Programming is a subject which is generally taught in school at either the college or high school level. For most people, this is where they leave off and if they continue programming it's on their own time and for their own purposes. There are many reasons why one would want to continue studying programming such as: To advance their career prospects, to improve their programming skills, to gain a better understanding of the field, and more. There are platforms that offer simple coding for kids too.
In this article, I will be introducing a free online learning platform for programming languages.
1. Codecademy:
It is an online platform where one can learn the basics of programming languages like Python, JavaScript, HTML/CSS etc. The courses are developed with interactive command lines that allow users to test their skills right away. They also have a live discussion forum which allows for peer to peer learning where users can help each other and ask questions related to the courses. The Codecademy team has also built an API that allows for third-party websites to integrate their product as well as a mobile platform which enables users with smart phones or tablets to gain programming knowledge on the go. A perfect example of this is the Codecademy mobile app which is available for iOS and Android.
2. Udemy:
Udemy is a website where one can learn anything for free or at a cost. The courses offered here are developed by third parties and they have the option to promote their product as well as offer it as an online course. This gives these developers access to a larger group of audience that might be interested in online learning from some random guy from the street or anyone with some sort of expertise.
Codecademy is very good for the beginning learners while Udemy is more suitable for people with prior knowledge of programming languages who are looking to fill some gaps in their knowledge, get better at what they know by learning new tricks and the like.
3. Pluralsight (Code School):
It is another platform that can be used to learn programming languages, specifically web-based ones. It has courses on HTML/CSS, Ruby, JavaScript etc. It focuses more on professional practical use of the language instead of just the basics which are usually what online courses tend to teach. This simply means that it is more suited for the people who do not just want to learn but also gain some knowledge that can be applied in their line of work or just help improve on current skills.
4. freeCodeCamp:
It is an online learning platform that helps people learn coding skills by offering free courses. The courses are built in collaboration with the open source community and also by the website's own developers. They have a job board where one can view some of the top tech companies who are currently hiring for any programming language or skill set they might be interested in.
It also has a platform which allows one to gain real life experience by being part of open source projects.
5. Code Avengers:
It is an online platform where you can learn from the basics of HTML/CSS to advanced level JavaScript. For people who want to get into programming, these online learning platforms provide a good way to start and learn the basics of many popular programming languages like Python, JavaScript, HTML/CSS etc. The interactive user interface gives you an idea about how things work without having to type in every line of code yourself. One can simply take the course, play around with it and figure out what they are doing all thanks to the user interface which is very easy to understand even for beginners.
6. Coursera:
This is another good learning platform that offers free courses, but it only covers certain topics. It works by offering online courses from universities which are partnered with them to offer students a better learning experience. Currently, they have the course titled "Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python" taught by Rice University on their website. The other thing that makes this platform unique is that it has a service called 'Signature Track' where students can pay to have their completed courses verified which then proves that the student finished the course and mastered it.
7. edX:
This is an open source platform that offers free courses. It has a wide range of topics to choose from and can be used to learn anything under the sun. The main difference between the courses offered on the popular platforms like Coursera or Udemy, compared to this one is that instead of having users sign up for classes individually, edX offers courses grouped together as part of a specialization.
The other difference is that instead of just focusing on web-based languages like HTML/CSS or JavaScript, this platform also includes non-web based programming language courses like Python and C++.
8. Khan Academy:
It is another free website where one can learn programming languages. It currently offers courses on HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Python and R Programming among other things.
The beginner's course focuses on the basic syntax of the language without worrying so much about practical use which helps people get a better idea of what they are learning instead of just memorizing random syntax. There are also advanced courses that deal with more practical uses of the language and can be taken after one is done with the basic course.
9. One Month:
This is another platform where one can take free online courses.
The courses are divided into two main parts, the 'coding basics' and the 'specialized topics'. <
There are currently three types of courses being offered which include web development, mobile development and design.
10. W3Schools:
It is a website which focuses on web development and provides courses to help people learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP among other things. However, since they do not offer any interactive user interface, it is best used by someone who already has some knowledge of the basics or one can check out their 'how-tos' section to get a better understanding of what they are doing.