My intro to coding was as a hardware guy, learning machine language diagnostic programs and similar. In the USN, during my DS training our first exercise on a Univac Trainer was to write a machine-language program that took a time input (from a Frieden Flexowriter), and from that time calculate and print out the angle between the minute and hour hands on a clock. Quite instructive.
For gaining a good understanding of programming, I'd start with a quick machine language program, maybe a PIO echo a character from a terminal or something. Then spend a bit of time learning what is a high-level language and how they compile to machine language. After this you'll probably have a basic understanding of the building blocks of computer software. Digital computers work pretty much the same way they did "back when", just that circuitry that used to take 50 cubic feet or so now fits in a single small chip, and runs a gazillion times faster. Underlying principles of stored program computers hasn't fundamentally changed though.
For gaining a good understanding of programming, I'd start with a quick machine language program, maybe a PIO echo a character from a terminal or something. Then spend a bit of time learning what is a high-level language and how they compile to machine language. After this you'll probably have a basic understanding of the building blocks of computer software. Digital computers work pretty much the same way they did "back when", just that circuitry that used to take 50 cubic feet or so now fits in a single small chip, and runs a gazillion times faster. Underlying principles of stored program computers hasn't fundamentally changed though.
