How can self-learners learn programming in the most efficient way? A pragmatic approach

Master's Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Computer Science - Programming, grade: 20/20, École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC Entrepreneurs), language: English, abstract: This paper provides a structured approach for self-learning programming for free on the internet. Its recommendations are based on a review of the existing academic literature which is complemented by the analysis of numerous contributions by software developers, self-learners, and teachers of programming. Additionally, it incorporates effective learning techniques derived from psychological research. Its intended readers are primarily entrepreneurs and 'startup people' who are driven to build new businesses with code, although the proposed approach is also transferable to other domains and audiences. The single most important factor for succeeding in learning programming has been found to be of human nature: learner motivation and persistence. While most beginners and the majority of academic contributions focus mostly on technical aspects such as which language to learn first, or which learning resources to use, this paper analyzes the learning process itself. Learning programming is thus divided into three main steps: First, I highlight the importance of setting a strong learning goal for motivation, and provide a big-picture overview of what 'learning programming' encompasses to structure the approach. Second, I provide learners with recommendations as to which language to learn first - there is no one 'best' choice - as well as how and where to find effective learning resources. Lastly, the paper concludes with tips for optimizing the learning process by introducing effective learning techniques, highlighting the importance of programming practice, and collecting additional advice from programmers and self-learners.