Hello,
I am new to coding. I have been trying to use different platforms and online courses such as Coursera, Lynda.com and online books to learn python and JavaScript.
I found this site the other day and it has really helped, but then i started to get stuck with the same type of information that i got stuck on when i try to take the other courses. variables, while loops, if statements.
I think programming is like math. You need to do 2x2, 100 times before you get it, and can start to learn the 3 times tables. if you move on too quickly to the 3 times tables you will master either of them.
I think this site goes from one concept to the next too quickly and you have gaps in your understanding and they start to show up when you get to “Backwood Forest”.
I think this site has the potential for filling the gaps in my understanding. I would love if this site had more levels which repeated the same concept over and over and over again, but putting them in different scenarios. like in math. You have 20 homework problems to master one concept.
If i “Subscribe” would i have access to a lot more levels or just 1 or 2 more per concept.
Thank you for creating such a wonderful game that really helps people learning coding.
Howdy,
If you subscribe, yes you will find more levels repeating and strengthening concepts. I decided to complete all free levels before I subscribed…I subscribed Friday (two days ago).
I’ve been programming for about 40 years, tho I am brand new to Python, so I find the repetition a bit tedious in the Dungeon and Forest, but it was tolerable. I’m almost finished with Desert and am looking very forward to Mountain and Glacier…those were quite challenging for me on the free levels, so I expect to learn quite a bit more with the subscriber levels.
thank you @dedreous for the info on subscribe.
@dedreous since you have been programming for 40 years, do you have any tips for someone just learning to code? Were there things that you struggled to understand when you started? If you struggled, how did you over come it and keep learning rather then giving up.
thanks,
I wanna say that arrays were the hardest for me, especially any beyond 2 dimensions…I was around 8-10 yrs old when I started coding, so the concept was difficult for me to grasp and there were not many books around that catered to my age group (and of course, no internet).
Early on, I happened to stumble across ComputerEdge magazine, which included articles that focused on computers and also included complete code for various programs…from games, to tools, to small apps. I taught myself how to code by using these as test platforms, experimenting, trying this or that, etc. When I finally took my first structured programming course in my Senior year, I’d already been coding for close to 10 years, so I had most of the concepts down, but not the structure…I was a spaghetti programmer until then. Since then, I got certified in VB.net, wrote programs for the Navy and developed application tools for Hewlett-Packard (now known as HP Inc).
In a nutshell, I simply never gave up. If something stumped me, I kept trying until I found something that worked. I read everything I could find on the topic at hand and if there was nothing to be found, I’d make it up myself.
In today’s world, it is almost overwhelming trying to find topics specifically pertain to what you are trying to find…again, don’t give up! Search on everything you can possibly think of. Visit all pertinent forums. Remember, Google is your friend! 
And of course, join sites such as CodeCombat…HourOfCode is another great place to explore.
thank you for the great advice @dedreous.