is it free to learn to code?

You can explore a lot of coding-focused content on Coursera. However, you can learn an introduction to programming, HTML, CSS, loT programming, C language, Python, Java and more for free from beginner level and above. FreeCodeCamp is a non-profit organisation that offers free online coding classes and certifications in specialties such as responsive web design, data visualisation, machine learning and more. It's an open source community that offers hundreds (well, thousands) of coding challenges, projects, certificates and connections for aspiring coders, and it's not a bootcamp, so you learn at your own pace.

Through 10,000 simple challenges, it encourages students to learn on their own by reading the instructions carefully and trying out the code on their own. This is GitHub, where, according to the site, more than 31 million developers collaborate to host and review code, manage projects and build software together. You'll start writing code almost immediately once you start the lessons, completing 1200 programming tasks and getting immediate results for your solutions. Over a million programmers use HackerRank to hone their development skills by solving code challenges.

When you first start learning to code, it can seem like a monumental task that requires months or years to make significant progress. Codecademy offers both free and paid courses, so you can customise your learning to suit your needs and budget. But in reality, Code Avengers is an online platform with a mix of free coding classes and premium courses. Codelabs are a collection of tutorials and coding exercises, while Pathways are structured learning tracks to help users achieve a specific goal.

Solving specific coding "katas" (a term for karate training exercises) will earn you ranks and honours as you progress on your way to becoming a true coder. Programming meets martial arts in Codewars, a coding "dojo" where you will practice "katas" to hone your skills.

Phil Meade

Typical pop culture scholar. Evil communicator. Total web practitioner. Subtly charming zombie ninja. Amateur food ninja.