Resources

Learn!

If you’re completely new to programming you may want to consider these resources. I recommend that beginner’s start working on at least one Code School track before attending a meetup.

Typing.io

I’d highly recommend becoming a touch typer if you’re not already. Try out the Ruby track and aim for at least 40wpm.

Learn Markdown

Markdown is a fun, user-friendly way to write content for the web. It’s frequently used by sites like Github and reddit.

Code Academy

Pick your poison - HTML/CSS, JavaScript, JQuery & (Ruby/Python) tracks are all recommended.

CLI the Hard Way

Learn Bash - At some point, we’re going to be using the command line quite a bit to handle things like basic navigation, source control, bundling dependencies, starting up web servers, and deploying our apps for the world to see! But before we can do that, we’ll need to be familiar with the basics.

Learn Git

Try Git - What’s Git? It’s probably one of the most important tools you’ll ever use as a software engineer. If you’re not hip, then start with this tutorial.

Regex one: tutorial

At some point, we’ll do a little work with regular expressions. I’d highly encourage this tutorial for newbies.

Python the Hard Way or Ruby the Hard Way

Raw, uncut instruction from Zed Shaw. The Hard Way series is highly recommended.

The Odin Project

A road map that guides you through the best free resources for learning web development. It also provides small projects to add to your portfolio and helps you retain the material. Not necessary for Pair Columbus challenges, but it can keep you on track in further studies.

Recommended Reading

Read the docs

• Ruby
• Rails
• Python
• NodeJS

It may seem a bit taxing at times, but it’s always good to read through key parts of the documentation a few times before tackling an application.

Ruby

Read up on the following mehods:

• String
• Array
• Hash
• Enumerable
• Integer

Rails

The Getting Started Guide is a great place for familiarizing yourself with core components like partials, helpers, migrations, and generators.

Note: There’s no expectation that you learn this stuff overnight, but instead that you review and start familiaring yourself with key concepts. Bring your questions to our first meetup!