Learning a new programming language is difficult enough as it is. Especially if you’re a first timer and aren’t familiar with programming syntax and such. Whilst the Internet is a wealth of information and is a great resource for would be developers, you have to know two things, where to look and what to search for. Without that insight you’ll be looking for a needle in a haystack.
This article is going to cover some of the resources out there which you might not consider if your regular search procedure is to literally just hit Google and see what comes up. So, let’s get started –
YouTube
You might not think it but YouTube is fast becoming one of the top resources on the Internet when it comes to learning. The world has moved on, nobody wants to sit reading tutorials for hours on end when they can watch a 5 minute video and have the whole thing explained to them. Sometimes a complete walk through is what you need, not a huge tutorial with bits missing that you’re effectively left to dissect on your own. The next time you hit the dev wall, have a look on YouTube for a solution, I think you’ll be surprised.
Website Communities
There are some fantastic little communities around such as this one from HostPresto that have great questions and answers sections along with huge collections of tutorials on pretty much every application or language you can think of. Of course you don’t want to spend your days reading stuff which isn’t relevant to what you’re trying to achieve so you’ll still need to do the leg work in terms of searching. But the information is most definitely there.
Forums
If you’re thick skinned forums can be a great resource. I say thick skinned as people who know that little bit more than you are often quick to judge. They just love responding to new developers in a condescending manner. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. But realistically, you’ve not really got anything to use. The next time you have an issue, just post it. What’s the worst than can happen!
Books
Books might seem a bit old school when it comes to learning about technology but they’re still a great resource. They have all the information you could possibly want on the subject at hand but it will be your job to read through the whole thing (which could take days) and try and pick out the sentence or two that relate to the problem at hand. The good thing with development is that most people go through the same sort of issues when they start out. If someone else has been through it, the chances are, they’ve asked the question and if they’ve done that you can bet someone has provided the answer.
Most developers are putting their stuff on Reddit so if you see someone posting a lot of tutorials on a given subject you can be sure they’re either a developer themselves or know enough about it or have enough interest to be able to assist you. Find a user, drop them a message. Getting the help you need can be as simple as that and you don’t need to waste your days reading tutorial after tutorial in the hope it makes sense.
Web development can be fun and extremely profitable but it can also be frustrating if you hit a brick wall with your project and don’t specifically know where to turn. Hopefully the next time you hit a stumbling block you’ll consider the above and not simply rely on Google to point you in the right direction of somebody to help you out.
The reality is, the most knowledgeable people out there do not have the time to sit writing tutorials to place on low quality web development blogs. But they will post it to their own channels or help you out if a specific question is asked. This is what you need to remember and try to think outside the box when it comes to seeking assistance.