3 Simple Programming Project Ideas for Beginners

Totally lost on ideas for your first side project? I have three (3) simple programming projects for beginners listed here, with requirements to guide you along the path to completion. The projects are all object-oriented, and requirements start with basics and add complexity as the project grows. Ready to start coding? Choose one of these projects, fire up your code editor, and get to work!

Simple Calculator App

• Users should be able to input two numbers and select an operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). 
• The app should perform the selected operation on the two numbers and display the result.
• Defensive programming should be implemented to handle edge cases, such as divide-by-zero and invalid user input.
• The app should have a reset command to reset the inputs and operation. 
• The app should write a history log to a text file, so that there is a record of past calculations. 

To-Do List App

• A user should be able to add tasks to a to-do list.
• A user should be able to mark tasks as being completed.
• The app should persist the to-do list between sessions, using a CSV file.
• The app should allow the user to set a due date for tasks.
• The app should have filters to show only completed, incomplete, or overdue tasks.

Quiz Game

• The app should read a list of questions and answers from a file or database. 
• The app should ask the user a series of questions, one at a time, and allow the user to input an answer.
• Defensive programming should be used to handle invalid user input. 
• The app should keep track of how many questions the user answered correctly, and display their score at the end of the game.
• The app should allow the user to select a category of questions from a list.
• The app should implement a timer feature to limit the amount of time a user has to answer each question.