Question

Which is the best source to learn Computer Science online?

Answer 1

@e.mccormick

Answer 2

As a single source for a traditional CS program or just to learn programming?

Answer 3

I want to learn programming.

Answer 4

Will it be good to start an edx course of computer science?

Answer 5

OK, if you do not need the rest of CS, then start with something like Code Academy and the Gentle Intro to Python to get an easy language going. That will get you past the terminology. Another good one is Python for Informatics, which goes to use quicker with practical applications as a goal and a free book.

Once you get past that part, you will be up on terminology and the basics of loops, etc. That makes you ready for actual learning programming. Sort of get the apprenticeship out of the way, then learn to do the work.

Answer 6

CS classes tend to focus a good deal on the science part, which is not bad, but it depends on the long term goal.

Answer 7

Once you have the basics, you need to formulate the long term goal. Game programming for a phone? General coding? Web sites? Servers and back end? What?

The classes you take next will all depend on that sort of choice. You need some basics no matter what, but the more you go towards say game engine design, the more you need physics and higher math and true CS education. If you want to just use a game engine, and not build one, you can skip a ton of the CS classes and go more towards things that focus on actually writing code. The more you code, the more you read code, the better you will get. So you want this to be in the type of code your long term goal is in!

Answer 8

Let me show you a sub set of what I mean by goals.

Phone programming is popular these days. For the Android, the front end stuff is all done in Java. Most programs you will ever see developed for Android are in Java. So a core course on Java is key there. However, the back end of Android phones, and where the power is at for certain things, is in C and C++. So the more you want to do native applications for Android that are able to take advantage of the system itself, the more you need C++. If you want to develop Android or Android Drivers, you need C and C++.

By knowing what part of Android programming someone wants to get into, they can shift the focus of their work. This lets them learn the proper language or languages to get them into the end results they want.

Answer 9

The Codecademy platform is great. I have been using it along with the Udacity course Intro to programming. I have been learning to code in Python. I recently found a great resource to go along with these tutorials. I found a book entitled Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python. Since I have started reading that book, my understanding of coding has accelerated. You can get the book at www.inventwithpython.com.

Answer 10

Thanks a lot everyone.

Answer 11

I watched the first few lessons of MIT 6.00SC. They are very clear in there that the goal is to teach programming methodology and not a language, so you won't really be learning Python as much as using it. I would say that would make it a good thing for the overall concept of programming. However, you end up still needing to learn Python itself to be able to do the work!

Python is a forgiving language, so the fact they expect you to sort of learn on your own with some hints is not too bad. They cover a lot of this in the Recitation videos and parts of the lectures. However, if you need more, my other two suggestions come to play.

Code Academy would cover it. They have you do really simple code segments. This is just the process of producing properly formatted code and seeing the results. Do the work, learn, do more work, learn. Small snippets. Nothing really in depth from what I have seen. Couple hours I did like 40 of their lessons.... course I already know what loops etc. are, so it was just putting in code for me.

I mentioned Python for Informatics. That is a free book and video course in Python for use. You could start with Python for Informatics and learn Python. Then go through MIT 6.00SC to learn how to better approach problems and think more like a programmer. After that, find a long term goal with your programming, learn what languages that takes, and go for it!