Trying to learn how to code. I've heard a lot of people recommend ruby and python. Is there any specific books or programs people might of use that may be helpful? or suggestion of other languages? Planning to spend about 6-10 hours a week.
If you want to do front end web dev, learn these languages in this order:<p>HTML - <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/" rel="nofollow">http://www.w3schools.com/html/</a>
CSS - <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp</a>
Javascript - <a href="http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html" rel="nofollow">http://eloquentjavascript.net/contents.html</a><p>And then pick one of the following two:
PHP - <a href="http://www.tuxradar.com/practicalphp" rel="nofollow">http://www.tuxradar.com/practicalphp</a>
or
Rails - <a href="http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book" rel="nofollow">http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book</a><p>There are many languages that you can learn for front end other than RoR and PHP, but they are two of the most popular right now, and will almost certainly suit your needs. Good luck, and stick with it when it gets frustrating, learning how to code is definitely worth it!
In addition to what others have said, I would add The Little Schemer to the list. It may not seem like the most practical book, but it will make you a better programmer.<p>Beyond that, I would reiterate the following suggestions put forth by others:
-- How to Design Programs (get version 2. Racket, the IDE for this book, is practically plug-and-play, so you won't waste time prepping your development environment)<p>-- Think Python by Allen Downey (i haven't read this one, but it comes very highly recommended. the excerpts I've read show that Allen communicates the concepts very clearly)<p>-- Eloquent Javascript (very good introduction, all examples can be done directly in the browser with the specially-made console. This eliminates the time and confusion you will experience trying to set up a development environment with other languages.)<p>On top of those I'd also add:
-- The C Programming Language by K&R (if you are interested in C)<p>-- Dive into HTML5 (if you are interested in web development. HTML is a markup language, but you are going to need it to be able to build web stuff. This book complements Eloquent Javascript nicely)<p>-- Land of Lisp<p>-- DOM Scripting (Pair this book with Eloquent Javascript. It's the best introduction to the DOM that I've seen and will bridge the gap between HTML and Javascript)<p>The best books on coding are those that place equal emphasis on good prose and good programming practice and that de-emphasize syntax.<p>Also, look for books where the examples are real-world examples. i.e. things that people have actually had to implement at one time or another. Avoid books with completely imaginary examples that use made up names like foo, bar, widget, etc.
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (Python) <a href="http://greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html" rel="nofollow">http://greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html</a>
Do you really want books? Are you really a book kind of guy? I bought a bunch of books when I first wanted to learn how to program, but actually didn't read any of them. I didn't have the patience to read, I wanted to just DO.<p>I learned via the copy, paste, google and osmosis method, and it worked great for me. (:<p>So I guess my advice would be... before you spend your money on books, since time=money, the X hours you spend paying for the books might be better off "just doing it".<p>But, not relevant if you actually are a book guy.
It depends on where you want to focus first.<p>1. Web development?
2. Mobile development?
3. What platforms do you prefer?<p>If you want to just learn programming for the sake of learning programming you'll likely not make much progress.<p>Define a goal and get back to us.
A while back (9 months?), there was a business guy who started a site about learning how to code. I just checked and he's kept on going(!)<p><a href="http://proudn00b.com" rel="nofollow">http://proudn00b.com</a>
Starting Forth, by Leo Brodie<p><a href="http://www.forth.com/starting-forth/sf1/sf1.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.forth.com/starting-forth/sf1/sf1.html</a>
www.TryRuby.org is a good one to get started. it will walk you through a few basic commands.<p>there are plenty tutorials out on the web and most any basic intro book will be good if you're learning to code.<p>you can also check out www.hackerbooks.com
You could try starting with "How to Design Programs" at <a href="http://htdp.org" rel="nofollow">http://htdp.org</a> (or buy the dead tree version). That book has been very helpful for some people. The programming language environment used in HTDP can be downloaded from <a href="http://racket-lang.org" rel="nofollow">http://racket-lang.org</a>.<p>If you'd prefer Python, a real gem of a book is Core Python Programming by Westley Chun. Python btw, is an excellent choice for a first programming language.