"I want to learn how to code, but have no idea where to begin."

I've been getting this question pretty frequently lately, and thought it was a good time to put together a thread to cover all the basics.

And here it is!

Instead of just throwing a few links at you, I first want to cover something much more fundamental: The *reason* you want to learn to code.

I've had to train a good number of developers in my time. The ones that succeeded had rock-solid, persistent motivations. Is that you?

Some good motivations for learning how to code:

* Enabling a career change
* Insatiable curiosity, eagerness to learn
* Frustration with inefficiency + desire to improve things
* Larger goals in mind, coding being a stepping stone

Some bad motivations for learning how to code:

* It seems popular
* Your friends/family have ideas for apps
* You want to make lots of money by sitting in front of a computer
* You bought an expensive MacBook and are struggling to justify the expense

For those, trade forex.

Motivation matters, because of the one thing that's universally true about coding: It's hard.

Depending on what you do, you may have to learn several languages at once. Tools constantly update. New approaches land in the market on an annual basis. You're constantly upskilling.