How to Learn Web Programming: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
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- 09/02/2022
Developer, teacher, and author of programming courses Bill Sororos has published a detailed instructional guide on the FreeCodeCamp blog for those who want to learn web development from scratch. In each paragraph, Soror provides links to tutorials and explains why you need a particular programming language or framework.
According to Soror, he has been writing code for 20 years. He has divided his manual into several sections based on the goals of his training – to learn basic programming languages and to learn more about specific areas of development.
I decided to learn programming. I like the web, but I don’t know where to start.
As with any other discipline, learning programming should start with the basics of all areas of web development – often referred to as full stack. This will help you determine which area you’re more interested in learning and give you a basic starting point,” Soror writes.
Basic HTML Fundamentals
The developer advises you to start with learning the basics of HTML. Once you start there, you’ll master the development of user interfaces and interaction with them. In addition, you will immediately see the result of your code,” the trainer notes.
Soror provides links to tutorials on learning HTML:
- Basics;
- Tags, attributes, elements;
- Page Titles;
- Paragraphs;
- Headings;
- Lists;
- References;
- Images;
- Tables;
- Forms;
- Combining Everything Learned.
I know the basics of HTML markup. Next, Soror advises you to start learning the basics of JavaScript.
Fundamentals of JavaScript
JavaScript is a web language, and all popular browsers such as: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE have built-in support for JavaScript. Every website or web application you use probably has a lot of JavaScript code inside. In addition: the language is now becoming popular on other platforms, such as servers, desktops, and devices.
Basic links for learning JavaScript:
- JavaScript work;
- Variables and data;
- Mathematical functions;
- Logic;
- Conditions;
- Cycles;
- Functions;
- Objects;
- Arrays;
- Working with the structure of the document;
- Events;
- AJAX;
- JSON;
- Scope.
I know the basics of JavaScript and HTML
Basics and rules of styling with CSS
Next, Soror suggests moving on to learning CSS to customize the appearance of HTML elements. To do this, you can use free tutorials from Mozilla to learn the basics and the CSS-Tricks site to solve basic problems.
Backend
By this point, you have gained knowledge for so-called “frontend development. Now you can switch to the “backend. This is the code that runs on the server,” Soror writes. – There are many backend languages, but since you’re already familiar with JavaScript, I recommend learning Node JS.
In addition to Node JS, you can learn Express and Mongodb. Express is a library that makes it easy for Node JS to interact with the web server. Mongodb is a database for storing and retrieving information.
I need to choose between frontend, backend, and fullstack development
After learning Node JS, Sororor suggests deciding on a specialization in development: one part has to do with user interaction, the other part has to do with data interaction. In order to become a full-stack developer, you need to learn both parts: frontend and backend.
I want to become a frontend developer and know the basics of JavaScript, HTML and CSS
In addition to knowing JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, a frontend developer should understand a few of the most important frameworks.
In-depth study of HTML
- Intermediate HTML;
- Advanced HTML.
In-depth study of client JavaScript
For a more in-depth study of the JavaScript language, Soror recommends the You Don’t Know JavaScript series by Kyle Simpson. The author has published the entire series for free reading online:
- Rise and Shift;
- Scope & Closures;
- Еhis & Object Prototypes;
- Types and Grammar;
- Async and performance;
- ES6 and beyond.
The developer also recommends the book MDN JavaScript Reference.
jQuery
jQuery is the most popular JavaScript library of all time. Soror recommends learning it with a course on FreeCodeCamp. Then you can go to the official jQuery manual. The jQuery API documentation also comes in handy.
JS frameworks
Frameworks make it easy to work with a development language and solve big problems using off-the-shelf technology. There are a huge number of frameworks on the market because of the overwhelming popularity of JavaScript, Soror writes.
React JS
React was developed by Facebook and works with the Flux architecture. It is a JavaScript library for creating interfaces. React has recently surpassed another common library, Angular, in popularity, so it’s best to start learning frameworks with it, Soror notes. A free course to learn React.
Angular 1 и Angular 2
Angular is a development by Google. The framework is still popular among developers. After the announcement of Angular, Google decided to completely rewrite the framework and launched Angular 2, so we got two completely different developments with the same name. You can learn Angular 1 for free at Code School. You can learn Angular 2 through free videos on YouTube.
Ember JS
The framework is not as powerful as the developments of Google and Facebook, but it is gaining popularity among developers. The official documentation for Ember JS.
Next, Soror advises moving on to learning CSS frameworks-such as Bootstrap and Material:
- React Bootstrap;
- Angular Bootstrap;
- Angular 2 Bootstrap;
- Material UI React;
- Angular Material;
- Angular 2 Material.
I want to be a backend developer
There are many languages in backend development, each with its own minuses and pluses,” the instructor writes. He also gives a graph of their popularity over the past 10 years:
Programming languages indicated by the green box are the ones worth focusing on, Soror says.
Java
A very popular programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, now owned by Oracle. Java is used to develop applications for Android. It can also be used to create computer and web applications.
Since it is a popular language among developers, you can find a lot of instructions for it online. Soror recommends starting with a beginner’s course.
C#
The language was developed by Microsoft as an alternative to Java. Like Java, C# is an object-oriented programming language and can be used not only to develop web applications, but also programs for desktop operating systems.Free course to learn C# from Microsoft Virtual Academy.
Python
There is no major brand in the Python language. However, this language allows you to quickly develop a website with free lessons for learning Python.
Ruby
There are many Ruby fans among developers – they actively advertise and rave about the language, Soror writes. However, its popularity is growing slowly. The language is essentially a mixture of functional and imperative programming.
The best place to learn Ruby is RubyMonk, the developer says.
Practice and practice again
Before performing practical tasks, Soror recommends immediately creating a profile on GitHub, an online repository for storing, managing, and publishing code. You can start your introduction to the platform with an instructional “Hello World! I’m a Canadian super developer :)” or an interactive course.
You can start developing by creating your own blog or calendar. You can also find free tutorials at Free Code Camp:
- Pomodoro Timer;
- Trading Club.
Popular Internet projects in Canada
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