How Do You Get Started In Coding?

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I'm very behind in coding and would like to know how to catch up with most people my age who are good at coding.

It's about finding dialects you actually enjoy. I like provisioning scripting & 3D Geospatial command lines even though I'm not a developer. I'm planning on doing SDK training for my job soon.

I am interested in C++ programming.

I think 3D engines, physics engines & GIS/Geospatial are great practice for understanding of native or functional languages. TBH I'm more of a Java, scripting & markup language wonk but I'm slowly getting comfortable with C dialects because they're powerful.

So the most practical coding is SDK, Basic, Java, C++, and Python? As well as C#, Pythonscript, and many others? What type of programming is more suited for engineering?

This is a bit old post so maybe my answer is late and you already found something but maybe this helps someone else. Start with the basics and with one language. When you can code with one, you will learn the others, too. I think Java is easier to start than C++ but that is only my personal opinion. Java is widely used in real life and there are many online courses you can take. Different languages are used on different purposes. Examples about usage of C++: https://www.educba.com/uses-of-c-plus-plus/

About your list: If you want something useful, don't waste your time to Basic. It's ancient. A nice hobby, though. SDK is not a programming language, so it's not logical to discuss it here. And I don't actually know what is Pythonscript you're referring, do you have a link? Java, C++, C#, and Python are all very common programming languages and worth learning. But as I said, learn one properly, then you will learn the rest easily. You can also try their ancestor, C, when you handle the basics of programming.

WHAT type of engineering? WHAT are you going to use it for, can you give such an example?

- Are you going to simulate a new product?
- Are you going to write something to configure something on 1500 networked hosts?
- Are you going into game development?

WHY do you need to take up programming?
WHAT is your current knowledge of programming?
WHICH platforms do you see yourself working on?

It will be lots easier to answer than to give some generic "Uh, use Java or C++" answer that others seem to blurt out without thinking.

ALWAYS think of the end results, NOT the (technical) means. Companies who hire don't give a crap about your passion for a certain language, they want you to solve problems for them.

kahn academy

coding boot camp

I also like typing.io

I got started by using Zilog's Z80 Assembly Language to construct a programmable security system. Then I progressed up through FORTRAN, BASIC, and the various C languages.

Now I have other people do the coding, and I get to keep what's left of my hair.

Mathematical programming

I needed to learn how to script for a new job i got 3 years ago so I learned how to code in VBscript in a weekend.
I am now the go-to guy for scripts in my work.
I would love to learn how to do proper C development but my work is just scripting.
I have become pretty good at and enjoy working with powershell.

I decided to do that three decades ago. I still have most of my hair.

Online tutorial


Coding boot camp (some are scams)


Community college classes

I started with FORTRAN, but it was Assembly Language on IBM 360, IBM 370, Amdahl 470, Data General Supernova, PDP-11, and Vax computers that really taught me to code.

My shortest executable program ever was 0 bytes long. It was a program used to dial out from a PDP-11 to connect to other computers. Ever hear how to manage that?

I started on a TI-83+ graphing calculator and graduated to desktop computers some months later. I think the best way to get started with programming is to just get your hands on a programming environment of some sort and start tinkering with it.