How much programming knowledge is required to take course?

[dmac0505]

Hello. I have been programming for years so I do understand programming concepts. The thing is, it is an older and less known language called Powerbuilder. So my question is, will I need to be proficient in a language such as Java or Python in order to complete the assignments in the course? I am wondering if I need to learn one of these acceptable languages fairly well before I sign up for the course on Coursera - thanks.

[cadet1620]

To submit assignments to the Coursera course you will need to use one of the languages that are installed on their Linux-based test platform. The good news is that none of the programs require any GUI programming -- they all run from the terminal command line.

Python is probably the easiest language to learn. Because it is interpreted, you can easily experiment with little programs to learn the Python syntax for the concepts that you already know.

Check out Codecademy for a free online interactive introduction to Python.
    https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-python

--Mark

[dmac0505]

Thanks. So at what point will I know that I am knowledgeable enough about Python to be able to sign up for the Nand2Tetris course on Coursera?

[cadet1620]

It occurs to me that I don't know if you are asking about Coursera part 1 or part 2.  Part 1 has a no-programming option for project 6 (Hack Assembler).

Part 2 starts with a recap of project 6 that requires you write an assembler.

A good metric for being ready for the programming in part 2 might be to write the assembler using the suggested design in Chapter 6 from the book. (The first half of the book is freely available from www.nand2tetris.org.)

If you decide to go this route, I can send you skeleton code that contains class definitions for the objects suggested in chapter 6.

--Mark

[dmac0505]

Yes I was just referring to part 1 - although I anticipate I would want to continue with part 2 eventually. Ok, thanks for the metric recommendation to gauge the necessary programming knowledge involved. Sure, I will take the skeleton code that would be great. Thanks.