How fast can you become a good programmer ?

depends how well you can retain the information. Also, speeding up to learn won't help much. Programming is all about practice not theory. So you need to apply what you learn. Read programming and not applying won't help you.

"Good" is relative. It takes years to become a good programmer actually. You still wouldn't be able to use a quarter of the features in Java after just 6 months of learning the language since programming is more than learning language, but learning a set of techniques and conventions as well. After 5 months of programming at 6 hours a day, you might be able to create some simple text-based games and maybe know enough on how to properly implement a few data structures (like lists, queues, and maybe maps) and implement several sorting and searching algorithms (binary search, heap sort, bubble sort, quicksort, etc.).

A lot depends on a persons ability to grasp the code and how it works. For me the best way was to try, try and try some more. Some languages are easier than others to learn. For some people reading a lot helps for others writing code helps. For myself testing a local computer with help from users on irc (the freenode network is a good place to start) I was able to learn over time. The biggest mistake I made with learning any language was letting too much time go by between learning. Once you start keep at it.

"Good" is relative. It takes years to become a good programmer actually. You still wouldn't be able to use a quarter of the features in Java after just 6 months of learning the language since programming is more than learning language, but learning a set of techniques and conventions as well. After 5 months of programming at 6 hours a day, you might be able to create some simple text-based games and maybe know enough on how to properly implement a few data structures (like lists, queues, and maybe maps) and implement several sorting and searching algorithms (binary search, heap sort, bubble sort, quicksort, etc.).

A lot depends on a persons ability to grasp the code and how it works. For me the best way was to try, try and try some more. Some languages are easier than others to learn. For some people reading a lot helps for others writing code helps. For myself testing a local computer with help from users on irc (the freenode network is a good place to start) I was able to learn over time. The biggest mistake I made with learning any language was letting too much time go by between learning. Once you start keep at it.

You can become a good programmer almost immediately. Alternatively you can have a long career programming and never be a good programmer. If you just study Java you will never become a good programmer. That applies to all languages, there is far more to software development that the mechanical business of coding up a design. Being able to spell well does not imply that you can write well, just as being able to write well does not imply you can spell well. Programming consists of very simple things, these are compounded together, repeated and used selectively. That applies both to state and behaviour. Everything else is just detail. That's pretty much programming in a paragraph.

You can become a good programmer almost immediately. Alternatively you can have a long career programming and never be a good programmer. If you just study Java you will never become a good programmer. That applies to all languages, there is far more to software development that the mechanical business of coding up a design. Being able to spell well does not imply that you can write well, just as being able to write well does not imply you can spell well. Programming consists of very simple things, these are compounded together, repeated and used selectively. That applies both to state and behaviour. Everything else is just detail. That's pretty much programming in a paragraph.