ProgrammingBooks.org

Can I Learn Computer Programming?

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:05:19 +0000

A computer isn’t worth much unless it’s properly trained with a set of software. Like the human brain, software provides a knowledge base for the computer and gives it a clear set of instructions on how to solve a problem. To a computer everything is just a data set. The act of informing a computer exactly what to do with a given set of data is call programming. Programming is gift that not everyone will be able to perform, but as a non-techie myself for most of my life, I’ve only recently picked up programming and feel like I’ve learned an awful lot in just a short amount of time.

If you are trying to learn programming it’s important that you start off with a solid set of books. Yes they might be boring but you’ve got to start somewhere. Most of the programming books written today come with online tutorials as well which help reinforce the concepts you are learning about from reading.

Don’t jump in over your head though. If you start off reading a book about complex programming concepts you will get frustrated really quick. Realize like any endeavor, you are going to need to put some work into becoming a sufficient programmer.

How Hard Is It to Learn Programming?

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:57:00 +0000

One comment I frequently hear from my non-techie friends is whether programming is hard to learn. Or does one have to be super smart to pick up programming concepts? Don’t get me wrong programming isn’t easy, but I do believe anyone with a brain can learn it. Now might you turn into the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg? Probably not, since most of us are just average.

To get started in programming, I think you’ve definitely got to start small and work your way up. You won’t learn everything there is to know about programming in a matter of days, weeks or even months, but over time you will soak up more and more knowledge. That’s what I find amazing even to this day. I primarily work as a php/mysql programmer, and even after several years I still find new PHP functions I never knew existed.

Early on I read as many programming books as I could handle and they definitely formed a solid foundation. But I feel like I’ve learned the most from trial and error.

You can find many programming books that are very detailed and offer various samples and how-tos. Naturally these books will come at a cost, and that might lead some to try and learn from info they find on the internet. The trouble with this approach is that there is no framework for learning with materials found on the web. You will get a much better start by picking up a few books, and you can always sell them back later if you don’t want to keep them around. But I do find myself frequently flipping through some of my old PHP books.

How to Improve Your Computer Skills With Computer Books and Ebooks

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:55:44 +0000

Looking for a programming book to help polish up your programming knowledge? Whether you are a rookie or a seasoned programmer, technologies and coding standards seem to change on a dime these days. So it’s important to keep up with what’s going on with coding.

With the proliferation of the web today, you can find any number of programming and computer books online. Some might even be free, and others can be downloaded for just a small fee. Personally I still like having something I can hold in my hands. After all I already spend way too much time staring at the computer screen as it is during the day, so the last thing I want to do is spend more time reading a programming book on the computer.

Purchasing Computer Books

If you’ve got a Kindle or other reading device, you could always buy books online thru Amazon or B&N for instance. You will find just about everything you need thru these sites. You can search by a particular category such as PHP development, C+ or whatever your interest may be. And you can read what other readers have had to say about these books. That’s a good way of weeding thru the maze of options.

Free Programming E-Books

You can find many books that can be downloaded. Some of these are offered by vendors like IBM or Red Hat for example as a way to get you familiar with their software. So it just depends on what you are trying to learn. You want find many free books on PHP for example, since there’s no company behind the language.

Conclusion

If you want to improve your programming skills, go online as another alternative.