What are the most effective ways to learn a new programming language fast?

Sometimes it is helpful to reverse-engineer this decision. For example, think about what sort of industry you are interested in. Data analysis might be done in SAS, SQL or Python, where Game design might be C# or game-engine specific coding languages. This can give you a good starting point.

The most suitable languages are the ones that have the biggest active communities. It's a lot easier to learn popular languages that have resources on Youtube, stackoverflow, and public articles that are available to everyone to learn from. Start with one students are learning in schools such as python, java, and javascript. Then learn the simple syntax for compiling code and evolve from there to develop small projects. Once you learn one language really well, learning a few others slowly becomes easier

Generally it is a good idea to first think of what you want to achieve with the programming language you want to learn. There are so many languages with different areas of specifications and the starting point should be the "what do I want to achieve". After you define this for yourself the next step would be to find out "which languages do offer me this capability", followed by "will the related software be provided as open source" (one for cost factor and one for community factor - size of community to support).

Learning a new programming language efficiently requires a structured approach and consistent practice. Here are some effective strategies to learn a new programming language quickly: Understand the Basics: Start by understanding the fundamental concepts of the language, such as syntax, data types, variables, control structures (like loops and conditionals), functions, and basic I/O operations. Utilize Official Documentation: Refer to the official documentation provided by the language developers. There are numerous online resources like tutorials, courses, and interactive platforms tailored to various programming languages.

I prefer a live Instructor Led course as you can ask questions. It's two way interactive. You get a much more intensive knowledge with this. Online pre-recorded videos are useful if touching up on something or just finding new features. But having no live Instructor is a BIG disadvantage as you can't ask questions. Pre-recorded videos just send me to sleep.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Change the value of a variable and see what effect it has on the outcome. This will allow you to learn ‘why’ something works in addition to ‘how’ it works.

Following a structured course can give you an idea of how to start, but trying some stuff on your own is important, not to be stuck in tutorial hell. Add your own twists to the tutorial project; this is a great way to learn how things work.

Online courses are very helpful, especially video tutorials, but most students leave online courses halfway. You have to be very specific about why are you learning this language then make a self-agreement on paper. Whenever you get demotivated, take out that paper and start learning again.

Consider simply buying a text book and reading through it. I've learned multiple languages this way. You can work at your own pace! Skim over parts you already know and spend more time with parts you find challenging. Most text books include exercises you can do on your computer if you feel you need the practice, but it's also fine to just read - you can always refer back to the book later later after you start a project if you find you need a refresher! When buying a textbook, look for one that other people have reviewed on sites like Reddit.

This is important, you should pick something that motivates you like if you are into music/guitars make a song chord recorder. Also, choose a side project whose MVP can be done quickly like a weekend but the scope is big. Meaning a small core with a lot of extensions.

Open source projects are great to start with. If you are beginner find simple projects. If you are middle-level one you can look for projects with more features. From these projects you will learn best practices, logic, structuring of files, classes etc. You can find lots of open source projects in github. Look at stars, forks for their popularity. Look at the releases and recent activities for their recency.

The following ways makes it easier to learn. 1) Overcome fear of learning new programming language. 2) Always think it's helping to solve a problem. 3) practice start with simple programming to get hold of syntaxes. 4) practice more by finding solutions to more problems. 5) Start using the new programming language for every problem you encounter this helps you to remember the usage.

Start by reading 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett, followed by the entire Discworld series. Make sure not to dwell on the Wee Free Men too much ... that's kids' stuff.

During the online course, I make some self-assessment requirements according to the current level of course lectures. I try to complete that short project and I face a lot of issues, I search these issues on online resources like blogs, tutorials, forums, etc.

Online Courses and Tutorials: Utilize interactive online courses on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or Codecademy, which provide structured learning paths and exercises. Coding Practice: Dedicate regular time to practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or CodeSignal to strengthen your understanding of the language's syntax and concepts. Building Projects: Apply the language by working on practical projects, which can reinforce your understanding and provide valuable experience. Utilize ChatGPT for Clarifications: Use ChatGPT or similar AI platforms to ask questions, seek clarifications, or discuss programming concepts. ChatGPT can be a helpful resource for quick tips and explanations.

It's important to use online resources but not only rely don't those; for example, you can copy some working code you saw online or follow a tutorial but not really understand how it works. Focus on learning the concepts so you can experiment with new things and solve different challenges, it's especially useful to read documentation for this. It's also useful to use multiple resources, learn how it works, and come up with your own solution without copying it.

"Utilize ChatGPT for Clarifications: Use ChatGPT or similar AI platforms to ask questions, seek clarifications, or discuss programming concepts. ChatGPT can be a helpful resource for quick tips and explanations." Oh yes, I used ChatGPT rather extensively. Did not always get the best results from that. Another thing, do not let the small project you created for exercising run away from you. I had such high goals set for this that I got stuck on something for days till I had to remind myself it was only for exercise.

Currently I barely could find a pure online resource, which could help you better than advanced GPT models. Of course a tutor/mentor or an online course with a feedback from seminarist would be better. But LLMs (specialized are even better) could help you a lot with digesting new information as well as answering all (or 99%) your questions (unless you decided to write a new Doom by your own, even in this case they could give some general advices too).

I used Excel-powered Flashcards & Summaries. For each topic, I created a dedicated sheet, having below columns : Key terms or prompts. Detailed explanations. Brief overviews. Grasp rating, on a 1-5 scale. Sort & filter by grasp level or themes, honing in on weak spots. Conceal 'Answers', testing recall, then reveal for self-assessment. Use color codes: green (got it), yellow (kinda), red (needs work). Embed related resources, review with a click. Track knowledge growth via charts. Collaboratively, sharing these sheets brings collective insights, and spice it up with tools like Google Sheets for real-time edits. Knowing advanced Excel can even allow quizzes or shuffle prompts, all automated! Some flashcard apps import these sheets too!

Getting the basics strong first which helps adapt new languages quickly. The standard otlf programming went down all over the world after they stopped introducing "C" as the starting language. Without basic knowledge of how the system and the hardware works, the understanding and solution development skills will always be poor.

If you just read and follow tutorials without applying them, you might end up forgetting them. It's important to always understand and apply what you study and focus on revising topics when you need it. Create a study schedule; programming is like any other skill; you need to PRACTICE. Just watching tutorials won't cut it.

Download a large project from GitHub. See if you can figure out how it works like it’s the first day in a new job. This gives you insight into how enterprise systems are built.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" (Oscar Wilde) Look through examples of other people's code - find those that appear most readable, elegant, and do what they claim to do well. Study, and emulate the approach - ensuring you understand every part. When you are a master, you can go off and develop/improve on the style if you feel you need to.

Participating in forums like Stack Overflow, Reddit, communities on Discord or Slack, and even local groups can be helpful. These spaces allow you to ask questions, share experiences, learn from other people's challenges, and receive guidance from more experienced programmers. Furthermore, following discussions and contributing to problem solving helps a lot with learning.

What is super important is once you started keep training yourself and using your skills. If you don't use it especially in the early weeks/months regularly you will forget quite some and have to restart

When tackling a new language, my approach includes: A) Analyzing existing code for similarities in syntax to other languages. B) Utilizing online resources like Google to find training materials, source code, and instructions for setting up compilers. C) Leveraging AI, like ChatGPT, to provide examples, such as requesting code for a TCP server in a specific language. D) Enrolling in online courses from platforms like LinkedIn and Plural Sight to delve into advanced language features, like smart pointers in C++ or unit testing in C#. E) Seeking knowledge from colleagues who possess expertise in the language. I've found that a combination of these methods proves to be most helpful in my learning process.

Well I'd focus more on learning correctly than learning fast. Understand the basic working of the language first. Refer the official documentation at every step, and look into additional resources like courses, online videos and blogs for further clarity. One thing that has always worked for me is to do small side projects on the way. It makes learning more fun and fruitful

Once comfortable with the programming language, read through production code written by others/in GitHub etc. See how some builtin libraries and packages are implemented. This will help in understanding various patterns and constructs. In my experience, spending time in going through code written by expert programmers will help you master the language.

After being stuck in a vicious loop of watching n number of tutorials, here's my takeaway. Read docs or watch videos as per your comfort but then stop, don't go chasing the next of videos or stop with the one practice project you were taught to build, find a project for yourself, a real life one would be even more beneficial and work on it. It doesn't have to be good, but if it gets you stuck and forces you to dig deeper into the language, it's perfect for you. Once you're comfortable with the syntax and basics, explore further. Practice!

First is to realize that learning and fast might not always go hand in hand. The background you already have matters and will dominate the path you take. Approaching a new language and learning it fast is then a matter of realistically evaluating your current skills. Then I would try to identify identical or similar concepts in the new language. I would follow with new concepts. Both of the above implies syntactic and semantic concepts. As a personal example, coming from C++ with enough experience on language features made my task of quickly learning Golang quite easy and pleasant. I focused on the language parts that allowed me to progress quickly with my implementation and always make sure I go slow when understanding new concepts.