Start Over Coder

I’ve started a new project, building a web app using Node & Express. These are the first things to think about when beginning a new project.   Thoughts on this episode? Leave a comment at startovercoder.com/035 or tweet me @startovercoder.    

Getting stuck when you’re learning to code on your own can be FRUSTRATING!! Here are some tips on how to get help. TIP #1 - Google This one goes without saying, but it's worth starting here first. Start searching with specific terms, then get more broad if you can't find what you're looking for. TIP #2 - Rubber Duck It Walk through your code out loud to an inanimate object (like a rubber duck!) and pose your question. As you're asking the question, the answer might come to you. TIP #3 - Slack Communities Slack is a chat & collaboration platform used by a lot of people in tech. Some public groups include CodeNewbie, Code Buddies, and Career Change Coders. You can also search around for language-specific or local Slack communities. Once you're in, join the channels that are focused on the languages or tech stack you're learning. TIP #4 - FreeCodeCamp Message Boards FreeCodeCamp has a great, supportive community. If you're working on FCC projects there are scores of people out there who can help when you get

This week I saw just how beneficial it is to practice every day, and more importantly, to practice well. How can we apply this to learning to code? After months of dillydallying around the piano I recently decided to rededicate myself and practice just 15 minutes a day to keep up the minimal skill I had earned through lots of practice. In 5 days I learned the majority of a song I'd been "learning" for the previous 4 months! This showed me just how productive it can be to not only make a daily practice habit, but also to be focused and targeted in that practice. So how can we apply this to learning to code? First of all, code every day. Forget less in between sessions and keep the skills you pick up along the way fresh in your mind. This is not new advice, but it's important! Equally important (maybe more so) is being specific about what you want to take away from each learning session. In a way, I'm still figuring out what this means for myself, but here are some of the key ideas I've been focusing on: When

Picking up from last week, this episode shares some of the options you can try for hosting a full blown web app, so you can show off your work when you’re learning to code. If you missed last week's episode which was all about how to host a static website, go back and listen to episode 31. Today we're talking about hosting applications with dynamic content, i.e. you need a database and have written the backend code. To review the basics, you will need a domain name (most of the time!) and web hosting to have a website--go back and listen to episode 31 to hear more about these. To host an app you will also need a database server, and the good news is that you can usually get the hosting bundled in with this. But you will almost always need to buy the domain separately. Here's the overview of services I talk about in this episode (this is not a comprehensive list, just my experience!!): Heroku Heroku link My #1 recommendation for small scale apps & proofs of concept It's free! You can host up to 5 free app

Once you’ve learned a bit of code, you want to show it off! Here are some of the options you can try for hosting a static website. In part 1 of 2 we're talking about hosting static websites, or sites that don't require any database connection or dynamic content. You might want to buy your own domain name (ex: yourname.com) which is where people will find your website. Separately, you will need website hosting, a service which stores your webpage files on a server and sends them to users when they visit your domain.  There are many companies eager to sell you a domain name and/or their hosting services. Sometimes you can bundle the two and get some great discounts! Here's a quick overview of the different web services I mention in the podcast (not a comprehensive list!!): Free Web Builders Do a Google search for "free website builder YEAR" (whatever year it is now) and check out the lists people have curated for what's hot at the moment. There are MANY options! Most have a drag & drop interface...you can

Recently completed my first web app as part of a group workshop and I learned a lot! Here are the key steps and biggest takeaways from the experience. Coming Up With App Ideas Set a constraint or goal to help narrow down ideas. Pick one problem to solve, and then think about many ways to solve it. Do a lot of brainstorming--everything goes on the list!  Research each idea to determine what you need to do technically to build it. Pay special attention to APIs, data sources, and other aspects which may take a lot of work to integrate. Picking An App Idea To Build Set a deadline for when you want to complete a minimum viable product, and then pick an idea that is feasible within that time limit. Pick an idea that stretches your learning, but isn't so advanced that it will discourage you from finishing. If you know very little about the tech stack, do a bit of extra research to find out how much documentation there is and how many tutorials exist online...if you don't have resources to go to when you get stuck

Udemy’s Web Developer Bootcamp is a fantastic course I can highly recommend. In this episode I share the best & worst parts, and some tips to get the most out of it. To check out the full description of Colt Steele's course or to sign up, view the course on Udemy. Other things mentioned in this episode: Paper.js - JavaScript animations library Howler.js - JavaScript library for playing sounds Colt Steele's MySQL course   Thoughts on this episode? You can find the show notes and leave a comment at startovercoder.com or tweet me @startovercoder.

Three big endings this week: online bootcamp, a coding workshop, and 15+ years of debt. That’s a lot for 9 days! Thoughts on this episode? You can find the show notes and leave a comment at startovercoder.com or tweet me @startovercoder.    

FRUSTRATION!!! This week I share the painful experience of getting stuck while coding. And some helpful tips to get through it! I'm in the process of building my first web app from scratch and adding the login feature proved to be massively difficult. No matter what I tried, no matter what tips I got, I just couldn't get it working. While it's not the first time I got stuck coding something, it definitely held out the longest, leading me to bang my head against more walls than I'd like. But in the end I found some tips to get through it (be sure to check out last week's episode which inspired all of them!: Don't get frustrated! If you do, step away from the code and refresh your brain. Break the problem into smaller pieces: take the part you can't solve and write it as standalone code. Then it should be easier to fit into the bigger piece. If you use other people's code, be sure to take the time to learn how it works, otherwise it's just a band-aid. When things get tough, just stick with it... ...but ask for

How can you make looking for your first tech job less scary? Go to a recruiting event before you’re actively looking! This week I attended my first tech job fair to take the edge off. Thoughts on this episode? You can find the show notes and leave a comment at startovercoder.com/026 or tweet me @startovercoder.

Think Like A Programmer by V. Anton Spraul aims to teach the fundamentals of computer programming. It's not perfect, but it offers some great takeaways for anyone learning to code. In the book Spraul breaks down how to go about solving a problem step-by-step, covering fundamental topics like arrays, pointers, dynamic memory, classes, and recursion. Each topic comes with code snippets written in C++, and the chapters conclude with a list of exercises you can do on your own to make sure the information sticks. The key takeaways were: Take the time to form a plan when faced with a problem to solve. Random trial and error is not advised! Break big problems into smaller pieces and try to solve the small pieces. Then you might spark ideas about how to work on the parts you're less comfortable with. If a program will have multiple parts to solve, start with the one with the most constraints. Write separate programs to test small functions within a bigger project. If you can write a small piece on its own, you'll ha

Learning to code while working full time is a huge undertaking. Here are some strategies to help you get there. The main 2 requirements are: Having clear goals about why you want to learn to code. It will help you make the tough choices when figuring out how to spend you time. Code every day! Even if it's just a review of the previous day, look at code every day to ensure you don't have to learn the same things over and over again (check out episode 10 and episode 12 if you want to hear about what happens when you don't do this!). With these things squared away, you can try the following strategies: Log your practice. You can use a simple wall calendar or a habit building app like HabitBull to keep track of your study days. Then you will notice when your "short break" turns into a longer one! Schedule your coding time. And it is sacred! Phone off, email closed, just focus. Even if you only get in 20-30 minutes, this time is key. Work on fixed-term projects. Find a course that has set deadlines, or set a de

Finally starting to understand backend programming and how it all comes together with the front end! Since it’s still pretty new to me, here’s an explanation in the simplest terms possible. If you missed episode 20 you can go back and listen to my first introduction to the backend..it was a major FAIL! So why is the backend necessary? It basically comes down to what your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) can and can't do. It can process HTML to put content on the page. It can process CSS to style the content and make it look interesting. And it can process JavaScript to make things a little bit more dynamic. What it can't do is process information from the user in a permanent way (like if they fill out a form for example), or pull existing information from a database (like if you want their name, photos, or personalized content to show). That's where the server comes in. The server can process all of this information (and more) and then translate it into the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that you

With an endless list of programming languages and topics to try & master, it can be tempting to try to learn more than one language at a time. In this episode I explain why I think that’s a bad idea! Mentions in this episode: My learning plan - Start Over Coder episode 13 Harvard CS50 on EdX The Web Developer Bootcamp on Udemy My intro to Node.js - Start Over Coder episode 19 Super easy (!!!) Jekyll blog on GitHub pages If you're going to give it a go I highly recommend Jonathan McGlone's Step-By-Step Guide   Do you think it's a good/bad idea to learn more than one language at once? I'd love to hear what you think! Leave a comment at startovercoder.com or tweet me @startovercoder.

I attended a massively interesting* talk last week by some developers at Disney, talking about how they use code to build the amazing worlds and characters in their films. From Wall-E to Moana to Star Wars, the developers at Pixar, Disney Animation Studios, and Industrial Light & Magic (LucasFilm) play a big role in creating some awesome movies! Besides seeing how cool their work and jobs are, I learned that as a new developer, working at this level is many, many years away, and probably not a career path to focus on with a quicker transition in mind. Regardless, it was fascinating to learn about a new facet of programming and meet some cool people in the process. *PS - this is a great episode if you like the word 'interesting,' apparently I love it! ;P 

When learning to code, it’s important to jump into the deep end every now and then to keep leveling up. Unfortunately it didn’t work out in my favor when I gave a go to Node.js! The workshop I attended was a purposeful break from my learning plan. I'd love to include a clear & concise definition of Node.js here (intended for total newbies), but I still haven't found one! If you know of a good one please leave a comment. Otherwise, here are some of the resources I found which provide a bit of context: Max Ogden's Understanding Node The Coding Train's What Is Node.js? (YouTube) If you want to give Node.js a try here are some links: Install Node.js Nodeschool tutorial "workshoppers" If you've had a rough start trying something new, or have some good Node.js resources to share, leave a comment at startovercoder.com/020 or tweet me @startovercoder.

Even when we know in theory that there are many ways to solve a problem, living with this fact in the context of programming has been a big lesson this week. If you'd like to leave a comment you can do so at startovercoder.com, or tweet me @startovercoder.

Breaking down a problem into smaller steps is a great start, but it’s not enough! This week I’m talking about what more can be done to accomplish a goal, whether that goal is some tricky algorithm scripting or changing careers. Show Links: Harvard's CS50 on EdX Visual of the Mario exercise

This week I discovered two great (and free!) resources for learning to code. The Learn To Code With Me podcast is a great thought starter and source of inspiration. And did you know you can access Lynda.com courses for free!? If you have another discovery that’s worth sharing, leave it in the comments here or tweet me @startovercoder.

Continuing the Learn To Code series, today’s episode is all about mobile apps. The Apps: Mimo Javvy & Swifty - no website but search your app store Lrn SoloLearn Hopscotch ...and many more out there! The Learn To Code Series: Ep 5: Learn To Code Overview Ep 6: Free Online Resources Ep 7: Paid Online Resources Ep 9: Join A Group Have you tried an app to learn to code? Any that you recommend which weren't covered here? Let us know in the comments!