How Do I Start Programming ? ( Step By Step guide for complete beginners )

 Do you love programming? Are you still stuck on "How do I get started?". Do you wanna know where to get started? If yes, then I have got you covered.

Before we get started, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a normal guy just like you who wants to learn programming, and I have created this blog to take you with me on this amazing journey. 

If you are stuck on the above questions just like I was once, this article is for you.

Why to get started in programming?

Before addressing to the question "how to get started?" Lets get a little bit understanding on why you should probably consider learning programming, if you haven't already.

Programming has a world of its own, where there is at least one place worth visiting for EVERYBODY. That's right. No matter how old you are, which job you have, which field/industry you are in, programming can be a beneficial tool for you.

For example, if an accountant has a large number of clients, he can create a program that can do the accounting for him, thus saving him much time and money (because he just built the program himself instead of outsourcing it to somebody else). This way the accountant can handle more clients and still save a lot of time as the program does the work for him. He doesn't even need to pay the program to work for him unlike an employee who needs to be paid to get some work done. So basically, the accountant got himself an employee which is FREE OF COST, MORE RELIABLE and WORKS HARDER than an average human. 

And above all, programming is an essential tool to compete in this modern era, where almost everything depends on code. Companies rely on programs to accumulate the required data for them and use it to their own advantage. Now imagine how learning to master such a valuable asset is gonna change your life?

How to get started in programming?

Getting started in programming is not so tough! Continuing to learn it is tough, and that goes with almost anything you try to learn. I can give you some tips to get started in programming and stay interested in exploring more stuff in it. But before that, lets talk about where to get started:

Where to get started?

Lets find a language for you that can easily get you started. If we talk about programming languages there are tons and tons of languages available waiting for you to learn them. But lets find a language which is easy to learn, with a user-friendly interface (especially for beginners) and most importantly is still practical in the real world. 

In such a case, I would recommend giving PYTHON a try! 

Python is a computer programming language which is easy to learn (i.e perfect for beginners) but can get pretty advanced if you want it to be. And the best part about python is that IT'S FREE.... Just Kidding! The best part is that it is applicable in the real world (and don't worry it is FREE). 

What this means is that you can get started with a simple language like Python and still make it to the computers industry as a professional, because python professionals are and always will be in demand.

There is always a debate on which language is the easiest to learn, and sometimes JAVA comes out at top. And I am not against JAVA and I believe that java should be a beneficial tool in you arsenal if you want to be a professional software developer. Java and Python both have their own pros and cons. But I personally prefer python as the first language a beginner should learn to master. And I believe this due to many reasons. Let me illustrate this with an example:

Let's say you want to print "Hello,World" 

Now I will show you how it's done in both languages:

JAVA

class Hello

{

void  main()

{

System.out.print("Hello,World")

}

}

PYTHON

print("Hello,World")

Now I want you to be the judge!

Now obviously if you choose Java over python, I have no problem, but being a guy who has had some experience in both the languages I would still choose python for BEGINNERS.

The thing that I personally admire about python is that being such a simple language it still holds the potential to do amazing things such as web designing, web scraping, and even app development (obviously you can do all of these things and more with JAVA and other languages but considering the simplicity in the code, PYTHON wins this round).

If I have motivated you enough to start your amazing journey with Python, here is the link to download it: 

Download Python here

Tips on getting started in programming:

Now since we have discussed on why you should consider learning programming even if you don't want to be a professional in it, how to get started in programming and which language you should probably learn first, lets talk about some tips which can help you become a better programmer faster and not lose interest in the subject:

1) DO NOT focus on just completing the tutorial: 

One of the most basic and probably the most common mistakes people make is they just want to zoom through the tutorial/lesson. Now it could be a video you are watching on YouTube or an article on the internet or just a chapter in the book, DON'T focus on just finishing the lesson focus on learning something from it. Now some of you are like, "OH!! We know what we are doing, we are not stupid to just read the article/ watch the video without learning anything from it,YOU DUM***S!!". But trust me most of you will make this mistake while learning the basics. You will think that this topic is just too basic to be even worth your time.

2) NOTHING is too basic:

This again goes back to the first mistake we discussed above. People tend to just skip the very basic, I think they just want to start app development right away without even knowing how to print a simple line. I know this because I have did this to some extent. I learn from an online course and I kinda skipped the basic stuff, like the basic terminology, because I had some experience with Java and I thought it would be the same. But guess what, IT WASN'T!! So when i just got a little bit further I got stuck and didn't understand a single thing the instructor said. So I went back, watched the basics again and this time was able to understand everything. Now the reason why I am emphasizing this so much is not only because i don't want you to waste your precious time by going back and learning the whole thing again but also because I don't want you to create a habit of just skipping things you don't want to learn. Just remember, "THERE IS NO ADVANCED WITHOUT BASICS". Yeah...Yeah I know it's a sh***y line.

3) DON'T GIVE UP:

This is probably the most important tip in not just learning programming but learning anything in life. You need to keep on going to see the progress. IF YOU GIVE UP, it is the end of the line,you are not going anywhere. But if you try and try and try, you will BE moving at least a step closer to your goal. Just like anything else, while learning programming, there will come a point where you will feel like you are stuck. Anything you read or watch about programming is either too basic or too advanced for you. So this is the point where you choose whether you want to declare all the time you invested in learning programming as a total waste or whether you are a fighter who will NOT GIVE UP at this point where he has given in everything to learn programming and will keep on going. I personally believe that you are not stuck unless you think you are, you are always moving at least one step further. 

According to a survey, 43% of the people give up on their goal within a month. I don't want you to be one of these LOSERS. So don't give up and trust me when I say YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT !!

BONUS TIP:

This tip will definitely help you in becoming a better programmer faster. And that tip is:

4) Try it even if you think you don't understand it:

This may sound a little complicated at first but it really isn't. When you learn a new topic in programming the instructor will try to explain it to you with an example so that you understand better. All you have to do at this point, is to try and solve the example before the instructor even does. For example,lets say you are watching a video on loops in python. Now, the instructor says "let's understand this better with an example of finding a number in a list", as soon as he says this (or something similar to this) I want you to pause the video  before the solution appears on the screen and try to do it yourself. Now, sometimes you wouldn't completely understand the topic that was taught and THAT IS THE POINT, trying to solve it at first would probably result in errors and this will pinpoint the exact concepts you didn't understand in the topic. Now when the instructor explains the solution you pay attention to the things you did wrong and how to solve it.

Just following this tip can increase the rate at which you become a better programmer. I believe that, "Knowledge can only go so far, but the real knowledge that stays with you till the end, are the lessons learnt from you mistake " so that is all I
want you to do. I want you to make mistakes and learn from them.

Hope this article answered all of your questions and even helped in becoming a better programmer. IF IT DID, leave a like. IF IT DIDN'T feel free to ask any further queries in the comment section below.

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AHEAD!!!