I’m very comfortable handcoding CSS and HTML at this point, and would like to take the next step and learn another language, but I’m not sure which next language makes the most sense. I’m thinking either MySQL/PHP (at the same time) or Javascript. I’ll eventually learn them all, but am wondering which makes the most sense in terms of the order I should proceed. Any tips?
As background, my short-term goal is to take on some freelance projects (my wife’s a designer); my long-term goal is a degree in CS or MBA in Information Systems.
Thanks all.
2 Responses
Gus
February 27th, 2010 at 11:22 am
1You’re about to step into the wilderness…
HTML and CSS are not programming languages, and although they may have prepped you a bit for idea of syntax, you have a lot to learn to move on.
Your best bet is going to be to study up some basic programming fundamentals first. A great place to start with that is MIT…they offer their lecture materials for free for a lot of courses, including intro to computer science and programming. Here’s a link:http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Eng…
Once you’ve learned that, start practicing with some simple javascript to get used to it.
PHP and MySql work hand in hand, and while you can do a quite a bit with PHP without SQL, you’ll need it if you plan on implementing it anywhere.
(I say SQL, because really you need to work on learning the basics of SQL. MySql is a Database Management System, and while learning the finer points of it will help you, you need to learn the language to do anything.)
I would stay away from doing freelance straight away, make that more of a long term goal. You need to be able to learn and work at your own pace, and freelancing is a LOT of stress (especially on a learner…). I tried it in college, and honestly, I’m embarrassed now at the quality of work I put out. If you do any “live” work, get some hosting space, and put up a site to play around with it. Center it around another hobby (I did this too..had a video game site up for years that taught me half of what I know).
Programming is an intense discipline, don’t underestimate it. Get connected to the community, ask for help (stackoverflow.com is a site you should get to know while you’re learning…you’ll get much better help there than you will on Y!A).
Most importantly: Don’t fake it. If you start thinking “Man, this is a drag…I don’t know if this programming racket is for me…”, Bail out.
Programmers are born, not made.
Ryan
February 27th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
2I would suggest the MySQL and PHP over the Javascript since they are a bit more practical. Javascript can be used later down the line, but for the complete backend, MySQL and PHP are much more functional, thus should be learnt first.
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