Starting My Programming Self-Education

"Hello, world!" The customary first-ever program

Today is the day! I've been preparing (and procrastinating) for months! I have several great resources, such as:

• - Head First Java, a highly regarded book for Java beginners even despite its age;
• - Codeacademy.com, which will try its best to coerce you into purchasing its pro material despite a solid free offering;
• - How to Program with Java, a combination blog/podcast/paid training course, of which I'll be using the two first facets; and
• - The internet, obviously, where I've already found immense help from CodeRanch.com, this random but wildly helpful page, and Oracle's immense network of resources.

At one point I even half-way started (before getting side-tracked by the notion that, despite my lack of skill and public appeal, I could have a side-gig as a YouTube creator)! But I want it to get serious now. Since perception is reality, I'm going to make it a big deal (read: "It IS a big deal!" See?), and do everything I can to both motivate myself and hold myself accountable to keep going.

I've elected to start with Java as it seems to be the most widely recommended (though I couldn't help myself and purchased a great HumbleBundle for Python programming), and seems to come with the greatest amount of help and resources (free ones) online. Today's mission was simple; set up Java on my computer. It doesn't sound complicated, but I don't know much about CMD/Command Prompt, so it can be a little confusing (not JUST for me, I don't think).

Eventually I found this site I mentioned earlier, which without a doubt offers the cleanest description (for dummies like myself) of how to install Java, set up the development kit and point it in the right direction to get started. I'm not sure how official Chua Hock Chuan's personal site via Nanyang Technological University really is (considering I can't even navigate back to the host site), but Chuan put together some very clear instructions; thanks buddy!

The site also directed me toward a few potential text editor replacements. I settled on Notepad++ because it seems to offer convenient features while still forcing me to use/learn more about CMD, which I feel is generally a good thing. While I'm at it, I should probably note (for myself, as this blog is my note-taking mechanism):

• - "cd c:\myjavaprojects" is the directory I'll be using;
• - "javac nameoftextfile.java" is how I'll compile ".class" files; and
• - "java nameofclassfile" (without file type) is how I'll run my programs.

Other setup- and preparation-type things include an Excel spreadsheet where I'll document progress and various resources used, and committing it to memory and accountability by putting it down in (typed) writing. As a fun aside, HTML and VBA are very high on the list of languages in which I'd like to delve deeper, and are really the only two about which I know anything at all. Maybe this will all function as a kind of package deal... or maybe not, but it's worth a try.

Okay, me, don't let me down now.