I’d work through that book & do all the examples as you read
and a very good exercise by my experience is after doing an example, think about a simple thing that the project could be extended with. Try to find the solution by what you read, by the book or, if you don’t find one, ask here. I have found this method extremely helpful in putting together all the puzzle pieces you get from the examples to a bigger picture.
One thing is for sure. Nothing replaces hand on experience. And when following a tutorial, never skip to something else until you are sure it works as described. It may seem slow, but that is the only way to insure larger programs will work. Forget reading all the documentation at once. If you haven’t got the basics, it is futile.
Never build a house without the proper foundations.
I understand what you guys are saying. But I have found that I learn much easier and retain better when I am working on something that is particulary interesting to me as I relate to what is going on much better. I converted an example in the Intro book to a project that would infact be of use in my program and I learned a lot and really understood what was going on and how it would work in my program last night…
Nothing better than hands on. That is the way I started.