. Can’t speak for JavaScript except that it’s harder to get started.