Learn Any Programming Language In 3 Hours!

Summary

The speaker shares his efficient method for learning new programming languages without slogging through extensive manuals or doing countless exercises. He advocates for picking a project, in this case, an adventure game, to quickly grasp the essentials of a language. Demonstrating his approach, he learns the D language by building a simple game, using online documentation for guidance and emphasizing the importance of experimentation and reference material for a practical and engaging learning experience.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker has learned many programming languages but avoids reading through entire thick manuals to learn them.
• 🛠️ The speaker prefers to learn a new language by picking a project rather than going through extensive exercises or manuals.
• 🎮 For learning purposes, the speaker suggests starting with a simple project like an adventure game, which involves various programming concepts.
• 💡 The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding a project of personal interest to facilitate effective learning of a new language.
• 🔧 The process of learning involves installing the necessary compiler or interpreter and setting up the development environment.
• 📘 Reference material is essential, and the speaker recommends using online documentation and possibly a book for additional help.
• 🔑 Guesswork is a part of the learning process, and the speaker often relies on prior knowledge of similar languages to make educated guesses.
• 🔍 When faced with issues, the speaker turns to documentation to resolve problems and understand unfamiliar concepts.
• 🏗️ Experimentation and 'messing around' with the code is encouraged as a way to explore and understand the language better.
• 🛑 The speaker uses breakpoints and debugging tools to understand how the code behaves and to identify issues.
• 🔄 The learning process involves a lot of trial and error, with documentation serving as a guide to correct misunderstandings.

Q & A

What is the speaker's primary method for learning new programming languages?

The speaker prefers to learn new programming languages by picking a project that interests them, rather than reading through extensive manuals or doing numerous exercises.

Why does the speaker choose to create an Adventure game when learning a new language?

Adventure games are chosen because they incorporate various programming concepts such as string handling, class libraries, and file handling, which helps in learning different aspects of the language.

What is the first step the speaker takes when learning a new programming language?

The first step is to install the compiler or interpreter for the new language, which is necessary to run the language code.

Why did the speaker choose the D programming language for demonstration in the script?

The speaker chose the D language because it is well-established but not commonly familiar to most people, and the speaker had no prior experience with it.

What tool did the speaker use to write D language code and why?

The speaker used Visual Studio with a plugin called Visual D because it includes the D compiler and is comfortable for them to use on Windows.

What is the speaker's approach to handling string concatenation in the D language?

The speaker initially guessed the syntax but had to resort to the documentation to find out that the tilde (~) operator is used for string concatenation in D.

How does the speaker deal with private class members in the D language?

The speaker discovered that even if a member is declared private, it can still be accessed if it's in a shared module. To enforce privacy, they learned to create a separate module for the class definitions.

What is the main advantage of the speaker's learning approach according to the script?

The main advantage is the ability to learn a new language quickly and effectively by focusing on a project, which allows for practical application and discovery of language features.

What is the speaker's recommendation for someone who is not interested in adventure games?

The speaker suggests finding another project that interests the learner, such as a utility or something else that aligns with their interests.

How does the speaker handle errors or unfamiliar concepts while learning a new language?

The speaker uses a combination of guesswork based on their experience with other languages and looks up documentation when they encounter unfamiliar concepts or errors.

What is the speaker's opinion on the necessity of reading through large programming language books?

The speaker does not believe it is necessary to read through large programming language books from cover to cover, as they have found more effective ways to learn.

How long did it take the speaker to create a simple Adventure game in D language?

It took the speaker approximately 3 hours to go from having no knowledge of D to writing a simple, object-oriented Adventure game.