[Alan Turing]

Simple question, how long did it take you to learn a language where you could code long projects with barely any help?

[Pidiot]

im still not even there..

[3SidedSquare]

1 year or disciplined study, and you can be fluent in a language,

another half-year of dedication, and you can work by yourself on large projects,

another half-year, and you can work with other people on large projects.

[Anizeb]

I mastered most of Python in a couple weeks.
I still forget some minor things that I don't use often anyway, but other than that, I'm quite capable if I do say so myself.

Python is easy, though. I'm still learning Java after a year, though not really actively so for most of that.

[cr33pyguy]

I don't even...

---

a long time. And it's still gonna take time...

[Dong]

Simple question, how long did it take you to learn a language where you could code long projects with barely any help?

The language can be seen as a medium to express a solution to a problem. Your ability to express particular ideas and whatnot majorly depends on your ability to solve problems, your understanding of certain topics, and etc.

In many cases, knowing the basic syntax of a programming language (not including some of the MANY libraries that exist, just basic ones) will not teach you how to solve certain problems. It simply gives you the tools to express your solutions... but you have to understand which ones to use, how to use them, and the best ways to use them.

For example, let's just say that you happened to know a majority of the C++ STL. What if I asked you to develop a client-server application using POSIX sockets, for example. Now, your knowledge of the C++ STL /will/ majorly assist you... however, without knowledge regarding how networking works and how to make proper use of the POSIX sockets API, you probably will not be able to develop the application by yourself.


Anyways, to put it simply, you need to keep on studying programming in the language of your choice as well as different concepts in the world of computers (computer science theory, operating systems, networking, etc.). Also, try a hand at solving some mathematical problems, logic problems, blah blah blah. Oh, and don't worry about how long it will take... just keep doing it.

[Cressi]

My first programming language (after Batch) was Python, which took me a little less than a year to completely figure out.

[Hexadecimal]

I'm still learning Lua (mostly for Garry's Mod, a video game), but since my knowledge is still pretty good, I would say it took me around 6 months to learn the lot of it. Off and on.

[tropic]

The more frequently you use it, the better you get.

[BlueScreen]

Depends on the language.
Lua: 2 weeks
PHP: about 4 months
CSS: 2 hours
Java: 2 weeks
C++/#: 2 months
Basic Unrealscripting: 3 weeks
Only important ones I can come up with right now.