I have no plans on changing my career. In addition, I do not expect or desire to earn money from programming. However, I would like to become involved with writing GNU/GPL compliant code because I would like to enhance the accessibility of Linux for persons with vision loss. I believe that the best way to include some of my ideas is to learn how to write good code. Moreover, I always feel overwhelmed and confused whenever I attempt to examine source code.

I have about 30 undergraduate credit hours in math and about 3 credit hours in computer science. The computer science was pure misery for me as compared to the math classes. My hope is that I might be able to handle the computer courses better because I am older, wiser, and I only need to take one class at a time.

Once I complete the typical course sequence in computer science that a computer science student completes, would I be able to read, understand and contribute good quality code? Is taking courses at a university even a good idea for achieving my goal of writing applications?

The knowledge of programming would also help me in other areas:
1. I want to believe that although I am 44 years old that my brain is still in good shape.
2. I would like to help sponsor the robotics club at a high school where I teach.
3. I would like to teach my autistic son some programming skills. Maybe this could be a father-son bonding experience.

I don't think you need a degree but it certainly couldn't hurt. I suggest getting some exposure with practical stuff and going from there. I'm certainly no whiz programmer but I've improved a lot over time due to doing little scripts here and there, modifying code slightly to suit my needs and of course now thanks to my start of a university degree. Like you, I'm starting it a bit late (I'm in my mid-late twenties) but I wish to get involved eventually in some kind of sysadmin/programmer kind of role but I'm fairly far off for now.

I really suggest reading some online resources and following them to get a feel for it first before going into a course. http://learnpythonthehardway.org/ I reckon is one of many good ways to get a "feel" for it all.

@basica that tutorial looks great & I only went to the setup.
Are the exercises just test files?
I'm almost positve the OP will get something from it.

Not all of them, there's a bit of variety in what's there but essentially it goes about things the "old fashioned way" or the "hard way". At the start you're copying code ad verbatim, then later on you're given an explanation of what's happening in the code then the next exercise might ask you a series of questions of what is the expected output of the code shown.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <GENERAL> and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

The term "computer science" is a very broad subject. It doesn't cover only
programming. It covers computers in general. Unless you want to get a
degree or want to know how and why "computers" work, I don't see any
reason of you for taking that course.

IMO, writing a good quality code doesn't have much to do with a "computer
science" course.

Usually a code is considered good when it is:
bug free,
properly documented,
contains meaningful variable/function names,
follows coding standards (different languages may have different coding
standards.) etc.

Understanding the features of the concerned language also is very necessary
for producing a good quality code.

1. Why do you want to program?
For getting jobs or for fun?
For getting jobs that degree is a must, for fun learning it is not (assuming
you have an internet connection and/or some money to buy books).

2. What KIND of software do you want to program?
Unless and until one doesn't have an answer to this, I don't see any
point in learning any language. Different languages have different purpose.
There is no best language. Best is a subjective word.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compute...Software_types

Well, if you aren't going to change careers, then I'm not really sure why would you even want it. Of course, there's a non-zero chance that course teacher will be some kind of "programming guru", but that's extremely unlikely. Degree is useful if you want a job.

No, the best way will be to make somebody who's more skilled than you to implement them - if you can afford that, of course (you could hire a freelancer, the could be cheaper than USA programmer). Learning programming takes time, and it'll be more efficient to employ somebody who's already skilled in programming instead of trying to do everything yourself.

I think that even when you finish courses, you won't turn into good programmer immediately. You'll need more practice.

It probably is (you aren't 90, you know), but to get a good understanding of programming you need some kind of problem you REALLY want to solve (and solution should require programming). Such problem will keep you going, and without it everything will be much harder, because it'll be quite easy to become "scared" of programming (complexity, etc).

Not sure what programming has to do with it. Sponsorship means money. If you aren't going to use programming to get paid, then programming has nothing to do with it.

No and maybe. You would probably be able to read and understand the code better, but contributing good quality code ... most certainly not. It does depend on your choice of language tho. It depends on the language and how many courses you take.

That is a good idea, keeping your brain active is very important if you want to maintain adequate brain function, especially in later years. The last two will likely be more challenging endeavors, but certainly possible.

you can save thousands of dollars by getting some books and working through them
you could even learn more of what you want to know by teaching yourself

hell man your a teacher you should know how to teach your self

here is a starting point for you

http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm