Where do I Start
Posted by Living-Reaction5326@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 3 comments
I want to start learning to code, specifically with the intention of building a little robot friend for myself. My only code experience was a high school intro to coding course that I completed. I pretty well but didn't continue pursuing due to the fact that I got very frustrated at the amount of time that accidentally deleted my own code and was further deterred when I was told math cold be involved. It has been a while so I remember nothing and I am not very good at teaching myself things so I thought the best place to come was people who actually code. are there any tips for corses and or starting places on learning, Also if anyone has any cross knowledge in robotics puts me in the right direction for that, it would be much appreciated.
the-awesomer@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/wiki/faq/#wiki_getting_started
Harvard cs50 courses maybe.
learn the basics of git for version control maybe so you can stop worrying about deleting g so much code? (accidental deletes happens but I've never heard of it being a consistent issue tho...)
Evening-Living842@reddit
man git will save your life with the accidental deletes 😂 i used to lose entire projects before learning version control and it was pure pain
for robotics specifically you might want to look at arduino or raspberry pi tutorials since those are pretty beginner friendly and let you build actual physical stuff. the math isn't as scary as people make it seem, mostly just basic stuff for movements and sensors 💀
untold8@reddit
For a "robot friend" specifically, skip the usual "pick a language and grind syntax" advice — that's what burns people out. You already did an intro course; you don't need another one. You need a project to push you through re-learning the basics.
Concrete path:
Buy an Arduino starter kit (\~$30) or a Raspberry Pi if you want a bit more power. Both have massive tutorial ecosystems built around exactly your goal: "I want my hardware to do X." The Arduino kit is more beginner-forgiving.
Arduino code is C/C++, but for hobby stuff you'll ignore 90% of the language and copy-paste tutorial code that you tweak. The instant hardware feedback (LED blinks, servo turns) is the "I made something real" dopamine hit that fights frustration. That feedback loop is what you didn't get in school.
On the software side, Python + Adafruit's CircuitPython tutorials is the gentlest on-ramp for sensors, microcontrollers, and basic AI integrations.
On math: you do not need any to start. Eventually you'll want it for path-planning or control loops, but you can build a *lot* — including a chatty companion bot — with zero math beyond what you already know.
On the deleted-code thing: learn `git` on day one. Make a free GitHub account, run `git commit -am "wip"` every time you stop for a snack. Even if you never push it anywhere, you cannot lose more than the last hour of work. That single habit would have saved you in high school.