3 Free Platforms to Learn Programming
You want to start to learn programming? Say no more: this is the right place for you.
There are hundreds of paid courses to learn programming, with their fees getting higher and higher as the time passes. Resources like Udemy, for example, promise great results — but I’m not really a fan of their method. Udemy has a decentralized structure. People external to their platform can upload their own curses, and some of them don’t have enough quality.
That’s why I’m writing this article. After years of searching for good resources, I have finally come with a concise list that will surely help you.
1. W3Schools
W3Schools is an excellent resource for beginner and intermediate programmers. It has a great amount of tutorials for a ton of different programming languages, and lots of exercise to practice and learn.
W3Schools is also useful as a reference/documentation page. For intermediate programmers, having quick and smart references while they’re working is crucial. In this webpage, you can find examples of almost everything. It’s just perfect!
2. sololearn
sololearn is intended to be a tool for beginners. There are a lot of tutorials for people who have never programmed before; but finding references and examples is trickier.
Personally, this was the tool that got me started. It’s similar to Duolingo, in a way that it will only be useful for the very beginning of your learning path.
The main objective of sololearn is to be a tutorial resource, like a guide. If you already know how to use a certain language, this tool won’t be as useful as W3Schools.
3. FreeCodeCamp
FreeCodeCamp is more of an advanced tool. It does begin with the basics, but its courses are way more complex. For reference, it is intended to be a certificate which you can put in your resume — like an entire uni course.
The structure of the Certifications is divided as follows: first, there is an initial set of short exercises, which warm you up and introduce you to the module. After that, there are 5 challenges. Challenges are like projects, which can be like creating a responsive webpage, a calculator, a cipher, etc.
In my opinion, FCC is a great tool for intermediate programmers. It is complete, useful and has a great user base. There is also a forum, where you can get your doubts and questions solved.
Conclusion
If you are a beginner, then sololearn and W3Schools will be your best match. These tools will certainly boost your learning process and allow you to enter the programming world.
If you are an intermediate programmer, W3Schools and FreeCodeCamp will serve you well. FCC will keep your training process going, while W3S will support you as a quick cheat sheet/ documentation/ reference page.
Finally, if you are an advanced programmer, you should definitely try to complete the Full-stack Developer course at FreeCodeCamp. This will look awesome in your resume!
