Sublime Forum

Learning Code

#1

Hi guys!
I know you all will be pretty much experts in coding here and I just wanted to ask one question. I am a graphic designer/photographer/illustrator teaching myself how to code.

My question is… what to learn first?! There is so much information to learn with the basics and all the languages and then all the extras… and I want to learn it all, but what first?!

Thanks!

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#2

There are a lot of opinions, which is the best language to start with. However I don’t think you should spend too much time with debating, because the concepts are similar. If you know one language it will be easier to learn other ones. The language also depends and what you like and what you want:

  • With C you will learn how the computer works on a lower level.
  • Starting with Java is good to understand OOP concepts.
  • Since you are a designer you may be interested javascript/html/css to design web-pages.
  • Using Python you will be able to write useful programs sooner than with other languages. In addition you will be able to extend your Sublime Text and it is used for a lot of purposes.

If you are still unsure I recommend python, because it is relatively easy to learn and you will be able to write something useful soon.
A good start to learn programming on your own is codeacademy. It has free courses for beginners.

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#3

Since you said you were doing photography, I came to think of when I needed to set different Exif variables on a huge amount of photos depending on file name etc.

With python I did it in a few hours and some help from the vast open source community.

Just throwing out an idea :slight_smile:

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#4

I would say the language itself doesn’t matter as much as what application is going to keep you interested.

I would go for something that easy to use libraries that can give you visual feedback quickly.

Processing is a java library and evironment with a dedicated IDE for graphics and interactive / creative coding. I would look into that especially since you are a designer. It’s east to get started, and It’s how I started learning, by building more complex applications in it. Just keep a link to the reference page is my best advice.

The fact that it’s java I think is a plus because that would give you more fundamentals compared to starting with more more shorthand language. There is also a javascript library based on processing called p5.js that I would recommend equally.

Both have a lot of resources on line, in forums and also on youtube.

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