Where should an absolute beginner start?

Question

I am completely new to writing code and am slightly confused by all the different languages. My main goal is to build websites and apps for iOS/OSX.

Which coding languages should I start with?

For websites learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP. The order ot learning these languages is important. — Kirill Kobelev, Jul 05 '12 at 09:13
Definitely not on Stack Overflow: http://meta.stackexchange.com/a/134651/130891 — Darin Dimitrov, Jul 05 '12 at 09:16

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:04

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Here is a previously asked question which may be of use to you.

If you find that it is a bit over your head, you could start by learning the basics of HTML/CSS/JavaScript at W3Schools or by learning broadly applicable programming skills at Codecademy.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:04

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answered Jul 05 '12 at 09:31

Conor Pender

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 09:14

For iOS/OSX it would be a good idea to learn Objective C and get familiar with the different frameworks provided by Apple.

For building web sites, all you need is a text editor and a good introduction to HTML/CSS. If the web site should be dynamic (i.e. some content should be created when the web site is retrieved) PHP might be easy to learn and some JavaScript knowledge couldn't hurt.

Please note that applications are different from web sites! You can build web sites that look like applications and are accessed through the browser - "native" applications can only run on the device, not through a browser.

So there's no such thing as "web sites for iOS/OSX".

You can have a hybrid (native + html). I think that's what the OP is referring too. — Rui Peres, Jul 05 '12 at 09:20

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 09:13

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My main goal is to build websites and apps for iOS/OSX.

You need to define if you want to go native (objective-c + Cocoa/Cocoa-touch) or websites (HTML + JS + CSS). Which one you would choose is kind of a tricky question on the current standards. It really depends of the project and the client (sometimes even them don't know what they really want). If you are able tell us what are your goals in learning them, I can try to advise you better.

answered Jul 05 '12 at 09:13

Rui Peres

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For replying to somebody who has said that they are completely new to coding, this answer must be horribly confusing. – Conor Pender Jul 05 '12 at 09:33
I can't advise someone without knowing the motivations to code. If he would tell me: "Ok i want to have some fun" I would tell him go to native (because it's where I have fun). If he would tell me: "Ok this is a work for school and the teacher didn't specify". I would probably tell him to go with HTML since the learning curve is not as demanding as native. It really depends for what he wants. But if you think it deserves a -1, sure go ahead. – Rui Peres Jul 05 '12 at 09:36

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 26 '14 at 02:33

I would start with basic c because its what everything is built on. it teaches you the basic like int's, variables, pointers ect., then you could move into object oriented programing (for other languages as well as ios/mac osx programing)

or move straight into objective c. if you want to design and build mac os x apps you need to know c, objective c, then move into the newly announced "swift" apple released this summer, they are all object oriented.

if you want to build web applications like facebook, twitter, google, ect. then i suggest php and mysqli (mysql is discontinued). you can implement a lot more than you think. you can also do object oriented in mysqli and php but you can also do it "procedural style".

be aware that ios/mac osx is a lot harder that html, css, php, and mysql.

Where should an absolute beginner start?

4 Answers4