Begin with the end in mind
"Begin with the end in mind" is a reference to the 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey and a rule I try to live by.
No body wants to waste his time learning things they don't need right?
So if you want to learn how to go from knowing nothing about coding to build front-end for the Steem Blockchain...here is my personal learning path that I decided to follow for the coming years.
Learning Path - HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT
I chose the HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT learning path. Why? Because everything that happens in the browser uses those 3 languages. They are also quite easy to learn compared to other languages.
JAVASCRIPT also has become incredibly versatile in the past few years. It's like the swiss-army knife of coding languages that allows both front-end and back-end development.
Also, since steemit.com(condenser) is written in javascript, it will allow me to help on github to get my feet wet.
Step One: Getting Basic Knowledge - Maximum 3 months
I'm currently going through the Udemy class called The Web Development Bootcamp which is extraordinarily well done. It's built in a way that everything we learn is reiterated and applied so that we have maximum retention. I can't recommend it enough.
Step Two: Build a Portfolio - All 2018
I'm currently working on my portfolio website where I will document all the little exercises and projects that I am doing. I have quite a few projects within the class itself that will be good to document and present.
The portfolio will also allow me to integrate what I've learned in HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT while documenting the progressive improvements that I'm making.
I would like that by the end of 2019, I can call myself a fairly solid website designer proficient with flexbox, mobile first design and UX/UI. I might take classes on how to design UI/UX with Adobe XD too while I'm at it.
Step Three: Advanced Javascript and SteemJS - 2018 - 2019-2020 and beyond
@jesta gave that piece of advice to me...
Before you dive too deep into anything steem related, make sure you’ve covered things like async, callbacks, scope, error handling, xhr, promises, and modules (both for using and for organizing your own code). You don’t need to master each of them immediately, but just knowing how those gears turn will help once you start using steemJS.
...and then @yabapmatt added afterward:
@Cryptoctopus I would recommend picking a small project and trying to build it. I find the best way to learn is by actually trying to build something / solve a problem than just learning concepts by themselves. You mentioned building a bot - maybe start with something that automatically claims post rewards on an account as an example. You'll learn a lot of the concepts mentioned above by doing that and then i would suggest putting it on github or somewhere else and asking for feedback.
These are two very solid pieces of advice that I'm taking into account. So my plan is to start a steem project while going through the second class from the same instructor: The Advanced Web Developer Bootcamp. That's an additional 28.5 hours of lectures but I'm sure it will be worth it. There are also some really cool data visualization class in there that I could use for a data website for steem.
Conclusion
I'm looking forward to put my portfolio website online and share with you my progress. I've been coding everyday, I'm loving it and I hope more people will join the fun! What we need now is someone who would create a complete Dev class on Udemy for those who want to code on the Steem Blockchain!
Photo by William Bout on Unsplash
I would love to see you as a steemDEV and I'm sure you with your creativity will bring us a lot of interesting features and tools!! Hit the gas and accelerate mate!!
Had no idea steemit was written in javascript!! The whole system and platform of steemit and the way things work seems so complicated!!
Which PC specs do you recommend as a minimum to start learning and practicing code?
If you can run chrome and firefox and a text editor...you should be good. What's your PC right now?
What I have right now is a very basic one that hardly manage to maintain like 5-6 tabs open lol. But I should receive this laptop in a few days.
3.5 GHz Intel Core i5
RAM 8 GB DDR4
Hard Drive Flash Memory Solid State 256gb
Graphics Coprocessor NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4gb
I know this one is more than enough.
So I really hope I can start to learn more things once I get this new computer
Ps: what antivirus do you recommend or do you use Mac?
your basic machine should be more than sufficient to learn on.
once you get your new toy, turn your basic into a dev machine.
windows defender is free and able.
is this your first go at programming?
or do you have previous experience with coding?
I have never code anything but I have always been curious.
being curious is always a positive, especially in programming.
good luck
Mine is ;
Name: LG E530.
Ram: 2gb
HDD: 320gb.
Intel graphics card Pentium.
15'6cm scrensize.
Dedicated video space: 32mb
A machine with only 2 gig RAM and a spinning HDD would be frustratingly slow for me. But I guess it depends on what you are used to, and how efficiently you can run. Might want to invest in something more modern. Try a friend's more powerful box for an hour and see if it feels fast enough to make it worth upgrading.
Any basic PC really. You work mostly on text editors so no ish. Problem starts when you want to try your hands on Android. Then you'd be talking of a PC with at least 4GB RAM and processor speed around 2.5Ghz. Nothing tests a programmers patience like Android studio.
I think that's what I'm looking forward to most is learning how to and digging through the back-end data to better track the progress of myself and some of the projects I'm helping with.
This will help me decide where I need to focus my time on Steemit as it will help me see projects that are organically growing on their own and ones that have stalled and need a push to help to continually grow.
Can't wait to see what you present on here and what tools these classes help you build for steemit.
I hope I can learn from you and the steps you took , I don’t know why it is so difficult for me to learn :/ maybe too much that I’m caught up in . One person to me to do coding on PCP , any comments ? @cryptoctopus
Udemy courses are great resources to get started, it depends on the instructor. I would suggest you to visit StackOverflow and MDN(Mozilla Developer Network) if you need any help or when you get struck. You can also reach out to me if you need any help, i'm a JS developer working on React and Angular applications.
I've got those 2 on for sure. They are GREAT resources.
MDN is divine. Stack's great. Just that the UI is like Reddit - harsh. Meanwhile MDN is as cool and inviting as busy.org
@cryptoctopus,
This article not only for you, this article is for the whole world to learn how to reach the goal of genius coder of STEEM platform! @jesta and @yabapmatt give you excellent advice. I am going to follow Udemy classes too! I need to build an app on STEEM platform too! So, I will follow your steps!
STEEM not only for 2018, this is for our entire life time! Yeah this is what I understood from your article too!
Cheers~
I’m glad to see you aren’t neglecting to put together a portfolio, I’ve known some people that had taught themselves, but when it came time to show their skill they had forgotten to build a portfolio.
What kind of front end are you dreaming about? Anything in particular?
It's a great idea to host your site and the fact that you have done this way of programming gives you full possibility in implementing your plans. You quite rightly noticed that JavaScript is universal and using it to create a site more realistic, having the basics of programming, since JavaScript itself is quite compact, but very flexible and you can do a lot with JavaScript. You can start with small, with simple functions, such as carousels, image galleries, changing layouts and a response to the pressing of buttons. When you become more experienced in the language, you will be able to create games, animated 2D and 3D graphics, full-scale applications with databases and much more! There are also many tools on top of the main JavaScript language that unlock a huge number of additional functions with very little effort, such as applying third-party frameworks and libraries to your HTML, which will allow you to speed up the creation of the site. I think that your examples will be followed by many and together it will be easier to carry out the plans! Thank you @cryptoctopus
wow , what a nice roadmap and strategy. I can't wait to see your first code on github.. I am also curious what your first project will be..
I like your dedication towards your work. One must a good plan and proper implementation of that plan. We want to see you as good coder. Our wishes and support are with you. Keep going. Good luck.
Nice! I look forward to seeing your portfolio. You know, you mention someone starting a course teaching how to build off the blockchain.. Give yourself a couple months and you should start it!
Exactly, as a newbie in coding, I also don't know how to start making an application on Steemit but yes, I have this plan too.
Once question I would like to ask
Does this course cover all these topics?
the advanced course does many of them.
@cryptoctopus - Sir you made a nice road map & you got valuable advice from top class developers... Very useful article & Sir this is a valuable reference to all people who wish to be developers & build projects on Steem block chain... Glad you decided to share it with all of us Sir...
+W+
Looking forward to your portfolio website already! Would be awesome if you build a Steem front-end, just for your exercise.
thanks to you, i heard udemy course. this is a new subject to me. but i can follow your steps. impressive sharing of your knowledge & experience. you got good set of advisers too. @cryptoctopus
@resteemia
resteemed & upvoted & commented & followed
This "saga" you are going through Will be pretty helpful os me in the Future. I never Gave much thought about a better way to learn something new. I Just... Studied.
But It does make Sense to do what you are doing.
Great to see your progress. See these posts are motivating me as well. Maybe I will give a try too, just want to see how it goes with you first. Good job.
I assume when you start your website you'll let us know so we can look at what you're doing. You really sound excited in this whole process and I look forward to seeing what your creativity brings.
I used to work with someone who would say you need to work backwards. Start with where you want to go and work backwards. Some people call it a plan. Whatever people want to call it, it's a wise thing to know where you want to go and have a map to get there. Otherwise you're shooting in the dark and aiming at nothing, wishing.
Another excellent post @cryptographic.
While I am not into the coding arena, I am using your posts to lay out an overall learning strategy for myself. This is some amazing stuff because it really details the process we all can go through to try to shorten the learning curve for anything.
I think @yabamatt's suggestion is so true. Just get in there and do it. The same applies to any of this. I am looking for different ways to learn to give to Steemit and that rings true with me. I just need to get on there and do it...stop letting excuses get in the way.
A quick question: are websites that tie into a blockchain any different from those we have been using for the last decade or is it all the same language?
ohhh this mean its not difficult to learen it if we learen it with chrome and a editer but first i think the coding is so difficult and maybe we learen on heavy servers because i really didnot know any thing about programing i just listen the name and thinked these work is only those persons who have many sourcesa and lot of coputer knowledge and some computer technology ....i am not sure but i will fully try to learen...
thanx @crytoctopus for giving me some hope for learen this to see your daily posts on it and tips
I love your Enthusiasm in the three progrmas of language HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT So I'm attentive in every step that gives and s the time I'm following my booklets in my programmer's notebook to learn every day more still motivated
I can't wait to read it. Maybe my zeal for coding will be rekindled. I really want to learn about programming . I had a mentor but it's been long I heard from him and this has made me draw back.
Personally, I believe the best way to truly master something is by putting what so ever you have learned into action as the case may be for thats coding and the idea of you creating a portfolio website alongside your training shows it all that you are willing and ready to understand it all.
Wish you all the best of luck once more during your training.
You can do that after you complete the road map you have laid out here.
:-D
The advice you received is sound. Doing is always the most effective learning.
I hope you will include code on your portfolio site. Perhaps link to a GitHub repo. It will be handy for people who want to follow in your footsteps.
yes i want but i am still learen just some things and already started php hope i will finish it soon and join you to start learn CSS/ JAVA.. I am following your epic tips to learen and save your posts on my blog to see when i will need and start java
and also waiting to see for your portfolio online websit
Be consistent and you will perfect at coding. i also want to see your websites portfolio.
Very inspiring path 👍🏼🚀
Thanks @cryptoctopus for sharing your experience with us. I shared this post with a fledgling developer I show that he can hopefully start getting over that initial overwhelming feeling of “holy sh*t this is a lot to learn,” and start having some of those great “Aha!” moments.
Just wanted to let you know this is a great read and I hope it helps many more individuals that are considering pursuing a career in this field, take that first step to achieving their goals. Keep up the good work!
I read about this book, 7 habits of highly effective people. Well said and worth a read. I didn't study anything about IT/Programming stuffs during my university, a bit hard to catch up with your post. I wish you success on steem development.
Wow i havent ever heard about udemy before. There are so many amazing courses and not just for programmers, i see its a wonderful resource
Learning how to code will pay huge "dividends" in the future. Looking forward to see your progress. Having the passion and love for what you do is definitely the right way to go.
Interesting pivot from marketing to coder. You sure that's what you want? Check out @marketingmonk and others who do well playing to their strengths. I especially liked Chris's video at where he explains how he did a skills assessment exercise from Perry Marshall.
Informative post about html,css and java script. I like your activities. Thanks for sharing
Yep actually you are right..I have also joined class of web designing in my town...and now when I use to make posts the html coding helps me to make it impressive like pro bloggers...but I am still learning..I have just completed 3 months till yet and 9 more to go...I guess I will also learn coding pretty much to atlst make my post look impressive and it will also helps me to operate browser in a different and shortcut manner...:)
Thanks for your information..love to know about your experience which will help me to get new opportunities on steemit.thanks😊
Helpful information
Yes, I love the first line of your post, Begin with the end in mind. If you have the end in your mind then definitely you have the complete roadmap of how to achieve that goal or end.
If you want to learn to code especially for web designing, always start with HTML because this is the easiest language to start over as I know.
Nice Post. Thanks.
Really hope I can start to learn more things once I get this new computer,
.gif)
With the end goal in mind. That's exactly what I try to do when I have to push through hard stuf. From sports to school or just something simple like cleaning your whole house. Focussing on the satisfactory at the end! :D
great also good job.thank you so much.
best of luck....!
That s spam comm, why ?...
what a decent guide and technique..
Good post.Thanks for sharing with us.
Resteemed and upvoted done
I plan on learning web development too plus python plus C#.....hopefully it all works out
Thanks for your information..love to know
Thanks for your info , I need to learn html, css for learning purpose of wep developing . I love to learn any new things . I am knowledge hunter,
Good job dear. Best wishes for you. keep it up. @cryptoctopus
great step . keep going ♥ following you ♥
for me to study i need to be in study environment , like school,university or small room with students with same interest, so if i see that all are working and learning hard i learn hard too. If im alone for me its hard to be effective, because after some time my focus become weaker and i can stop studying .
We all have a different personality type when learning. :-)
Keep it up bro
I'm new members in steemit
Please follow my profile bro
I like it, I have a three year plan to become hula hoop champion of the world like Mat Plendl.