Here are our favorite resources for beginning and intermediate programmers.
Getting Started: Learning to Code
Code School
http://codeschool.com
By far my favorite “learn to code” resource. High quality videos present useful tools and skills in an understandable format. The $30/month subscription is worth every penny.
Stanford CS106A: Introduction to Computer Science
Stanford filmed its intro to computer science course and made the videos and class materials available for free online. 26 lectures, starting from the fundamentals and working up to some complex stuff.
This course, taught by Mehran Sahami, was the first introduction to CS that actually “stuck” for us, and it’s an easy (and free) way to see if computer science is for you.
JavaScript Learning Resources
JavaScript has been my professional bread and butter for a few years now. Here are some of my favorite resources for deepening your understanding of JavaScript.
Tania is a web developer writing about modern JS topics. I love her straightforward writing style and deep dives into topics I thought I knew.
JavaScript Cheat Sheet by websitesetup.org
This page is like a JavaScript cookbook. It’s loaded with commonly used (and easy to forget or mix up) stuff in JavaScript, organized into one handy page.
You Don’t Know JS: Scopes & Closures
Book
If you’ve heard of scope, closures, JS compiling theory, but aren’t sure you really understand them as well as you should, then this book is for you. Great read, and at 98 pages with plenty of examples you’ll not just finish it, you’ll feel like you have time to re-read it for a deeper understanding. Get it for Kindle or in paperback format.
But wait, there’s more! They also have books on topics such as this & Object Prototypes, ECMA Script 6 & Beyond, and Async & Performance. Collect ’em all!
Callback hell
http://callbackhell.com/
A JavaScript phenomenon that everyone writing asynchronous JavaScript should know about (and avoid!).
Making Stuff with Your Code
CoronaSDK
http://coronasdk.com
If you ever wanted to make an app, CoronaSDK is a great place to start. It’s a free set of tools for making real apps (yes, the kind you can put on your iOS or Android device) with several premium (paid) features.
GitHub
http://github.com
Get in the habit of pushing your (working) code to a GitHub repository. You’ll learn good version control habits and slowly build a portfolio that employers will want to check out.
Web-Based Coding Tools
JSFiddle
http://jsfiddle.net
Test your JavaScript code and easily share it with others by copying a short URL code. Great for snippets, short problems, and things you just don’t want to fire up your dev environment for.
Repl.it
http://repl.it
Another in-browser code testing environment, Repl.it offers more than a dozen languages. Good for testing algorithms and shorter code snippets.
RegExr
http://regexr.com
A great sandbox for learning, writing, and testing regular expressions. Includes cheat sheet, how-to’s, links to community resources.
Job Hunting & Interviewing
5 Essential Phone Screen Questions
My favorite resource for programming interviews (for both candidate and interviewer). If you’re just starting out with programming, re-read every 6 months and see how much you’ve learned.
Front End Web Developer Interview Questions
Interviewing a front-end dev? This is hands down the best resource I’ve seen. These questions are smart and relevant. Bored and want to learn something new? Pick any item off this list that you don’t know (there’s guaranteed to be something) and research it or put it into practice in your next project.
Ask a Manager
http://askamanager.org
Job hunting advice, how to handle tricky interview questions, workplace etiquette, and more.