Learning programming?

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Oh I think it is great for aspies because computers are very simple and very logical. And you can work from home on your own schedule. Being able to intensely focus is a huge asset in programming. And you can be alone in your own world of code for hours and days on end creating whatever interests you.

I had a reasonably long and successful career in programming and other systems-related fields for these reasons, so I believe it may be true for others also.

Use of HTML and CSS does not constitute programming. They are markup languages; computer programming involves programming languages.

If you're interested in IT, network security, etc., there's a newer site called Cybrary (cybrary dot it) that's supposed to be pretty good. They just launched in the last few months so I haven't had time to mess with it much, but it has gotten good reviews on the twitters. They have free training toward industry standard certificates and the like.

True, but when you add JavaScript to the above mix, you are doing more than just displaying your stuff in a pleasing manner. There would be no reason to create a page with some text, two textareas, and a Submit button usless there was some code behind it.

That still doesn't make you a programmer unless you're the one writing the JavaScript (or far more likely, something like PHP).

Yes, yes, programming is manipulating data, mark up languages are merely formatting data. Big autism fail after the first page. The entire point of the post is that the OP is learning something completely new. This thread should be about offering pointers and encouragement, not debating what various code is or is not.

Also of note is that fresh newbies need to start somewhere and mark up languages are a great place. Why drop data types, variable manipulation, functions, recursion, etc. on someone that doesn't even know the importance of formatting code correctly or even how blocks of code work? I think people learn better when they're not overloaded, especially autistics, and if I taught programming I'd start with html, then css, then javascript, then PHP, then something that requires stack/heap control and compiling like C++. If you drop someone completely new right into C++ they'll probably be able to follow the book, but they won't know exactly why some of the conventions in the book are the way they are. If you start from the beginning by the time you get to the advanced topics they'll be easy to understand and remember. Add in that with the web languages a newbie can create something they can visually see within a few lessons and it's a win/win. If the student sees results they're more apt to continue learning, if they have to extend classes, polymorph classes, write constructors, etc. and that's only for a background task that doesn't do much but format the data with no real results to show, the new student will get bored rather quickly.

What has earned my bread and butter is mostly COBOL with a little Assembler and C. My website is hobby and clientside only so I have no reason and no way to ask the user what's being ordered along with payment method. I wrote the code to generate round robin pairing tables, calculate loan payments, and solve the peg solitaire puzzle you find at Cracker Barrel to name a few.

You are not the Master of What Should Be Discussed in Threads. There is no rule that every response to a thread must address the main point of the thread.

There's no debate here; it's an indisputable fact that using HTML and CSS isn't programming. OP apparently got into this as a possible avenue of employment, and lack of this basic knowledge can harm the OP's chances at getting IT work, so my comment qualifies as a "pointer."

???
That's why people who don't plan for added code generally don't add those things to their webpages.

I separate them as front-end and back-end web development.

Front-end is technically less difficult. There's even drag and drop tools that make HTML/CSS knowledge requirements minimal. Knowing Javascript/JQuery is important. Design and artistry is primary in front-end. I do front-end work when necessary, but it is not my thing.

I primarily deal with back-end development. I work with databases (SQL) and scripting languages to push or pull data (Ruby/PHP).

If you like front-end development and want to find work in the field you might also want to learn how to use Wordpress. There are a lot of companies out there who need people to maintain/update their Wordpress sites.

I taught myself HTML when I was in highschool. My Dad got me an HTML for dummies book when I told him i wanted to learn how to build sites. I used that book to help build my first website reviewing Horror movies. That was back when geocities was a thing.. from there I used http://www.w3schools.com/ to help learn CSS and the beginning to Javascript. From there I was able to make an easy web page for the company I worked for.

Now I am learning Python as well which is a very high level language which makes it easy to learn and fun to code with. I tried learning C++ and Java at community college but didn't get too far. PM me if you need help with anything. It's been a while sine I have coded in HTML but it's much like riding a bike.

Stack overflow

http://stackoverflow.com/

Is also an amazing resource. I use that site quite a lot.

I'm using code academy. So far I understood HTML/CSS pretty well. Got stuck 20% into Java (which the college I plan to attend has as a course) not sure if a textbook may help it easier to understand although ratings puts the professor of that course as "he sucks." The basic programming course (from reviews on the class) she teaches Python so I'm 15% into that and am finding it a lot easier than Java. Sadly I also have to learn Calculus and Trigonometry and I barely passed with a C in College Algebra and that was 10+ years ago. So not sure how those high advanced math courses will work out. Thanks for the help everyone glad to have it.

Another back-end programmer, here (C, python). Programming has been a great fit, for the reasons already mentioned, and lucrative as well.

One warning about front-end programming: If you do it for a living, you will need to interact with people a lot, since what you're writing must be pleasing to others and work the way others want it to work.

Back-end programming, automation development in particular, seldom has other human beings "in the loop" at all. It's all about writing interfaces which other software uses, and using other software's interfaces, and developing logic which ascertains the most correct course of action.

If you enjoy front-end programming, though, then you should totally stick with it! Do what you love, and love what you do, and life will be that much better.