Coding On Mac For Beginners

Dennis O'Reilly/CNET Not so long ago, typing was for secretaries, journalists, and would-be authors. Now we're all tapping away at keyboards and screens from morning until night.

The number of people who spend their workday coding continues to soar. how to use mac os leopard as a file server for windows In the not-too-distant future, writing code may be as commonplace as typing and other forms of text-keying are today. Learning how to code has never been easier. Whether you're a programming newbie or an old hand looking to learn a new skill or two, these four free services have you covered. (Note that all but W3Schools.com requires that you register to use the service by providing an e-mail address and password.). All four of the coding tutorials I tested have their positive attributes (ahem), but my favorite is Ruby for Beginners, which was just my speed. The lessons prompt you to write and run the code for each step, and when you make a mistake -- which is key to learning how to program -- the correction hints are clear.

The video lessons in Programming curriculum keep you engaged in the subject and are perfect for folks starting at square one. However, the complete program could easily take weeks to complete. I made it through 24 percent of the Ruby tutorial before I hit a lesson that stopped me in my tracks: in the loops section, of course. If you've done a little coding in the past, you'll likely have better luck than I did with Codecademy's write-it-yourself approach. The simplest of the coding tutorials I tried was, which you can complete without having to register (unlike the other three services). Each of its dozens of lessons includes plenty of 'Try it yourself' options for practicing the technique the step covers.