Free and Effective: Make the Best of Online Programming Practice

There are all kinds of ways in which you can get the programming practice you need to become a true master of your chosen language. You don’t even have to pay a dime to benefit from the best exercises available if you know where to go and what are the best programming tools to use for it. As there’s a vast wealth of options available, it’s important that you get to grips with which sources are both free and excellent.

Free Online Programming Exercises

Finding worthwhile programming exercises online is no easy task when you’re on a shoestring budget or you simply do think you should have to pay to learn your craft. Whether you need how-to videos, step-by-step tutorials or full-on exercises for practice, the resources below are truly second to none.

• If you only need programming exercises online, this isn’t the site for you. However, if you want awesome tutorials, demonstrations and much more from senior developers at Mozilla, then check out David Walsh’s site. This famous JavaScript developer really knows his stuff.
• This isn’t strictly a set of coding exercises either, but you’ll be thankful for having discovered Try Git, a set of challenges that help you get to grips with the basics of Git. Understanding how to work this vital resource will really boost your productivity more than a bunch of exercises ever could.
• Code School has become increasingly well-known for putting together mini-lessons to get you started in different programming languages. Although you start off with easy exercises that make you think that JavaScript will be a breeze in real life, you’ll quickly need to move on to deeper learning materials. You can find everything they have to offer, including 9 example lessons.
• NodeSchool has a fantastic range of open source exercises that can be completed online or even when you’re off the grid entirely. Their vast range of online programming exercises are powered by GitHub for the most part and they offer an online chat feature in case you get stuck. If you have the inclination for it, they even run workshops worldwide.
• There’s perhaps nothing better than an interactive tutorial for learning code and the helpful lot at LearnPython.org have really got this concept honed down to a fine point. You can compose your code in a separate but linked window as you go along, making it truly interactive.
• Ruby on Rails is one of those things that’s requested by more and more employers nowadays. You can read an entire eBook composed of 12 in-depth chapters at no charge at all. Run through the tutorials page by page and you’ll soon pick up the skills you need.
• Much like the Python resource mentioned above, the RubyMonk resource is entirely free and works in largely the same way. You can type your code into an interactive tutorial and then see how it runs. There’s no better way to learn how to code on a budget and it’s great for beginners and advanced learners alike.
• If you haven’t had an opportunity to gain admission to a prestigious university like MIT, you can still get hold of their coursework for free. They have an online library which contains material for every single subject they offer. You don’t need to prove yourself by signing up and displaying your SAT score or anything else, so there’s no excuse not to get started.

As you can see, programming practice can be obtained free of charge without your having to resort to illegal practices or anything else that could cause problems for you. Even if you don’t have a penny to your name, you deserve a chance to learn how to code and the developers of the resources above surely recognize this. Take a look at everything they have to offer and you’ll soon learn the skills you need.

Get the most out of your programming practice by choosing the best free options available. This is your chance to learn a vital new skill.