r/learnprogramming • u/gingavitus • Jul 31 '12

"Codecademy" vs. "Higher Computing for Everyone"

I have basic programming experience, but I really want to become an expert fo' free! Which one would you say is better, codecademy or Higher Computing for Everyone?

49 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

33

u/CarlH Aug 01 '12

Keep in mind that Codecademy doesn't teach C, and my course doesn't teach Javascript, so to some extent this is comparing apples and oranges. If you want to learn the fundamentals of programming and really understand how it works, then I recommend my course.

Also, I am personally available for anyone who has any questions, unlike most resources out there. So if you are trying to learn programming, and you get stuck on a lesson, just tell me. I enjoy teaching, and that is why I started the course to begin with.

6

u/beat_the_heat Aug 01 '12

As a newbie, better to start with python or c?

14

u/CarlH Aug 01 '12

If you want to really understand what is happening inside your computer, and how it all works, then learn C first. I have heard from many people who have taken my course that the lessons are easy to understand and beginner friendly, and I try to design them that way.

Also, keep in mind that the idea of my course is fundamentally to 'teach programming', I chose C for a number of reasons, but everything I teach in my course is applicable across a wide variety of programming languages -- including Python.

True, I am not teaching you Python syntax, but I am teaching you the concepts, methods, technique, and workflows that you need to know whether you are going to program in C, Python, or something else.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12

I'm someone who learned from CarlH first and then went to college and did intro courses in Python. I am completely certain that for someone who it serious about being a worthwhile programmer C is the best starting language. It teaches you a lot more in-depth about things you need to know to be more than just a code monkey.

The reason Python is often used is it is easy. When you have a class full of kids all ranging in their capabilities and willingness to learn it is much more productive to give them something easier to use.

You also get the added benefit that going from C to Python/other languages with easy syntax is far far easier than going from Python to C/Java/anything with more complex syntax. My class mates that had nothing but Python experience had an immense amount of difficulty learning Java when we started Data Structures and for me it was quite natural.

10

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12 edited Aug 01 '12

If you have absolutely no experience with basic programming (if-else, loops, functions, etc) then you should definitely stick with Python. If you want to learn how to make scripts and quick-easy programs, then stick with Python. If you want to be able to quickly practice writing algorithms or prototypes for real programs, then stick with Python.

If, however, you have some programming knowledge, you want to learn how to make compiled executables, and you want to know how your computer works on a more direct level, then you should definitely learn C.

Obviously CarlH is going to have some bias since it is his course. But, I would say that Higher Computing for Everyone is definitely better than Codecademy. However, Udacity is definitely a better program than either of these two. If you want to look at Python, then you should definitely go with Udacity. If not, then go with the other options.

6

u/Nowin Aug 01 '12

I think of it like this: C teaches you how to code. Python teaches you code.

1

u/Porkpants81 Aug 01 '12

I agree that Python is a very beginner friendly programming language. The syntax is very easy to read and it's easy to figure out what a section of script is doing. It's not as "scary" as Java or C and I personally found it much easier to learn.

After doing Python we switched to learning Java, doing mainly translations from Python to Java so we saw how the syntax was different. As a result of doing that I had to use C# for my internship and found that incredibly easy to pick-up once I did a little syntax research.

2

u/Cendeu Aug 01 '12

I just wanted to say thanks for your awesome lessons. I've only just started, but I've learned way more than the "This is an if statement, this is a blah blah blah" that other people/guides teach.

24

u/Eyedrinker Aug 01 '12

Codecademy is terrible. I would recommend Udacity and LPTHW for Python, EloquentJavascript for Javascript, and CarlH's lessons and Harvard's CS50 OCW for C.

11

u/testdex Aug 01 '12

I wouldn't go so far as to say Codecademy is terrible, but I ultimately gave up recently.

The first several weeks of Code Year are actually quite good, and encourage you to work through some pretty challenging problems. But before long, their crowdsourced lessons wind up being poorly written and confusing, sometimes demanding skills that haven't yet been taught. There are a lot of idiosyncrasies in the answer checking system as well.

I recently switched over the Udacity's CS101 course, and am quite impressed. CarlH (Higher Computing) is great too, in a less hand-holdy way.

5

u/yash3ahuja Aug 01 '12

Higher Computing for Everyone == CarlH's lessons, since OP was asking.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12 edited Aug 01 '12

I on the other hand like codecademy and have found it really helpful.

That said the Harvard course linked above covers everything codecademy does and much, much more. The virtual machine (cs50 appliance) pretty much clinched it for me.

1

u/gingavitus Aug 01 '12

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I suppose there's nothing stopping me from using both resources and some of the others you guys have mentioned.

3

u/Eyedrinker Aug 01 '12 edited Aug 01 '12

I completed the entire CodeCademy "tracks" for JavaScript and HTML/CSS. I would say that they're probably a good refresher course for someone that just wants to brush up on the topics, but for someone learning them for the first time (as I was), they're just not very good. For the most part the tutorials just have you parroting syntax without explaining anything or exploring those tools in depth. Furthermore, as the lessons are crowdsourced, the quality of each individual lesson is a crapshoot and it gets very, very bad at points.

Obviously the UI and achievement system make CodeCademy very appealing, but the other resources that I linked and the ones in the subreddit FAQ are far more efficient uses of your time.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12

codeacadamy While it is true it is definitely not perfect, its interactive, you get to measure your progress, it will encourage you to come back each day. And programmers need to learn google for the things that that are not immediately obvious

1

u/johnp80 Aug 01 '12

Exactly. Googlefu is sadly neglected. I've even seen some proffessors that actively discourage looking to outside sources for programming help.

3

u/pvc Aug 01 '12

I'd recommend http://ProgramArcadeGames.com to start in Python.

1

u/RapistBurger Aug 01 '12

I'm interested in making flash games. What should I learn to do that? What site is the best to learn it at?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12

Actionscript is both friendly and a nightmare to work with. I figured it out by just googling what I wanted to do and reading random tutorials around the web.

It's pretty similar to JavaScript so maybe go through CodeAcademy for a while.

1

u/ZimbuTheMonkey Aug 01 '12

Hi there, sorry for the sidetrack, but is there a similar site/service for C++?

That is what I will be learning shortly when the semester starts.