Where are the best places to learn programming skills quickly?
July 20th, 2010 | 
Author: I want to learn how to use MySql, Php, BB code, and codes like those, but in easy and effective way. I have prior knowledge, so feel free to post slightly advanced links too.
That’s like a teen-ager asking how to be 50 years old quickly – you can’t do it quickly, whether it’s getting older or learning programming. To see what you’re asking for, read http://www-old.oberon.ethz.ch/WirthPubl/AD.pdf That’s the best programming course ever written. (No, I didn’t write it, and it’s free.) Figure on at least 6 months to get through that.
MySQL is a program, the language is SQL. Figure on a few months, at least, to learn the basics of SQL (the things that 95% of SQL programmers stop at). PHP is trivial once you know programming, you can "learn" it by keeping the php.chm file open as you work. BB code is about as difficult as learning to count to 10.
But learn programming first. If you want to build a house, you don’t learn "hammer", you learn carpentry. Don;t learn the tool (programming languages) until you’ve learned what to use tools for (programming).
Posted in advanced php programming
Why not try and contribute to an open source project on something like github: http://github.com/languages/PHP — you would also learn a version control system if you’re not already familiar with Git.
References :
I’d start with a nearby college or university library, if you can get to one. Look over every book that has code examples in it, and make sure you pay close attention to ones with titles like "Data Structures & Algorithms" because they illustrate a lot of techniques WITH lots of diagrams, whereas a lot of the books which are about coding focus on syntax and the language itself.
If you see enough examples of good algorithms in those, then you’ll be able to learn how to spot good code in the other books that give coding examples. For object-oriented programming, you ought to see if you can find the solutions manual to a c++ textbook which is called "The C++ Answer Book", because that is nothing BUT code, and it shows a lot of ways of using templates, which you don’t see everywhere.
I’m not suggesting you learn C++. I don’t like either C or it, myself. But you shouldn’t miss out on examining it and knowing exactly how to use it if you are called to do so and can’t refuse.
After you look at those books for a while, choose a language to really get up to speed on in a hurry, and crack the books on it. After you do that, download a free compiler from somewhere that is compatible with it, and try to write up something that uses every kind of algorithm you saw in those data structures and algorithm books.
References :
One place you can learn PHP and MySQL is at http://w3schools.com/
You can learn some of the basics there. You can also check out php.net for more info and user comments.
This probably didn’t help much, but good luck, anyways!
References :
That’s like a teen-ager asking how to be 50 years old quickly – you can’t do it quickly, whether it’s getting older or learning programming. To see what you’re asking for, read http://www-old.oberon.ethz.ch/WirthPubl/AD.pdf That’s the best programming course ever written. (No, I didn’t write it, and it’s free.) Figure on at least 6 months to get through that.
MySQL is a program, the language is SQL. Figure on a few months, at least, to learn the basics of SQL (the things that 95% of SQL programmers stop at). PHP is trivial once you know programming, you can "learn" it by keeping the php.chm file open as you work. BB code is about as difficult as learning to count to 10.
But learn programming first. If you want to build a house, you don’t learn "hammer", you learn carpentry. Don;t learn the tool (programming languages) until you’ve learned what to use tools for (programming).
References :
30 years of teaching programming