[softstained]

FUNERAL FLOWERS, by laetitia k.

[shencomix]

We go forward.

[hold-a-lover-close-blog-deactiv]

This is too deep to comprehend.

[haleepls]

Stop it

[alltheselittlevoices]

I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE FUNNY

[hello-nice-to-misha]

:(((((

[boomeyer]

Do yourself a favor. Learn to code. Here's how.

I’ve said this to my non-techie friends countless times. It’s no secret that being able to code makes you a better job applicant, and a better entrepreneur. Hell, one techie taught a homeless man to code and now that man is making his first mobile application.

Learning to code elevates your professional life, and makes you more knowledgeable about the massive changes taking place in the technology sector that are poised to have an immense influence on human life.

(note: yes I realize that 3/5 of those links were Google projects)

But most folks are intimidated by coding. And it does seem intimidating at first. But peel away the obscurity and the difficulty, and you start to learn that coding, at least at its basic level, is a very manageable, learnable skill.

There are a lot of resources out there to teach you. I’ve found a couple to be particularly successful. Here’s my list of resources for learning to code, sorted by difficulty:

Novice

Never written a line of code before? No worries. Just visit one of these fine resources and follow their high-level tutorials. You won’t get into the nitty-gritty, but don’t worry about it for now:

Dash - by General Assembly

CodeAcademy

w3 Tutorials (start at HTML on the left sidebar and work your way down)

Intermediate

Now that you’ve gone through a handful of basic tutorials, it’s time to learn the fundamentals of actual, real-life coding problems. I’ve found these resources to be solid:

Khan Academy

CodeAcademy - Ruby, Python, PHP

Difficult

If you’re here, you’re capable of building things. You know the primitives. You know the logic control statements. You’re ready to start making real stuff take shape. Here are some different types of resources to turn you from someone who knows how to code, into a full-fledged programmer.

Programming problems

Sometimes, the challenges in programming aren’t how to make a language do a task, but just how to do the task in general. Like how to find an item in a very large, sorted list, without checking each element. Here are some resources for those types of problems

Talentbuddy

TopCoder

Web Applications

If you learned Python, Django is an amazing platform for creating quick-and-easy web applications. I’d highly suggest the tutorial - it’s one of the best I’ve ever used, and you have a web app up and running in less than an hour.

Django Tutorial

I’ve never used Rails, but it’s a very popular and powerful framework for creating web applications using Ruby. I’d suggest going through their guide to start getting down-and-dirty with Rails development.

Rails Guide

If you know PHP, there’s an ocean of good stuff out there for you to learn how to make a full-fledged web application. Frameworks do a lot of work for you, and provide quick and easy guides to get up and running. I’d suggest the following:

Cake PHP Book

Symfony 2 - Get Started

Yii PHP - The Comprehensive Guide

Conclusion

If there’s one point I wanted to get across, it’s that it is easier than ever to learn to code. There are resources on every corner of the internet for potential programmers, and the benefits of learning even just the basics are monumental.

If you know of any additional, great resources that aren’t listed here, please feel free to tweet them to me @boomeyer.

Best of luck!

[mementoluceat-blog]

I’d also like to add some more specialized resources!

Video games:

Easy game engines (virtually no coding): 

Game Maker Studio (2D; free and paid versions)

GameSalad (2D)

RPG Maker (2D; numerous versions ranging from free to $69.99)

Stencyl (2D; free and paid subscription versions)

Scratch (good for kids and is more general; 2D; free)

More difficult game engines: 

Unity (lots and lots of platforms; C# and JavaScript script; 2D, 3D, VR; free and paid versions)

Unreal (specializes in graphics; C++ and visual script; 2D, 3D, VR; free with a royalty on successful products)

CryEngine (Lua script; 3D; paid subscription and full license versions)

Mobile game development: 

Corona (free and paid subscription versions)

SpriteKit (2D) and SceneKit (3D) which are built into the official compiler to create iOS apps (see iOS apps for more resources)

also all of the above game engines (cross-platform)

Game console development: 

Game Maker Studio (with a paid subscription)

Unity

Unreal

CryEngine

Note that games can also be created on more general platforms like iOS and Android apps, but the resources listed above are specialized for game development.

iOS apps:

In order to develop iOS apps, you’ll need to purchase an iOS developer program membership for $99 a year, which requires an Apple account. Here are some general resources:

Xcode (the official IDE for iOS apps; can be installed on OS X)

Start Developing iOS Apps Today (Objective-C)

Ray Wenderlich iOS tutorials (Objective-C and Swift)

Code School: Try iOS (Objective-C)

Developing iOS 8 Apps (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Swift)

TutorialsPoint: iOS Tutorial (Objective-C)

How to Make iPhone Apps With No Programming Experience (Swift)

Swift Tutorial: Building an iOS Application (2, 3)

iOS apps are developed in the 2 official languages of Apple: Objective-C and Swift, the latter of which is newer and generally much easier to learn.

Objective-C resources:

the official documentation

TutorialsPoint: Objective-C Tutorial

Ry’s Objective-C Tutorial

Swift resources:

the official documentation

The Swift Programming Language (free official e-book)

Swift: A Quick Reference Guide

Xcode also has SpriteKit, SceneKit, and Metal built in, all of which are incredibly useful for creating apps that require elaborate graphics, particularly games.

SpriteKit resources:

How to Make a Game Like Candy Crush With Swift (2)

Sprite Kit Swift Tutorial

Create Space Invaders with Swift and Sprite Kit

iOS SpriteKit Physics Tutorial in Swift

Build the Game of Life (Swift)

SceneKit resources:

Scene Kit Tutorial: Getting Started (Swift)

An Introduction to SceneKit (2; Swift)

Metal resources:

the official documentation + other resources (Obj-C)

iOS 8 Metal Tutorial with Swift (2, 3)

Getting Started With Metal (Obj-C)

An introduction to 3D graphics with Metal in Swift

Also, in order to publish iOS apps, you’ll have to juggle certificates, app ids, and provisioning profiles. This process can be convoluted at times so here are some resources:

How to Submit Your App to Apple: From No Account to App Store (2)

Beginner Tutorial: iOS Certificates & Provisioning Profiles

Android apps:

In order to develop Android apps, you’ll need to register as a developer for a one-time fee of $25. Here are some general resources:

Android Studio (the official IDE for Android app development; free; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux)

the official documentation

Getting Started

Android Tutorial For Beginners (2, 3)

Learn Android SDK From Scratch

Introduction to Android Development With Android Studio

Android apps are developed in Java and the layout is coded with XML.

Java resources:

W3schools: Java Tutorial series

TutorialsPoint: Java Tutorial

Core Java Tutorial

XML resources:

W3schools: XML Tutorial series

TutorialsPoint: XML Tutorial

For publishing (which is somewhat easier than publishing iOS apps):

How to Publish to the Android Market

3D modeling/animation:

Blender (can also be used to create games; Python script; free and open-source; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux)

Maya (specialized script; free trial, free 3-year student subscription, and paid subscription versions; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux to an extent)

3ds Max (Python script; free trial, free 3-year student subscription, and paid subscription versions; can be installed on Windows and OS X)

RenderMan (specialized script; free for non-commercial/educational use and pay-per-license for commercial use; can be installed on Windows, OS X, and Linux)

Misc. resources:

Stack Overflow is an ask-and-answer community for programmers. It’s amazing and will save your life. Sign up and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Github offers a student pack (here) if you create an account and prove you’re a student. This gives you free access to a bunch of great programming resources for free for a certain period of time, such as Unreal Engine. Also, Github in general is a site that you can host your code on. Other users can see it, and “fork” it to make a copy of your code and modify it.

Parse is a backend service that allows you to store data in databases it hosts on its own servers. It lets you use push notifications, create users, store and retrieve data, etc. It’s compatible with iOS apps, Android apps, Windows apps, Xamarin, React, Unity, OS X, Windows, JavaScript, PHP, .net, Arduino, and Embedded C. It’s free up to a certain limit that depends on the services you use.

Cloud9, Codebox, and Squad are online IDEs that allow for real-time collaboration and support a variety of languages, so they’re useful for team projects.

And some general advice:

Your program will not work right away, 99% of the time. That’s okay. Do your best to figure out where the error is. Here is some advice on debugging (written for PHP but the methods can be generalized).

If you’re stuck, Google. Google like there’s no tomorrow.

Ask questions on a community like Stack Overflow.

For that matter, browse relevant Stack Overflow questions. You can probably find some solutions there.

Don’t be afraid to copy and paste.

Take breaks sometimes if you’re getting burned out. But don’t stay away from your projects for too long or you’ll lose track of its status.

Backup your code. On the cloud, on a USB drive, wherever. If your IDE has a backing up feature like snapshots, use it whenever you hit a milestone.

If your project is big, split it up into milestones and set goals. Don’t tackle everything at once.

Like the OP said, coding isn’t just for professionals and “geeks” anymore. Anyone can learn it if you really try, and with the rapidly expanding tech industry, learning coding can really broaden your opportunities.

If any of the links are broken, or you have a question or some information/resources to add, you can contact me through the askbox or the OP through his Twitter (as mentioned in his post).

If you’re interested, try some of these out and best of luck!

[boomeyer]

Great work expanding on my humble list to include a much fuller collection of resources for learning how to code! Cheers!

[spr0uht]

i dont know if i can trust anyone anymore...... maybe this was meant to be and maybe i was never meant to have any friends they say leopards never change their spots and i truly believe in that. no matter how hard we try to run, remnants of our past selves will catch up with us. once an independent.... always an independent.

[distraughts]

boyf who teaches me how 2 swim/cycle/ice skate/roller blade PLS

[spr0uht]

i kno… all of these sports….

[distraughts]

but ure not the one i want ;(

[nullibicities]

yes hi I can teach u,,,,,,,, I can be ur platonic s/o

[distraughts]

come 2 singapore,,,,, then we’ll talk

[nullibicities]

sponsor my travel expenditure,,,,,,,, then we’ll talk¡

[distraughts]

I LITERALLY WILL THO

[nullibicities]

h m u

[distraughts]

date & time pls

[nullibicities]

any day tbh

[distraughts]

im ready, are u¿¿??

[spr0uht]

im ready too.....................

[lesbiantiope]

PSA for people uncomfortable with the word qu.eer

This is a link to a word replacer extension for Chrome (link) and this is a link to the same word replacer for Firefox (link)

This will change your life. 

Two days ago I downloaded this and set it to change the word ‘qu.eer’ to ‘q-word’. It’s a little funny looking at times, because there will be posts on my dash like “roses are red, my skin is clear, rose from the new star wars movie is q-word” and i have urls show up on my dash as disq-wordse, but it’s functional and it makes life so much better. 

I know that blacklisting isn’t an option. I know that blacklisting means you are locking yourself out of a community you need access to. So this is honestly the best solution for everyone involved. You don’t get that sinking feeling in your chest every time you see the word, and your mutuals don’t have to feel like they need to censor their identities. 

Everybody wins!

[rogueoftimeywimeystuff-deactiva]

This can be used in so many ways. Do so!

[guys-positivity]

Actually very very important to me and I’m sure to other people as well.

[softstained]

THE WINDS COME CALLING, by laetitia k.

[softstained]

HELLO IM SO SORRY I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO CREDIT THE IDEA BUT @aislinnrose did it first & i Loved it so. also. if ure up for a magnet poetry collective. i am too. So Up For It.

[mykicks]

The worst part of Pride each year is riding the subway late at night and seeing the gay guys, mostly the ones riding by themselves, slowly take off their rainbow stickers and beads and what-not in preparation for their walk alone in their neighborhood, doing their best to prevent the off-chance of being jumped. I saw one guy with a flag in his bag turn it upside down so it wouldn’t poke out.

So yeah, fuck that heterosexual pride day nonsense.

[drarryking]

This is the saddest god damn thing I’ve read in awhile, mostly because I literally remember peeling my stickers off on my way home too for this reason 

[autumn-rains-give-me-life]

Two years ago in Budapest the organizers didn’t let anyone leave the place until we dropped all the rainbow flags into the trash cans and popped out the balloons, because people were waiting outside the cordons to get and beat us. Sadly the situation was so bad that even without the flags, we couldn’t leave for a good two hours after the event anyway. There were hundreds of people just waiting to be able to get home safely, but we simply couldn’t walk out of the place because of those assholes. In the end, the police made us leave in smaller groups via subway. They closed down the stations closest to ours, so we could avoid running into the people waiting us outside. This was in Budapest, in Europe, 2014. I hate this world we live in.

[thisisarebeljyn]

And this is why #heterosexualpride makes me so angry.

[peujeune]

I know this kid who was leaving Pride, trying so badly to rub off the rainbow paint on his cheek because his dad was abusive and didn’t know he was gay or at pride. I was on the bus with him and he was close to tears, he cheek red, and I had my make up bag and there was a packet of wet wipes, so I went up and sat next to him and helped him rub it off. We’ve been best friends ever since.

[edourado]

Heterosexual pride my ass

[sadtastical]

This is so fucking important. There are way too many human beings that are so ashamed of who they are because people just can’t accept diversity and it’s so sad. you can’t be fucking butt hurt when people celebrate minorities and people that have been suppressed, rather than groups that are wildly accepted and loved. Don’t try and take away from someone’s fucking happiness. Check. Your. Fucking. Privilege.

[spr0uht]

HAMILTON Jam! (How Theatre Kids Spend Their Lunch Breaks!)

SUBSCRIBE for the UK's stars of the future! A spontaneous rendition of 'Alexander Hamilton' during break time, at our December Half Term intensive! These per...

[brain3at3r]

Hamilton as things people in my math tutoring class have said

Hamilton : i may have fucked up but thats just how i roll. 

Eliza : is there a target sign on my heart or something? honestly i feel so walmarted

Angelica : Girls just want to destroy the patriarchy and kill all men. 

Peggy : Sometimes people don’t tag me on instagram and I wonder if I even exist. 

Laurens : once my best friend asked me if i was gay and i kind of just ran away

Hercules : i am hardcore and a badass! *panting as they reach the top of the two steps of stairs*

Lafayette : yeah i speak french. baguette baguette bitch 

Jefferson : bitch I’m fabulous and my weave rock harder then dwayne johnson *wearing orange peels on head*

Madison : today i was going to wear a sweater, yeah. but i didnt. 

Washington : I may not be your father but you damn well better know that I- ooh are those grapes? 

Maria : what boyfriend? *laughs nervously*

Phillip : daddy im dead. pow pow. 

Burr : maybe if i just stare at the paper and not reveal my true intentions- the answer will appear. 

[arterialtrees]

mackenize cole

[szuddenly]

you think you want me to shut up? i have to listen to myself even when im not talking

[dcstrider-deactivated20230210]

i spent more time on this than i wanna admit

[owomon]

fuckfucker

[dogsenpai]

BEASTFUCKER :))))))

[spr0uht]

[spr0uht]

[spr0uht]

[spr0uht]