Welcome

Welcome to Becoming a Programmer - Getting Started, the first in the Becoming a Programmer Series.

With the Becoming a Programmer Series, I want to teach you how to become a programmer. That said, I want to do it properly by doing things a bit different from most of the programming courses you will encounter out there. And there is a reason for this which I will explain later.

But, before you can write your first line of code, you need to have a solid understanding of the world of programming. This Getting Started course will give you that foundation.

Please note that this is a theoretical course and as such there will be no coding done. However, the rest of the courses in the Becoming a Programmer Series will all be hands on with lots of coding.

A think a warning upfront is in order. If you do not love reading a lot and the idea of becoming a life-long learner, then walk away now. With love reading a lot in the previous sentence, I do not mean mean that you love reading. I mean that what you will be reading, it a lot. So you better love reading lots and lots of pages and be prepared to put in the hours.

Things move so fast in the world of programming that you simply have to keep on learning just to stay relevant. Years ago, I scaled down my learning for about three years or so, and boy, was I shocked to see what has changed since. These days, things move much faster than back then. Just saying...

Another warning may also be in order. Programming comes with a fair bit of frustration. Its just part and parcel of the game we are in. That said, your really learn when things go wrong! So, be glad it things do not work out. That's when you learn. Embrace it!

If you are still here, you will find this journey into programming both fascinating and rewarding. It's the closest adults come to playing with Lego® without playing with actual Lego. As you progress through these courses, you will eventually understand what I mean by this. It's a highly creative thing to build software applications.

Now that you feel welcome, let's move on...