Codeacademy
Codeacademy was founded in 2011, and since
then it has seen a huge number of people use its resources, including some
high-profile individuals. It's a free online learning platform that will walk
you through a series of courses for you to master one of several languages
(HTML, CSS, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, Python and Ruby), as well looking at
various concepts and allowing you to test your skills with personalized
projects.
Codeacademy
is extremely popular and it's easy to see why
Codeacademy is extremely popular and it's
easy to see why. Each lesson is delivered in an easy-to-follow manner, with
plenty of explanations as to what's going on, why and how it affects the
overall program. You get to code along with the lesson, by actually typing the
code into a mock terminal (in some cases), and you get to see what the output
of what you've typed will be. The instructions are well written and flow very
well as the user gains more experience and more knowledge of the language they
opted to learn.
As you progress you're asked to input the
code as you would and identical to a real-life situation, and provided you've
typed it in correctly, you can then progress to the next section of the lesson.
The lessons increase with difficulty as you move on, but not enough to suddenly
leave you in the lurch. Each lesson also identifies the jargon used in coding
and goes on to explain what variable, integers, loops and data types are
without leaving the user feeling patronized or babying them too much.
As
you progress you're asked to input the code as you would and identical to a
real-life situation, and provided you've typed it in correctly, you can then
progress to the next section of the lesson
At the end of each section you're tested on
what you learned from the previous lessons, after which you can follow your
progress and return to any lesson or section, should you need to. In addition,
you're also awarded a badge of completion, which can be shared on Facebook or
Twitter, should you so wish. This is just a small part of what makes Codeacademy
such a wonderful beginner resource to entry-level programming. Regardless of
the age of the user, be they school age or considerably older, they can follow
the instructions through with the minimum of effort, but they'll receive some
real hands-on experience of entering code and why they're entering it.
Codeacademy may not have the visual appeal
of Kodu or Scratch, but in many ways it's easier to follow and has less
distractions for the user to concentrate on, although younger users may
initially require the graphical and visual method of programming to start with.
Plus it starts off very easy, assuming you have little or no knowledge of the
language in question and if you do make a mistake, then a friendly 'Oops...'
appears and you're informed of where the mistake lies.
Codeacademy is an excellent place to start
learning how to code in an environment that's easy to understand, and it's
probably better for most people than the visual approach. It's a proven
resource and one that's well recognized and used the world over.
Codeacademy
is an excellent place to start learning how to code in an environment that's
easy to understand, and it's probably better for most people than the visual
approach
Details
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Price: Free
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Manufacturer: Codeacademy
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Website: www.codecademy.com
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Required spec: Up-to-date browser
Programr
Programr is a well-received online lab for
those learning the way of the code. In this site you'll find example code for
various situations covering the likes of Java, C++, PHP, C#, Ruby, Python android,
iOS, J2EE JS, Ajax, Flash and SQL, with elements of other languages mixed in
between these selections.
Programr
You can use your own code, compile and run
examples from within the browser, code and run command-line programs, web
applications, mobile apps and rich media content all from a single browser
window.
In addition to this lot, you can also start
to learn the intricacies of the art through a selection of basic examples and
hands-on tutorials that will lead you through concepts like variables,
operators, loops and arrays. Within each of these segments, located under the
desired programming language, you'll find a number of sub tutorials that will
increase with difficulty, but not at the detriment of leaving you in the cold.
However, despite starting one or two examples at the 'Hello World' stage, the
site does seem to require that you already have a modicum of coding knowledge
beforehand, albeit a small amount of knowledge admittedly.
In
addition to this lot, you can also start to learn the intricacies of the art
through a selection of basic examples and hands-on tutorials that will lead you
through concepts like variables, operators, loops and arrays
Think of Programr as a step up the coding
learning ladder from Codeacademy. It's still only classed as entry level by
those who know the code better than the backs of their hands, but in terms of
getting to run the code, testing it and looking up examples of what you want,
Programr is quite a handy resource.
The courses it runs currently are only
Java, but more will be added after a site refurb, guiding you relatively well
through the whys and hows. Each exercise within the online course gives you a
set time to complete - usually 20 minutes - and plenty of information to get
you using the old brain. Should you make an error, but the code compiled
correctly, then when you click the 'Submit' button, a warning as to what is
expected and what you wrote is displayed, allowing you to return, recompile and
get it correct.
On
the whole, Programr is a very useful resource for junior developers and those
wishing to tip their knowledge from entry level to beyond
Learning via Programr is okay, but not as
good as Codeacademy for the absolute beginner. As we mentioned, once you're
more seasoned and Codeacademy doesn't offer anything new or if you're after a
particular function but have no idea where to get examples from, then Programr
shines. Plus, there are plenty of viewable, playable and usable projects that
have already been submitted to the site, all of which carry the 'cut what you
need' motto, allowing you to modify sections for your own code, but without
having to reinvent the wheel.
On the whole, Programr is a very useful
resource for junior developers and those wishing to tip their knowledge from
entry level to beyond.
Details
·
Price: Free
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Manufacturer: Programr
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Website: www.programr.com
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Required spec: Up to date browser, latest Java
How We Tested
All sites, downloaded tools and programs
were tested on an i3, with 8GB RAM running Windows 8, using the free versions
of software (in the case of Microsoft's offering). The online sections were
conducted and run in the latest Firefox, 20.0.1, with the latest Java
installed.
