Programming lessons in twenty-minute pieces
A commute is a good length for a programming lesson and a bad length for a programming project. That split explains how to use a phone for learning to code: lessons, reading and small exercises on the phone, anything that needs building on a computer, and a real code editor on the phone as soon as the lessons stop being enough.
What a phone teaches well
| Part of learning | On a phone | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Syntax and basic concepts | Well | Short lessons suit short journeys |
| Reading other people's code | Well | A large phone shows a whole function comfortably |
| Small exercises | Well, in a real editor | Type the code rather than choosing blocks |
| Building a project | Badly | Needs a keyboard and several files open |
| Debugging | Poorly | Possible, painful beyond a few lines |
| Setting up tools | Not really | Do it on a computer, once |
Advertisement
The apps
Short lessons across a wide choice of languages, with a code playground and a large community answering questions under every lesson.
Mimo. Polished daily lessons with a clear path from nothing to a small web project. Much of the path sits behind a subscription.
Programming Hub. A broad catalogue of short courses, useful for trying a language before committing to it.
Daily workouts rather than a full course, good for keeping a language fresh once you know the basics.
Bite sized challenges where you type the code yourself, which is the habit worth building early.
Lessons built around typing real code into an editor from the start, rather than tapping at choices.
The computing courses and, just as useful, the maths underneath them, free and without advertising.
Logic, algorithms and computational thinking rather than syntax. A subscription, and a good companion to a language course.
The companion to the web courses: review and practise on the phone what you learned at the computer.
University courses in programming and computer science. Some can be audited free, which is worth checking before paying.
Home of Harvard's well known introductory computer science course, which can be followed free of charge.
Buy a practical course on sale and download the videos to watch offline on the train.
For data work specifically: Python, SQL and analysis, with exercises that run in the app.
A real Python interpreter that runs offline on the phone, with a package installer. The place to type and run everything the lessons show you.
A cloud coding environment for almost any language, reachable from a computer later. It leans hard on an AI assistant; ignore it while learning, or it will write the answers for you.
A code editor for web projects with a live preview and Git, so a small site can be built and pushed from the phone.
A capable general code editor for when the files grow beyond a single script.
A real Linux command line. When you are ready for it, this is where the lessons turn into actual work.
Read real code, follow projects and see how experienced developers structure things, all from the phone.
A path that gets somewhere
- Pick one language and stay with it for three months Python or JavaScript suit most people. Switching early resets exactly the part that was hard.
- Do one lesson a day, on the way in Consistency does more than long sessions. Twenty minutes every day beats three hours on a Sunday.
- Type the examples in a real interpreter An app that runs the code you typed, errors included. Reading error messages is half of what you are learning.
- Read small, real code A short utility on a code hosting site, one file at a time. Reading comes before writing here as in any language.
- Build one small thing on a computer A script that renames your photographs, or a web page about your hobby. The first finished project is the moment it stops being lessons.
- A structured course with projects you finish
- A good book, still
- A cheap keyboard for the phone
- A tutor or mentor for a few sessions
- Several lesson apps teaching the same basics
- A lifetime plan after one week
- Completion certificates, which carry little weight with employers
- Anything promising a job within weeks
Lessons on the way in, real code typed by hand, one small project on a computer. That order works.
Frequently asked questions
Which language should I learn first?
Python if you are not sure, JavaScript if you want to make things for the web. Both are well served by every app here, and the concepts carry over to whatever you learn next.
Can I become a developer using only a phone?
You can learn the fundamentals on one. Working as a developer means building and debugging real projects, and that needs a computer. Most people who start on a phone move to one within a few months.
Are the certificates from these apps worth anything?
As a record for yourself, yes. To an employer, a small project you can show and explain is worth far more than any completion certificate.
Read next
Nothing has infected your phone. Something you installed has permission, and the fix is a list in settings.
A phone will happily run a keyboard, a mouse and a memory stick. It will not power a desktop hard drive.
Hard and fast are different things. Almost every game confuses them, and these do not.
