If you google "The only way to learn programming", around 450 say it is by practice.But how does one practice?

Question

I'am a chemical engineer entering software. I came to software because in software I can be more creative, logical and analytical. But the software field is huge which bewilders me. I have done courses in Java, HTML, .NET, C#, VB, SQL etc. What I miss is a guide by which I can go by. Since everyone is recommending that the best way to learn programming is by actually writing the code, I would like to know how to practice.

Answer 1

Another good way to practice is to try and write some code that will do an application like one you already have. yes, try to reinvent it, or copy it, or whatever you want to call it. I have done things like solitare, a slideshow viewer, screen savers, etc.. I dont sell them or anything, since it was just for practice.

Answer 2

1) Write small or not-so-small programs for yourself. When I learn a new language, I always try to use it to write tetris, as a test. So far I have tetris in C (using Xwindow), C++, java, and elisp. (extra credit: modify the basic program to play multiple boards simultaneously).

When I was unemployed a few years ago I designed and wrote my own language, an interpreted C-like language that could import and manipulate Java objects.

2) If writing for yourself does not thrill you, get involved with an open source project. There are lots at places like sourceforge.net, choose one that interests you. Working on open source projects you are benefitting the entire community while you learn. Also, you get the chance to see others' code, and have other people review yours. And, it provides a portfolio of your code you can refer to later when looking for work.

Answer 3

write code to help you do things.
an idea a friend gave me was to use code to download some stuff from the internet.
thing of things you want to do, and see if you can get your computer to do it for you. then write your code.