From vending machines, to credit cards and ATMs, all the way to complex machine learning algorithms that process big data in order to improve customer experience, marketing, and business planning, and unavoidable video games, software developers have their hands full in today’s market. The research indicates that JavaScript is the most widely used programming language with more than 60 percent of companies from all over the world putting their trust in the World Wide Web’s most popular coding language. The same resource shows that the willingness to learn is one of the key elements that impact the hiring decision when it comes to acquiring new programmers.
It’s almost impossible to say for a person that he or she learned everything there is to know about a certain programming language, hence the willingness to learn as one of the most important personality traits. However, in order to get into the competition for the world’s most amazing software developer, one has to start with the basics. Therefore, we are going to let you in on five brilliant free apps that will help you get started as a programmer by learning how to code.
SoloLearn
The main feature of this piece of software is pretty much self-explained in the name of the app. SoloLearn is an online platform that allows you to create a free profile and start learning some of the most popular programming languages of today. You have a Java course, JavaScript, C#, C++, Python, PHP, HTML, Ruby, and many others. Each course consists of dozens of lessons and hundreds of quizzes to test your knowledge and win achievements.
The courses start small, introducing you to the basics of each language, slowly progressing with each new lesson. The software allows you to save your code for future reference, but it also allows you to try out every new function that the course sets in front of you. You can return to previous lessons any time you want; in case you need to make sure you’ve got the hang of the topic. Don’t be scared if you need a bit more practice before you become fluent, with a little practice you’ll write code like textual content.
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Programming Hub
A free Android and iOS mobile-based learning application that allows you to learn programming languages interactively on your mobile device. The fact that the Programming hub platform is mobile-oriented and available for free download via Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store might seem like a setback, however, the overall design of the app actually makes the whole experience rather acceptable. This app provides a vast choice of languages you can learn from JavaScript to c3, Ruby, Python, HTML, CSS, and many more.
Programming hub was developed in coordination with Google experts in order to facilitate the learning process as much as possible while providing a valuable amount of information and lessons to attain necessary skills to become a fully developed programmer. The learning process is developed according to Kolb’s experiential learning model that brings together experience, behavior, perception, and cognition. The app provides an adaptive learning experience, meaning the software keeps an eye on your learning behavior, the pace of progress, and the time frame you can allocate for your training, based on which the app creates your personalized learning style.
Encode
Another mobile-based platform intended for Android and iOS users alike. The choice of courses you can take with Encode is a bit slim, comparing to other options on the market, as you can choose among Python, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. Once you’ve successfully finished all the lessons and tests, these four coding languages allow you to become a full-stack web developer.
As opposed to other apps, encode allows you to do real coding while you learn, instead of sitting in your chair and reading various theoretical courses. Depending on your level of knowledge you can start with more advanced exercises, but you can also start from scratch. Arguably the best feature this application has to offer is offline availability, which means you don’t have to be online in order to get your programming on.
Khan Academy
The Khan Academy is more than just a code-learning app, it’s an online browser-based platform that offers all sorts of online courses like Math, Art, Science, Computing, as well as a series of other courses, including, of course, programming. Unlike other apps, this one provides a string of practical video courses that teach you how to draw and animate objects with JavaScript, create web pages with HTML and CSS, as well as standalone JavaScript-based video games development, and some other web development courses.
One could argue that Khan Academy with its free online computer programming courses prepares individuals for one of the most desired job opportunities of today – web development.
Tynker
This web app provides a series of programming courses for kids, which makes this piece of online software one of the most authentic learning platforms on the market. What’s even more interesting about Tynker is that it provides different user modes for kids, parents, and teachers allowing the kids to learn how to write code through a series of fun games designed specifically to teach the children to think creatively and learn the basics of coding at the same time providing useful data for parents to track their kid’s progress, as well as training the teachers how to teach coding.
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Conclusion
Software is all around us, e-commerce platforms are popping up like mushrooms, and more and more companies rely on software solutions, which means the world needs great programmers. These free apps will allow you to learn the basics of coding and advance at your own pace. However, it’s not about the platform you decide to use, it’s not about the age you’re at – the acquisition of your skills and your own self-improvement depend on your willingness to learn and progress.
This article is written by Lauren Adley. She is a writer and editor at Assignment Holic. Lauren is dedicated to her family, work and friends. She is keen on reading, playing the guitar and traveling. She is interested in educational, marketing and blogging issues. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.
This article is written by Lauren Adley. She is a writer and editor at 
Web developer and SEO specialist with 20+ years of experience in open-source web development, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions (RSWEBSOLS)".
