Short:
Pick one of the languages: C, Perl, or Python (My personal recommendations; others may tell you other things. I would not say, they are wrong, neither they are right.
You pick!)
Write a "Hello World!" prog in it.
Long:
Start to learn programming always starts with 'write a program that prints "hello world" on the terminal.'
This is to have you at least your very basic tools ready to hand: texteditor, know how to write source code with it, save it to a file, know how to compile that file with the compiler, know at least that a compiler is some prog that translates the source into an executable, learn to correct errors when the compiler complains (and it will.
), run that executable, and learn to see if the output is what you expected (It will not.
)
Plus you already started on programming.
Plus of course you needed to pick a language for it.
There are many languages to start with.
IMO it's no use to start on some programming language especially created to teach programming, since at least to me it feels somehow unsatisfying - you wanna do something with it, so pick a language that's used by professionals.
While IMO C++ or Rust are advanced languages, no good choice to start with.
I always recommend C, but IMO Perl, or Python were also a good choice. Since they are easy to learn, at least for the very basic beginning, and they are used a lot on unix[like] systems.
At least to grasp the most basic concept of variables, branches ("if"), loops, functions etc. it doesn't really matter, which language you pick.
When you do start programming own programs you use for your own personal use (you can really pimp your system with such) even small ones, you will soon start on programming in more than one language anyway.
Which then includes shell scripting. IMO shell scripting is nothing to start with, when you don't even know what a variable, a loop, or a condition is - learn this things first in some other programming language.
If you start programming more seriously, you may need to look at and improve your environment: which texteditor - learn it's usage and feel comfortable with it is more important than which one you pick, create a system of how you organize your files, start use some version control... - this all will come when the time comes.
How you learn best you can only answer for youself.
Personally I find videos most inefficient. I prefer real books, PDFs, man pages and webpages - anyway written text. I get from those within a few minutes for which I need hours on watching, stopping, rewind, repeat... videos.
But best learning always is:
Just do it.
Don't bother much, just start somewhere.
"
usus sine doctrina quam citra usum doctrina valeat."
"practice without learning will be of more avail than learning without practice."
____________________________________________________________[Quintilian, ca. 35 - 100]
You find lots of
useful stuff here:
Become a Programmer, Motherfucker
many quick starts here:
Learn X in Y Minutes
of course there are a lot many other sites - pick what you feel most comfy with.
I also recommend
Books: (you can get those used for a few bucks.)
For getting into Unix and shell scripting:
Robbins, Beebe, "Classic Shell Scripting", O'Reilly
Kochan, Wood, "Shell programming in Unix, Linux and OS X", Addison Wesley
Both are not only teaching shell usage, and shell programming, but the very basics about Unix usage. The second one is easier to read and gets you quicker in, the first is more comrehensive, and dives deeper.
My always #1 tip to anybody who really wants to start seriously on programming: C
This is my very own personal opinion. Others will tell you, 'Heavens, No!' And I would neither say they are wrong, nor they are right.
However, it's your decision in any case.
Kernighan, Ritchie, "The C Programming Language - second edition", Prentice Hall
If you want to learn programming, some say, 'start with Python', others recommend other languages. I say, learn C. Despite of what all bad things you may hear about C, true or not, wether you like it or not, most of [Free]BSD's source is written in C. C is Unix, Unix is C. Get a copy of this fourty year old book (a few bucks at a used books shop), and work it through. If you already took a programmers class, don't just skim through it, look at the exercizes, get a rough idea how trivial it was to solve, but actually really do it! You will not only gain a solid in-depth fundamental training in C, but above all a very good general programming class, which is useful anyway wether you will later program in C or not.
Some junk I already wrote on the same topic:
About learning C
C on FreeBSD
Tip for not become disencouraged:
Become better at programming doesn't mean doing fewer errors.
When you become better, you don't get fewer errors. You simply get other ones instead.
Sure, you'll do fewer simple errors like syntax typos (they never will vanish completely.
)
But instead the errors you do will become more complex instead.
A good programmer ain't no one doing few or none errors.
A good programmers is good in finding and correcting errors.
Only errors found and corrected give you experience.
So: Do errors! Lots and many of errors! Then find and correct them.
Have fun!
