Algorithms & Programming
Mastering Programming: a curated list from GitHub
Reproduced from GitHub https://github.com/
Curated Programming Resources
Table of contents
Introduction
Motivation and goalsCurrently, we’re living in a sort of “programming renaissance”. Programming and computer science is become more popular then ever — major initiatives like the Hour of Code is popularizing learning programming across the world, and the number of people interested in majoring in computer science is growing exponentially.
As a consequence, there is an increasingly huge number of resources and tutorials being produced for beginners who want to learn to code, ranging from books to online tutorials to interactive websites to massive open online courses (MOOCS) like Codecademy and Coursera.
While this is great, it can also be overwhelming for beginners — there are almost too many resources available, and it’s difficult to figure out where to start.
This page is meant to help solve that problem — to present a curated list of resources for people who are either new to programming, new to a particular topic, or want to advance their skills past the beginner stage. This page doesn’t try and list every single resource available, but instead links to resources that are guaranteed to be high-quality.
Where do I start?If you know what you want to learn about, great! Jump to that section, start browsing the links, and find something which works for you.
If you’re not sure where to start and which language to learn, some good beginner languages are:
- Python (general-purpose; scientific and mathematical computing)
- Java (general-purpose; Android development)
- HTML/CSS/JavaScript (websites and webapps)
- Scratch (for younger children)
Python and Java are both languages that are commonly used to teach programming to beginners in schools and universities, and so will have a wide variety of resources available to help you learn. They’re also both widely used in the industry and so are useful languages to have in your toolbelt.
Web development has been very popular lately, so there are many resources for learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, also making it suitable for learning. It also requires little to no installation and configuration on your computer. All you need is a text editor to write code — the code will run on your web browser.
Scratch is a little different from other languages. It was designed from the ground up to be easy to use and learn — instead of typing text, you drag and connect together “blocks” to form programs, making it a very visual language. As a result, Scratch is a good language especially for younger children (elementary schoolers, middle schoolers) or for people who dislike typing.
How this page is organizedThis page is subdivided into three parts — first, a “General resources” section that links to sites that tend to deliver high-quality content about a variety of topics, and a “Specific resources” section that provides resources on specific programming languages or topics.
In general, most resources available will fall between two categories — online courses, and books + tutorials. Online courses tend to teach using video lectures, try and be more interactive, and try and emulate the structure of a course similar to ones you might take in college. In contrast, books and tutorials teach via written text and allow you to set your own pace.
Which resource should I pick?Whether you prefer learning by watching a video or reading text is really a matter of personal preference. I personally prefer reading, but your learning style might be completely different. You may need to explore and browse several different resources before you discover how you best learn.
When possible, I’ll try and leave a description for each resource describing what their goal is, and what audience they’re suitable for. Some resources focus on trying to give a comprehensive introduction for beginners, other resources are more suitable for people who are already somewhat experienced in a language and want to learn more.
WarningThis page is still a work-in-progress, and will be updated slowly, time permitting. Some sections may currently be incomplete, and some links may not yet be fully vetted.
If you would like to contribute, please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.
General resources
Links to other big listsYou can find a large list of list of free programming books and resources on github. (It used to be hosted on StackOverflow, but was moved over to Github on October 2013).
Online coursesOnline courses are an increasingly popular way for universities and professionals to teach programming and computer science in a structured format. As a result, new online courses will pop up all the time, so it’s worth checking these resources periodically to see what’s new.
- Codecademy – offers free online courses in several different languages. However, Codecademy does have a tendency to teach only basic syntax, so you must work through more tutorials after finishing Codecademy. Focuses mainly on web development, Ruby, and Python.
- Coursera – offers free online courses in many different fields from several different well-known universities. New courses are added every quarter, and content from old courses is typically archived. Because many courses appear to be new/may be a one-time thing, this page will not link to courses on Coursera unless it appears to be stable.
- Udacity – offers free computer science courses taught by industry experts. Udacity offers two kinds of courses — regular courses and nanodegrees. Regular courses are free. Regular courses with one-on-one tutoring/code review requires a monthly fee. Nanodegrees are typically for people with some prior coding experience, and cost more money.
- edX – a joint effort between MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley to provide free online versions of some of their courses.
- OpenCulture – similar to all of the above. Video lectures are typically available on iTunes or Youtube. Typically does not require you to complete assignments, unlike many other online courses.
- MIT OpenCourseWare – static course materials taught at MIT. Unless otherwise noted, most content from this website tends to be very rigorous and fast-paced.
- Khan Academy – contains a few courses on programming and computer science; does contain many more courses on all kinds of topics (especially math).
- Stanford Engineering Everywhere – static course materials taught at Stanford.
The following websites also contain a wide variety of tutorials for many different topics, but require payment and registration before you can access their courses.
- Team Treehouse – focuses on web and iOS development.
- Lynda – also includes courses on design, animation, video, business, and more.
- PluralSight – similar to Lynda, but with a focus on developer and IT courses.
In general, edX, OpenCulture, MIT OpenCourseware, and Stanford Engineering Everywhere tend to contain more rigorous, thorough, and demanding courses, whereas Codecademy and Khan Academy tend to focus on giving a more gentle introduction to programming. Coursera and Udacity tend to vary between these two extremes.
Programming Languages
CNote: C can be a finicky and difficult-to-teach language. Although the online courses and books are a good starting point and can take you a long way, the general consensus is that the best way to learn is through reading an actual book.
In particular, I would strongly recommend that you follow the recommendations on StackOverflow’s C Book Guide and List, and use only the resources listed here if you’re unable to obtain the books in the link.
- Online courses:
- MIT Open Courseware has a few:
- Practical Programming in C
For beginners. - Introduction to C Memory Management and C++ Object-Oriented Programming
Geared towards people with prior experience in a programming language that is not C or C++. - Effective Programming in C and C++
Similar to the above.
- Practical Programming in C
- MIT Open Courseware has a few:
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Interactive tutorials:
- Learn-C
An interactive online guide that teaches you basic C step-by-step.
- Learn-C
- Books and tutorials (online):
- C Programming
One of Wikibooks’ featured books. Tends to focus on teaching mainly syntax. A good starting point and reference. - Build Your Own Lisp
Walks you through how to write a Lisp interpreter in C, teaching both languages simultaneously. - More free books
- C Programming
- Books (paper):
- The C Programming Language
The definitive guide to C. Also known as K&R, after the authors. - The Definitive C Book Guide and List
A very well-maintained list of recommended books and resources on StackOverflow. Every book listed on this page is highly-recommended.
- The C Programming Language
- Exercises: N/A
Note: Similar to C, C++ can be a finicky and difficult-to-teach language. Although the online courses and books are a good starting point and can take you a long way, the general consensus is that the best way to learn is through reading an actual book.
As with C, I would strongly recommend picking a book on StackOverflow’s C++ Book Guide and List.
- Online courses:
- MIT Open Courseware has a few:
- Introduction to C++
For beginners, is fast-paced. - Introduction to C Memory Management and C++ Object-Oriented Programming
Geared towards people with prior experience in a programming language that is not C or C++. - Effective Programming in C and C++ Similar to the above.
- Introduction to C++
- Stanford’s 3-part “Introduction to Computer Science” series for beginners. The first course teaches Java, the latter two teaches C and C++.
- Coursera’s C++ for C Programmers
May also be helpful for programmers with prior experience in another language besides C or C++.
- MIT Open Courseware has a few:
- Interactive tutorials:
- C++ Interactive Exercises
An introduction to basic C++. Is a cross between an interactive tutorial and an online book.
- C++ Interactive Exercises
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- How to Think Like a Computer Scientist
A good introduction to basic C++. - Learncpp.com
Tends to focus more on syntax, and less on programming. Might be useful for beginners, but as a reference, not a tutorial. - More free books
- How to Think Like a Computer Scientist
- Books (paper):
- The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List
A very well-maintained list of recommended books and resources on StackOverflow. Every book listed on this page is highly-recommended.
- The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List
- Exercises: N/A
- Online courses:
- Microsoft Virtual Academy has a few free courses:
- C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners
A series of videos produced by Microsoft on learning C#. For beginners. - Programming in C# Jump Start
Another series of videos produced by Microsoft. Assumes some prior knowledge of C#.
- C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners
- Microsoft Virtual Academy has a few free courses:
- Interactive tutorials: N/A
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- C# Programming
One of Wikibook’s featured books. For beginners. Tends to focus on syntax, and would also make a good reference. - The C# Yellow Book
The introductory text used by the University of Hull. - C# Essentials
An introductory text on C#. Also includes information on Windows Forms, Visual Studios, and making GUIs. - Visual C# resources
Microsoft’s official series of tutorials and guides on C# and .NET. - More free books
- C# Programming
- Books (paper):
- Sam’s Teach Yourself C# 5.0 in 24 Hours by Scott Dorman
A good introduction for beginners. - Essential C# 5.0
Very comprehensive, and intended more for intermediate programmers/programmings coming from another language. - C# in Depth, 3rd Edition
Also very comprehensive, and covers how to write idiomatic and clean C# code. Assumes the reader already knows some C#. - Effective C# and More Effective C#
A collection of tips and tricks to improve your C# code. Not for beginners.
- Sam’s Teach Yourself C# 5.0 in 24 Hours by Scott Dorman
- Exercises: N/A
- Online courses:
- edX’s Introduction to Functional Programming
Assumes familiarity with a non-functional programming language (Java, Python, C#, C++, etc).
- edX’s Introduction to Functional Programming
- Interactive tutorials:
- Try Haskell
An interactive guide that teaches basic Haskell.
- Try Haskell
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Getting started with Haskell
A comprehensive meta-guide that suggests the recommended order for following Haskell tutorials from beginning to advanced. - Haskell Programming from first principles
An extremely detailed and comprehensive guide to Python, suitable both for complete beginners to programming and more experienced programmers who want to learn Haskell. This is probably one of the best resources on learning Haskell to date — the only downside is that it isn’t free. - Learn You a Haskell for Great Good
A beginner’s introduction to Haskell. Tends to focus on syntax. - Haskell
One of Wikibook’s featured books. Covers basic to advanced Haskell. Very comprehensive. - Real World Haskell:
Covers how to use Haskell for practical applications. This is a good second book to read, after completing one of the above tutorials. - State of the Haskell Ecosystem:
An overview of popular 3rd party libraries for accomplishing various tasks in Haskell.Not for absolute beginners, but more people interested in using Haskell to write practical and non-trivial applications. - More free books
- Getting started with Haskell
- Books (paper): N/A
- Exercises:
- H-99
A collection of 99 problems designed to increase your proficiency in Haskell.
- H-99
Note: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three core technologies that runs on every web browser and makes up every webpage.
HTML is a language used to describe the structure and content of a webpage. CSS is used to describe the style and appearance. JavaScript is used to add behavior and interactivity.
The recommended learning order is typically to start with HTML and CSS, then move on to learning JavaScript once you feel you’ve acquired a basic understanding of the previous two.
Also note that HTML and CSS are examples of “markup languages”, not “programming languages” and so will feel fairly different from JavaScript. If your goal is to learn just programming, you might want to jump straight ahead to JavaScript (or pick a different programming language!). However, since the main way to actually use JavaScript is through the web browser, you do need to learn HTML and CSS at one point or another.
- Online courses:
- Codecademy has several courses related to web development.
- Make a website
- Make an interactive website
- HTML & CSS
- JavaScript
- jQuery Please note that Codecademy focuses only on introducing programming languages. It is strongly recommended that you work through a more comprehensive beginner’s tutorial after finishing Codecademy.
- So does Udacity:
- Intro to HTML and CSS
- JavaScript Basics
Does require some prior programming experience.
- Open Culture’s Building Dynamic Websites
Hosted by Harvard, and covers a wide variety of topics. - Khan Academy has a series of three courses on introductory Javascript that focuses on drawing graphics and animations, and making games.
- Team Treehouse has a series of courses on HTML, CSS, and Javascript
Allows a free 14-day trial, but later requires payment.
- Codecademy has several courses related to web development.
- Interactive tutorials:
- Free Code Camp
A beginner’s introduction to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web technologies. Contains a large amount of exercises. - CSS3, please!
An interactive website that lets you dynamically change CSS rules to style an element on-screen. Not for beginners, but is a good way to discover advanced applications of CSS.
- Free Code Camp
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Mozilla Developer Network (MDN)
A series of tutorials covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and more. Some tutorials are appropriate for beginners while other tutorials will be more advanced. - HtmlDog
Similar to the above, but targeted more specifically to beginners. - Eloquent JavaScript
A book that teaches you how to write idiomatic and clean JavaScript. Assumes prior experience with JavaScript/another programming language. - A Re-introduction to JavaScript
A guide which gives a thorough and detailed overview of JavaScript. - More free books:
- Mozilla Developer Network (MDN)
- Books (paper):
- JavaScript: The Good Parts
A short book that covers the core aspects of JavaScript as well as info on writing idiomatic and clean JavaScript.
- JavaScript: The Good Parts
- Exercises:
- CSS Diner
A series of exercises on using CSS selectors effectively.
- CSS Diner
-
Online courses: N/A
-
Interactive tutorials:
- Try Clojure
An interactive tutorial for basic Clojure.
- Try Clojure
-
Video tutorials: N/A
-
Books and tutorials (online):
- The Nature of Lisp
Not really a tutorial on Lisp, but is instead an article on why so many people advocate Lisp and claim it will fundamentally change how you view code. Very good at explaining the philosophy of Lisp. - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
SICP is the canonical introduction to Lisp, and used to be part of MIT’s introduction to CS course (before they switched to Python).- SICP in Clojure
An amended version of SICP which uses Clojure instead of Scheme.
- SICP in Clojure
- [How to Design Programs][lisp-htdp]
A competing book and philosophy of teaching to SICP. SICP tends to focus more on CS theory whereas HTDP tends to focus more on writing how to go about writing programs/analyzing problems. - [Build Your Own Lisp][lisp-build]
Walks you through how to write a Lisp interpreter in C, teaching both languages simultaneously. - [Practical Common Lisp][lisp-learn-practical]
An introductory book on Common Lisp. Covers practical and real-world applications of Common Lisp. - [Where to learn how to practically use Common Lisp][lisp-learn-practical]
An aggregation of books and resources on effectively using Common Lisp for programmers coming from an imperative world. - [Learn Clojure][lisp-learn-clojure]
A website collecting many links related to learning Lisp. - More free books:
- [Clojure][lisp-more-clojure]
- [Lisp][lisp-more-lisp] in general
- [Scheme][lisp-more-scheme]
- The Nature of Lisp
-
Books (paper):
- Land of Lisp
A book that teaches Lisp (specifically Common Lisp) via making games. For beginners.
- Land of Lisp
-
Exercises:
- L-99
A series of 99 problems designed to increase your proficiency in Lisp. - 4Clojure
A series of exercises geared around learning Clojure.
[lisp-htdp]: http://htdp.org/) [lisp-build]: http://www.buildyourownlisp.com/ [lisp-practical]: http://www.gigamonkeys.com/book/ [lisp-learn-practical]: http://stackoverflow.com/q/7224823/646543 [lisp-learn-clojure]: http://learn-clojure.com/ [lisp-more-clojure]: https://github.com/vhf/free-programming-books/blob/master/free-programming-books.md#clojure [lisp-more-lisp]: https://github.com/vhf/free-programming-books/blob/master/free-programming-books.md#lisp [lisp-more-scheme]: https://github.com/vhf/free-programming-books/blob/master/free-programming-books.md#scheme
- L-99
- Online courses:
- Udacity’s Intro to Java Programming
An objects-first introduction to Java. - MIT Open Courseware:
- Introduction to Programming in Java
- Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving
For beginners, emphasizes practical application of Java.
- Stanford’s 3-part “Introduction to Computer Science” series for beginners. The first course teaches Java, the latter two teaches C and C++.
- The University of Helsinki’s “Object-Oriented programming with Java” series for beginners.
- Udacity’s Intro to Java Programming
- Interactive tutorials:
- Learn Java
An interactive tutorial that teaches basic Java.
- Learn Java
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Introduction to Computer Science using Java
An introductory text on Java. Moves a bit slowly, but covers everything in great detail (including setup). - Learn by Doing
An introductory text on Java. The tutorial is exercise-driven. - Think Java
Another introductory text on Java. The content is based on the “How to think like a Computer Scientist” series. - Thinking in Java, 3rd edition
Note: the fourth edition is the latest one, but currently is not free. The website can also be a little hard to navigate — the direct download link is here. Assumes some basic prior programming experience. - TutorialsPoint’s Java Tutorial
An introduction to Java. Tends to focus mainly on syntax. May also make a good reference. - The Java Tutorial
The official Java tutorial, produced by Oracle. Tends to focus on language features and syntax. - More free books
- Introduction to Computer Science using Java
- Books (paper):
- Head First Java
A beginner’s introduction to Java.
- Head First Java
- Exercises:
- Practice-it
A series of exercises hosted by the University of Washington, starting with basic Java and finishing with data structures and algorithms. Requires (free) registration first before you can view or work on the exercises.
- Practice-it
- Online courses: N/A
- Interactive tutorials: N/A
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Beginning Perl
A comprehensive and thorough introduction to Perl. - Modern Perl
A guide on writing clean and idiomatic Perl code. Very good for teaching the philosophy and fundamentals of Perl. Comprehensive and thorough. - Impatient Perl
An accelerated guide for impatient people or people with prior programming experience. - Learn Perl in about 2 hours 30 minutes
Another accelerated guide for the impatient. Geared towards people who have prior experience in another programming language. - More free books
- Perl.org also hosts a list of recommended books, many of which are available online for free.
- Beginning Perl
- Books (paper):
- Learning Perl
An introductory text on Perl. Teaches on focusing syntax/the details of Perl, and not so much on how to program. Pragmatic and practical.
- Learning Perl
- Exercises:
- Perl Quiz of the Week
A mailing list which sends out a new quiz/prompt once a week. Archives of past prompts are also available.
- Perl Quiz of the Week
Note: while PHP can be very convenient, quick, and easy to use, it’s also a language viewed negatively by many programmers. (See PHP: a fractal of bad design). If you do decide to learn PHP and adopt it as your language of choice, just be aware of the fact that people will probably make fun of you at one point or another.
Also, it’s important to first learn HTML and CSS before attempting to learn PHP. PHP is a language which attempts to “extend” and work with HTML, so may not fully make sense if you try and learn it before picking up basic web development.
- Online courses:
- Team Treehouse’s PHP course – allows a free 14-day trial, but later requires payment.
- Interactive resources:
- Learn PHP
An interactive guide that teaches basic PHP.
- Learn PHP
- Exercises:
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- PHP Manual The official tutorial on PHP. Tends to focus on language features and syntax.
- TutorialPoint’s PHP Tutorial
An introduction to PHP. Tends to focus on syntax. May make a good reference. - PHP The Right Way
A comprehensive guide that covers modern best practices in PHP and attempts to address common flaws, misconceptions, and errors that many beginners (and many tutorials) seem to possess. Assumes some prior knowledge of PHP.
- Books (paper):
- PHP for Absolute Beginners
An introductory text on PHP. - PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy, 2nd edition
An example-driven introduction to PHP.
- PHP for Absolute Beginners
Note: there are currently two versions of Python that are commonly taught and used — Python 2, and Python 3. Python 3 is the most recent version, but for a variety of reasons Python 2 still is fairly popular among many developers.
If you’re not sure which version to pick, my recommendation would be to pick the resource which looks like the best fit for you, and just use whatever version they’re recommending. Luckily, the differences between the two are very minor (at least from the perspective of the beginner), so there’s really no difference if you learn using Python 2 vs Python 3.
That said, when working on your own programs, I would always pick Python 3 unless you have good reason to otherwise. The Python community, with the exception of a few holdouts, is moving towards Python 3 and abandoning Python 2.
- Online courses:
- edx’s Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python
The companion book can be found here. The course is designed for beginners, part of a 2-part series, is self-paced, and has an emphasis on computation and data science.- MIT Open Courseware also offers a gentler “lead-in” course designed for those with no programming background that you can take before taking the above: Building Programming Experience: A Lead-In to 6.001.
- MIT Open Courseware’s A Gentle Introduction to Programming Using Python
A gentler version of the above. - Coursera’s Programming for Everybody (Python)
For beginners; requires registration. - Udacity’s Programming Foundations with Python
Requires some prior programming experience; focuses on object-oriented programming. - Team Treehouse’s Python course
Allows a free 14-day trial, but later requires payment.
- edx’s Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python
- Interactive resources:
- LearnPython
An interactive online guide that teaches basic Python. - Try Python
Another interactive online guide.
- LearnPython
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Automate the Boring Stuff with Python A book for complete beginners. It is aimed at office workers, students, administrators, and hobbyists who want to learn how to write practical programs rather than necessarily become software engineers. From the Invent with Python author.
- How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (Python 2 version and Python 3 version)
A comprehensive introductory text on Python, focusing on teaching computer science fundamentals and problem-solving skills through Python. Suitable for beginners. - Think Python
Another comprehensive introductory text on Python, with a similar focus as the previous resource. Also suitable for beginners. - The official Python tutorial (for Python 2 and Python 3). Moves a little quickly, but is very comprehensive and thorough. This is probably the best resource for experienced programmers who want to learn Python, since it doesn’t linger for too long on basic material.
- Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures
A fantastic introduction to data structures and algorithms and other traditional computer science concepts using Python. While it does briefly cover Python syntax, it assumes that you already have some basic prior experience. - Dive into Python 3
An accelerated introduction to Python. Warning: do NOT use “Dive into Python 2”. It’s very outdated. - Program Arcade Games With Python And Pygame
A fantastic and thorough introduction to Python via making games. For beginners. - Invent with Python
Teaches programming through the creation of computer games with Python and Pygame. For beginners. - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python
A comprehensive introduction to the Python ecosystem. Covers how to properly configure and set up a development environment in Python, best practices, writing idiomatic code, what the best 3rd party libraries are for different tasks, and shipping your code. Useful for both beginners and experts (however, the guide does not actually teach Python itself). - Cheat Sheet Guide / by Hitesh J – A quick reference to get started on Python with some useful shortcuts, published by PCWDLD (Marc Wilson).
- pycrumbs
A huge list of many useful articles, tutorials, and snippits on Python, ranging from basic to advanced. - More free books
- PyMOTW A tour of the Python standard library through short examples.
- Books (paper):
- Import Python
A catalog of Python books (some are free)
- Import Python
- Exercises:
- Pyschools
Exercises and challenges in Python. Challenges require (free) registration.
- Pyschools
- Online courses:
- Team Treehouse’s Ruby course
Allows a free 14-day trial, but later requires payment.
- Team Treehouse’s Ruby course
- Interactive tutorials:
- RubyMonk
A collection of interactive tutorials to help you learn basic and advanced Ruby. - TryRuby
An interactive online guide that teaches you basic Ruby step-by-step. - Learn Ruby
A downloadable set of interactive tutorials.
- RubyMonk
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby
A little quirky, but still very good. - Learn Ruby The Hard Way
Part of the “Learn X The Hard Way” series. Focuses on teaching Ruby through a series of self-guided exercises. - More free books
- Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby
- Books (paper):
- The Well-Grounded Rubyist
A comprehensive and thorough introduction to Ruby. For beginners. - Eloquent Ruby
A guide on how to write Ruby idiomatically and cleanly. This book assumes that you already know Ruby or some other programming language.
- The Well-Grounded Rubyist
- Exercises:
- Ruby Quiz
A series of exercises on writing programs in Ruby. New exercises are no longer being written, but the existing exercises are still very good.
- Ruby Quiz
Scratch is a language wherein you create programs by dragging together and connecting “blocks”. Unlike other programming languages, Scratch is very visual, making it a very good first programming language, especially for children and younger teens.
Because not many people may be familiar with Scratch, this section will contain resources that are helpful both for learning Scratch, and teaching Scratch.
There are two
- Online courses:
- edX’s Programming in Scratch – for beginners.
- edX’s Middle-Years Computer Science – a course designed to help teachers design an engaging computer science curriculum for middle-schoolers using Scratch.
- Interactive tutorials: N/A
- Video tutorials:
- Video tutorials from Scratch’s website
A collection of video tutorials on Scratch for absolute beginners. Very comprehensive.
- Video tutorials from Scratch’s website
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Invent with Scratch!
An introductory text on Scratch. For beginners. - Scratch for Budding Computer Scientists
A short tutorial that takes a more formalized approach to teaching Scratch. Best suited for those with some prior experience. - Computer Science Concepts in Scratch
A thorough introduction to Scratch. For beginners. - Scratch Advanced Topics
A collection of resources and guides on advanced usage of Scratch. Not for beginners. - Reference guides: for Scratch and Snap/Build Your Own Blocks (a variant of Scratch)
Contains comprehensive descriptions of all language features. The Scratch reference will be useful for all levels, and the Snap reference will be particularly useful for those who are already proficient at programming in another language. - Scratch for Educators
Scratch’s official portal and collection of resources for teaching using Scratch. - More free books
- Invent with Scratch!
- Books (paper): N/A
- Exercises: N/A
Other topics
Note: this section of the guide is very much a work-in-progress.
Developing on specific platforms Mobile apps (Android, Mac and iOS, Windows)Due to my lack of experience working with mobile apps, I do not feel particularly comfortable recommending any particular resources regarding mobile development. This section of the guide might be expanded in the future, but for now, I would recommend following the recommendations listed here:
Data structures and algorithmsUnless otherwise noted, all of the resources in this category assume prior programming experience.
- Online courses:
- Udacity’s Intro to Algorithms – assumes proficiency in math up to the Algebra 2 level.
- Coursera’s Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 – lectures are archived. Assumes some familarity with proofs.
- Open Culture has several good video playlists (mostly on YouTube)
- Algorithm Design and Analysis – hosted by UCDavis (University of California, Davis)
- Computer Science 61B (Data structures) – hosted by UCBerkeley (University of California, Berkeley).
- CS2: Data Structures and Algorithms – Hosted by the University of New South Wales
- MIT Open Courseware’s Introduction to Algorithms and Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- Khan Academy’s Algorithms
- Interactive tutorials: N/A
- Exercises:
- Codingbat
Contains Java and Python exercises. For beginners and intermediate-level programmers. - CodeAbbey
Similar to Codingbat. - HackerRank
Contains a large collection of exercises, from basic up to the competitive level. Good for both beginners and advanced programmers. Also holds their own online competition. - TopCoder
Similar to HackerRank. - UVa Online Judge
A collection of programming problems and solutions from multiple programming competitions. - Project Euler
A collection of programming exercises. The exercises are more math-oriented, and are not always CS-oriented.
- Codingbat
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures
A very thorough introduction to data structures and algorithms. Although it uses Python, the main concepts taught should be applicable to every language. Starts with a quick overview of Python for those unfamiliar to the language. - Algorithms by Robert Sedgewick which is in Java and accompanies these lectures on Coursera.
- The Stony Brook Algorithm Repository – a comprehensive reference of many different data structures and algorithms.
- The Big-O Cheat Sheet – a cheat sheet containing links and condensed information about the top most commonly-used/commonly-taught data structures and algorithms.
- Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures
- Books (paper):
- Introduction to Algorithms – the canonical guide to algorithms and is very comprehensive. The book is language agnostic, moves at an accelerated pace, and is accompanied by lectures here.
- The Algorithm Design Manual – the first half of the book emphasizes the design and analysis of algorithms, and the second half is a catalog of the 75 most important algorithmic problems for reference.
- How can I rebuild my base of algorithms/data structures knowledge? – contains links to various recommended books and suggestions for improvement.
Tools
Version control Git- Online courses:
- How to Use Git and GitHub – via Udacity.
- Interactive tutorials:
- Learn Git Branching – a very visual interactive tutorial starting from the absolute basics with a high emphasis on understanding the internals/what each git command really means.
- Try Git – an interactive tutorial that teaches basic Git.
- Exercises: N/A
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- Learn Version Control with Git – an introduction to Git for the absolute beginner (via git-tower).
- Git has an official reference and book
- More free books
- Books (paper): N/A
- Online courses: N/A
- Interactive tutorials: N/A
- Exercises: N/A
- Video tutorials: N/A
- Books and tutorials (online):
- HgInit – a basic introduction to Mercurial.
- Mercurial: The Definitive Guide
- More free books
- Books (paper): N/A
TODO: Expand, add info on Subversion