This is a good example of how people should learn coding. Not doing examples but doing something that is very goal directed (for her doing a website). Exercises should help you understand how to do a final goal. This is pretty impressive for only 3 months of study also.
I've been bugging my friend that he should learn to code a website for the past few years. And for the past few years, he's been stating that "its not for me" or that "I'm not the techie type". I hear this all the time from people who don't know anything about coding.
A few months ago I showed him a demo of my website (artJutsu.com WIP) and showed him the basics behind the code. I also showed him how to create a simple site. The dev site (on my laptop) has many different concepts that I'm still hammering out. To him it looks complex, so I told him that it doesn't have to be.
I gave him the following advice for why one does create a program. "Just think of a "simple" problem that you'd like to fix. It doesn't have to be super robust, or super smart, or super technical. Just try to solve this problem through an elegant interface."
For me, artJutsu (once I get the main part completed) will solve a variety of small problems. Yes, there are things in it that is very complicated, but that comes from research. We're in an amazing time as developers where we can access a rich array of resources just with a simple Google search. The great thing is, the simplest solution usually solves the problem just as well.
I always was the type of person that hated reading those coding books and doing lesson after lesson with very little getting done. For the most part, you don't really know WHY you need to know techniques and theory. Its just way too confusing. I find getting down and dirty building something teaches you a lot more. Theory is great, but what good is it if you don't know that you need to know it? I believe that getting your feet wet will enhance the traditional learning experience.
Anyway, after a month of coding, my friend has created a pretty good "list" site for his wife. He's at the point where its getting tough to maintain his code, but he loves it. The joy of creating a useful tool to solve a problem is what we thrive on.
