Author Topic: Learning to write code HTML  (Read 10437 times)

randersonnw

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Learning to write code HTML
« on: December 12, 2014, 01:28:18 AM »
I want to learn to write in html and want to know if there are any free resources online I can find to start the journey. Any help is greatly appreciated.

mxt0133

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2014, 04:23:13 AM »
I say experiment while your doing your tutorials.  It would be more efficient if you play around while your learning.  Use http://codepen.io/pen/ to practice.  If you mean web development when you say "write code HTML", you need to include JavaScript and CSS as well as you really can't do any one in isolation for any modern web site/app.

There is also http://teamtreehouse.com/ where you can sign up for a free trial, download all the videos, and then watch them at your leisure. For $25 bucks a month they have a forum that you can ask questions on, I didn't find them too helpful as I had co-workers that I had access to.

Turkey Leg

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2014, 06:22:48 AM »
If you're truly a beginner, start at http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp.

Good luck!

MandalayVA

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2014, 06:29:45 AM »
I ran a website and taught myself HTML via "HTML For Dummies," but if you Google HTML lots of free sites come up.

mxt0133

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aschmidt2930

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2014, 09:50:25 AM »
Www.codeacademy.com is good for a true beginner, as they walk you through each step and show you the results of your code. Modern Html is worthless without CSS, so be sure to focus on that from the start.  I would save Javascript for phase two though, don't spread yourself too thin.

After you spend a little time with free resources and decide this is for you, pony up the $20 bucks and buy a well rated beginners book on Amazon.  There's plenty of great books that explain the concepts in depth.  If you don't understand the why of code you'll struggle writing your own.

Chaplin

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2014, 12:22:56 PM »
If you're truly a beginner, start at http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp.

Good luck!

I second w3schools.com - it's a great resource when starting each new step (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, SQL, etc.).

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2014, 08:56:06 AM »
If you're truly a beginner, start at http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp.

Good luck!

I second w3schools.com - it's a great resource when starting each new step (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, SQL, etc.).
Thirded.  Part of my job is web development, and I've used w3schools LOTS of times.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2014, 10:49:05 AM »
Ok, Let me take the contrarian point of view. I have been writing software for about 30 years, using languages like Assembler, C++, Java, Perl, Objective C, HTML/CSS/Javascript  building applications as diverse as instrumentation on spacecraft , financial software for Wall St., iPhone apps and web apps.

If you want to learn programming, my suggestion is not to start with HTML, but with something like Python.

Why, you might ask?
Present day web programming, is not just HTML the way it was in Web 1.0. It is a combination of HTML + CSS + Javascript.
All three have a substantial learning curve, of which the HTML component is the easiest to learn. Again, with javascript, it is not just javascript,you need to learn but you would have to become proficient in packages like jQuery etc.
Only when all three components come together (after great design), you would end up with a great Web page.

On the other hand, if you learned something like Python or Perl or Java, it would be a generic programming language, which can be leveraged to learn javascript.
So, once you have learned a generic programming language, I would then go ahead with then learning HTML/CSS/Javascript.

Also, I disagree strongly with one piece of advice from the other replies. They all recommend W3Schools.  Do a google search on criticism of W3Schools and you will see a lot of people I respect have come out strongly against W3Schools (for example http://webdesign.about.com/b/2011/04/06/i-had-no-idea.htm  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W3Schools#Criticism).

If you have any question, I would be glad to help.

Spork

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2014, 11:29:09 AM »
I third C&I.

I don't really consider HTML to be a language.  It's really just a text formatting markup language.  (Back in my day, this was what word processing looked like... markup tags around text.)

My preference is Perl... but I'm a bit of a dinosaur.  While I still write reams of it, I don't think it is that common.  Python is probably the way to go.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2014, 12:45:45 PM »
My preference is Perl... but I'm a bit of a dinosaur.  While I still write reams of it, I don't think it is that common.  Python is probably the way to go.

Thanks Spork.

Yup, perl is my language of choice also. I am reading the writing on the wall, and do not suggest Perl any more. Python seems to be the way to go.

burly

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2014, 12:55:56 PM »
I'm a self-taught freelance web coder...

I started programming at the age of 7 and I used this site (surprised it's still around).  http://www.lissaexplains.com/

This taught be the basics of HTML, tables, etc.. as mentioned above, yes back in the day HTML 1.0 was just HTML, however, then you can then progress to CSS and learn how that can manipulate your HTML.  I do not know python, but what I use primarily is PHP.  I was given a book on PHP back in the day (10+ years ago) and walked through the basic exercises and database queries, but I found necessity often forces growth.. When a client needs something, I need to figure out how to do it sometimes..

Then there's jquery and javascript... that it for more advanced users, but I found the best way to learn was finding a specific task you want to achieve, find the code and play with it in order to learn.

Perhaps if you specified why you want to learn that could help us focus on what languages, in what order, etc.

Hope this helps!

Left

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2014, 01:44:18 PM »
I'm no expert and html's changed a lot from 10 years ago when I did it, but at the time back in highschool, the best way I found to self-teach is just find a simple webpage with little to no extras (talking javascript/php/flash/etc) and just start messing with the code and opening it up in internet explorer.

For example, when I first found a page that said "This is page such and such" I would find those words, and replace it with my own and save it and open it. If it replaced it with what I typed, I looked around to see the tags around it, then I copied it and moved it to a different part of the page and see if it moved. Eventually I got around to learning basic html,javascript,css, enough to make a little blog for myself. It was nothing advanced though but it was a good foundation (I think, I never pursued it)

I can't say if this method still works with things like php/mysql but they looked similar the few times I did it. It was just back then (and now too), the web host did most of the database work for me so I didn't bother learning it. Basically, I just wanted a guestbook (which have been replaced with social media)/some tables where people could put in info and search and both were provided by geocities (I miss geocities, part of why I gave up blogging, I lost my host then got busy with highschool/college)
« Last Edit: December 14, 2014, 01:54:24 PM by eyem »

deborah

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2014, 02:57:08 PM »
Having had to debug other people's poor code over the years (even in languages that I didn't know before I started to debug it), I have found that everyone who "just picks it up" or "learns by reading the manual" writes shocking code because they haven't understood the discipline of coding. If you are writing something for your own use, and it will never be used by others, it is fair enough to do things this way, but if you are somewhat serious, at least do some proper classes in some language so you can understand the concepts. Your code will run faster, be more easily debugged, and programming will be a more enjoyable experience.

Spork

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2014, 04:05:38 PM »

Another good thing to learn is how NOT to do things.  Read up on the common vulnerabilities (XSS, shell injections, sql injections, CSRF, etc).   These are very common pitfalls to even experienced coders.  You want to start with an understanding of the risks and how to avoid them.

DK

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #15 on: December 14, 2014, 06:05:34 PM »
Ok, Let me take the contrarian point of view. I have been writing software for about 30 years, using languages like Assembler, C++, Java, Perl, Objective C, HTML/CSS/Javascript  building applications as diverse as instrumentation on spacecraft , financial software for Wall St., iPhone apps and web apps.

If you want to learn programming, my suggestion is not to start with HTML, but with something like Python.

Why, you might ask?
Present day web programming, is not just HTML the way it was in Web 1.0. It is a combination of HTML + CSS + Javascript.
All three have a substantial learning curve, of which the HTML component is the easiest to learn. Again, with javascript, it is not just javascript,you need to learn but you would have to become proficient in packages like jQuery etc.
Only when all three components come together (after great design), you would end up with a great Web page.

On the other hand, if you learned something like Python or Perl or Java, it would be a generic programming language, which can be leveraged to learn javascript.
So, once you have learned a generic programming language, I would then go ahead with then learning HTML/CSS/Javascript.

Also, I disagree strongly with one piece of advice from the other replies. They all recommend W3Schools.  Do a google search on criticism of W3Schools and you will see a lot of people I respect have come out strongly against W3Schools (for example http://webdesign.about.com/b/2011/04/06/i-had-no-idea.htm  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W3Schools#Criticism).

If you have any question, I would be glad to help.

http://www.w3fools.com/


Kwill

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #17 on: December 14, 2014, 09:08:03 PM »
I don't know much about these things, but it's interesting to read what you all have to say. I taught myself a little html back in the last century and played a bit with Dreamweaver years later, but I tell myself that sometime I'll learn for real.

I tried out hourofcode.com last week after an event at the library. It's just games, but how related is it to things that are actually useful?

Chaplin

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #18 on: December 14, 2014, 09:48:40 PM »
I don't doubt that most of the deficiencies listed for w3schools are real. I do know that it was still a very helpful place to start almost 15 years ago (yikes!) when I wanted learn how all this web stuff worked.

There are so many sites that over the years I've used and found very helpful, that was just one of the first.

The great thing about all the resources on line is that unless you're on the bleeding edge it's very unlikely that you're the first to have whatever problem you're having. A quick search and there's usually enough information to get you over the hump.

randersonnw

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #19 on: December 14, 2014, 10:18:48 PM »
I am interested in designing a website or two and wanted to do it myself instead of just using squarespace or something like it. I'm feeling overwhelmed, but that happens with anything new I guess. I did check out w3schools and got an idea of what im getting into here. Thank you all for the advice. It sounds like I should start with Python.

golden1

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #20 on: December 16, 2014, 06:11:05 AM »
I am interested in this too. 

I am old, learned BASIC in high school, and went to engineering school in the 1990's where I learned Pascal - this was right before they started teaching C instead.  I wanted to learn some contemporary languages, so I spent some time on Codeacademy and did the HTML and CSS modules.  I am now in the middle of Python tutorials.  Once you learn one language, the others are pretty simple. 

Jack

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #21 on: December 16, 2014, 06:26:05 AM »
If you're truly a beginner, start at http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp.

Good luck!

I second w3schools.com - it's a great resource when starting each new step (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, SQL, etc.).
Thirded.  Part of my job is web development, and I've used w3schools LOTS of times.

Fourthed.

I don't really consider HTML to be a language.  It's really just a text formatting markup language.  (Back in my day, this was what word processing looked like... markup tags around text.)

Agreed. HTML is a markup language for formatting documents, not a programming language. It's essentially no different than TeX, Postscript or a MS Word .docx file (if you decided to hand-edit it instead of using Word).

Programming is a fundamentally different process than writing a document.

I am interested in designing a website or two and wanted to do it myself instead of just using squarespace or something like it. I'm feeling overwhelmed, but that happens with anything new I guess. I did check out w3schools and got an idea of what im getting into here. Thank you all for the advice. It sounds like I should start with Python.

Nope. I think all this talk about programming has confused you: if you just want to "design a website" then you really do want to just learn HTML (and CSS), because you really are just trying to write a document.

If, on the other hand, you're trying to create a computer program that performs a service, which just happens to use a web page for input/output, then you need to worry about learning things like Python.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #22 on: December 16, 2014, 08:56:08 AM »
I've never understood all the hate for w3schools.  Sure, they might have a few things that aren't 100% accurate, but the site is very easy to use, teaches well, and makes it easy to practice the things you're learning.

puglogic

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #23 on: December 16, 2014, 09:31:16 AM »
I used free resources to learn HTML/CSS seventeen years ago, and was building my own decent web pages within a couple of weeks (crappy ones within a day) and making a living at it within a couple of months.   If you're trying to design your own page(s), get there quickly, and have no interest in advanced programming, there are many resources out there such as the ones mentioned above, flaws or not. I love teamtreehouse, for example. 

Or you could skip the whole thing and do your site in Wordpress  :)

SJS

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2014, 05:47:42 PM »
Check out the Library for FREE books on writing HTML!  Worked for me!  and did I mention it's FREE??!! 

puglogic

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #25 on: December 16, 2014, 06:40:10 PM »
And some of those free books come with a CD of exercises and projects....bonus  ;)

Kevan

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #26 on: December 17, 2014, 07:39:33 AM »
I walked this path a little.  Here's my two-cents' worth:

1.  Fifteen years ago, coding a web site was a lot simpler than it is now.  I did it then; I couldn't do it now.

2.  Learning styles and aptitudes differ.  What works for some won't work for others.

3.  There is a HUGE tendency for people to think that they can do something if they only sink enough money into the process.  Home exercise equipment and gym memberships are the classic examples, but it occurs everywhere because it's human nature.  Start with free resources.

4.  I've made a few websites with Wordpress.  It is capable of more than I could ever use or dream of using, but it is accessible to a beginner and is easy to learn.  It presently powers over 17% of the Web.  If you use it, you will succeed.  If you embark on the odyssey of learning to code, the odds are against you because it is a massive undertaking.

NinetyFour

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #27 on: December 17, 2014, 08:14:40 AM »
Following...

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Learning to write code HTML
« Reply #28 on: December 17, 2014, 09:04:22 AM »
I walked this path a little.  Here's my two-cents' worth:

1.  Fifteen years ago, coding a web site was a lot simpler than it is now.  I did it then; I couldn't do it now.

...

4.  I've made a few websites with Wordpress.  It is capable of more than I could ever use or dream of using, but it is accessible to a beginner and is easy to learn.  It presently powers over 17% of the Web.  If you use it, you will succeed.  If you embark on the odyssey of learning to code, the odds are against you because it is a massive undertaking.

Completely agree with both of these points.

I built my first web page in 1994 and it had just HTML with some color specifications. I took a long break and when I came back to the web in 2008, I could not build a proper page without substantial time/effort to learn HTML/CSS.

I highly recommend the use of Wordpress also. It is useful, not just for a blog, but even a smaller webstore. It has a huge number of plugins. It can be installed in 5 minutes. You can be productive in creating a website within about 15 minutes of installation (5 mins for Wordpress, another 10 for the core 6-7 plugins like Akismet , Wordpress SEO, XML sitemaps etc.).

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!