The first thing I did when I had that problem was to try to write games. I taught myself basic principles of OOP while writing Tetris in C++. I used someone else's (sprite) rendering engine, allowing me to focus purely on the object interaction part of it. I attribute that to most of my success as a programmer.

I'd say to start with something simple, like a web-based word-guessing game, where you set a goal to learn one thing (like, say, what are all the semantics involved in the differences between GET and POST), and go from there. You could also try Yahtzee (just with text), or something like that.

Another way I helped myself to learn was by writing test code for my other code. You actually have a great opportunity with your web site: teach yourself LWP and Test::Harness, by writing tests against your web site, looking for broken links.

Hope this isn't too didactic or obvious, it's what worked for me, and for the (older) kids in my neighborhood who asked the same question...

Good luck!

MM

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