Welcome to AI First Programming
The AI First Programming series represents a modern, revolutionary approach to teaching computer science. In an era where AI coding assistants have become essential tools for professional developers, we believe that learning to program should start with AI from day one.
Why AI First?
Traditional programming education often teaches syntax and concepts in isolation, leaving students to discover AI tools later in their careers. The AI First approach flips this paradigm:
- Learn with AI from the start: Master both programming fundamentals and AI-assisted development simultaneously
- Build real skills: Develop the same workflow that professional developers use daily
- Accelerate learning: Get working code faster, allowing more time to understand concepts deeply
- Future-ready: Prepare for a post-AI workplace where these tools are standard
The AI First Cycle
Our curriculum follows a proven learning cycle that iterates through three key phases:
- Prompt - Instruct the AI coding assistant to generate code
- Learn - Understand the generated code through detailed explanations and analogies
- Grow - Experiment, modify, and extend the code with AI assistance
This cycle ensures you not only get working code quickly, but also develop deep understanding and the ability to maintain and extend your programs.
The Book Series
The AI First Programming series is published by Apress and currently includes:
- AI First Python Programming - Master Python with AI assistance
- AI First Java Programming - Learn Java the modern way
Each book is carefully designed so that AI-generated responses build topics incrementally, making complex concepts easy to learn and understand.
VS Code Extension
To enhance your learning experience, we’ve created a companion VS Code Extension that provides:
- Easy access to book examples, prompts, and code responses
- A custom language model that returns exact code examples from the books
- Zero token cost practice mode for all exercises
- Language-aware matching based on your active editor
Learn more about the VS Code Extension →
Get Started
Ready to begin your AI First programming journey?
Welcome to modern, AI First learning!