one_old_coder comments on Getting started with minimal tech experience?

Getting started with minimal tech experience? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 7 months ago by foxymochakitten@slrpnk.net to c/smolweb@slrpnk.net

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Hi folks, I'm so dang tired of the internet as it currently is. The idea of a small web, personal websites, returning to what the internet was intended to be sounds incredibly exciting to me and I'd like to invest in that... but I don't really know where to start? So much of what I read seems to have a ton of coding jargon. I clicked on Small Web 101 and it was a masterlist of somewhat confusing links.

The most coding I've done was on Khan Academy as a teenager or setting up an automatic macro to run the coliseum for me in Flight Rising. I pirate basically everything I watch but I've only torrented one or two things and don't really grasp how that works. I don't really know anything about my laptop but I have a vague idea that I should switch to Linux and I replaced the screen once.

What's step one for a wannabe Small Web enthusiast?

[–] one_old_coder@piefed.social 6 points 7 months ago (6 children)

I still think that you should start with the Python programming language. It's the modern alternative to the "BASIC" of the 80s.

Install the latest stable version (3.16 according to https://www.python.org/downloads/), struggle a bit with the official tutorial (https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html) or get any introduction book from Anna's archives, and have fun.

I'm an old fart and I don't believe there is a need to write complicated stuff to have fun. Try that for a few hours, struggle a bit because it should be entertaining for your brain, and see if you have fun. If not, there are other languages out there, but Python is easy enough to grasp most concepts like variables, loops, playing with data, and writing simple scripts.

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[–] foxymochakitten@slrpnk.net [S] 9 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Ignorant question incoming... what is Python used for? I'm always down to pick up a new skill but I don't see the connect between Python and Small Web :')

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[–] one_old_coder@piefed.social 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

The real small web is written in HTML without too much scripting (JS). Python can do everything but the whole point is to teach concepts like variables and functions. It's unrelated to what I would call the small web, but it's a good knowledge to have.

If you want to stick to the web, learn TypeScript instead.

As for Small Web 101, if you're talking about https://xn--gckvb8fzb.com/the-small-web-101/, it's a mess of useless links. I would go to https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development, and host simple pages on Neocities. It's the small stuff of the 90s.

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[–] Opisek@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Well, prior to learning TypeScript, they might wanna start with simple HTML and CSS. The w3schools website is great to get going in my opinion.

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[–] foxymochakitten@slrpnk.net [S] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

Thank you both!! I have a friend who knows a bit about HTML and CSS so she may be able to get me started there. Python sounds useful. What's the difference between Python, TypeScript, HTML and CSS?

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[–] Opisek@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

HTML is the basic language that describes the layout of your webpage, the text, etc.

CSS is for the looks of everything.

JavaScript lets you have interactive things on the website.

TypeScript is JavaScript with extra features for the developers, but it compiles down to JavaScript still.

Python is a scripting language that you can use to create a webserver. You can also do that with JavaScript. There are also ways to make Python run in the browser but it's still in its infancy tbh.

Edit: Hence, I would suggest to first learn to make some static websites with HTML and CSS and later JavaScript. Those are basics that you will need to know, even if you use other frameworks, i.e., I would not recommend looking into React or Python (Flask) etc. until much later, because they all presume that you already know HTML+CSS+JS. Hit me up if you have any questions or need some assistance.