How should programming topics be organized from beginner to advanced?

At the highest level, you might study how the language is implemented: runtime behavior, memory layout, bytecode or machine code, and how language constructs are represented internally. Modifying a compiler or runtime would be an advanced specialization, though it isn’t required to be highly proficient at everyday software development.

It’s more useful to focus on becoming a good programmer than on collecting knowledge of one particular language. Once you understand problem solving, decomposition, algorithms, debugging, and program design in one mainstream language, learning another language is usually much faster. Language-specific details matter, but transferable programming skills are the bigger goal.

A rough progression could be: basic syntax, variables, data types, functions, loops, conditionals, and simple program structure. Intermediate topics include data structures, error handling, files, APIs, and building complete programs without constantly following tutorials. Advanced material depends on the language, but might include memory management, concurrency, performance, design patterns, and reading existing source code. Proficiency is less about memorizing more features and more about quickly understanding, debugging, designing, and improving real systems.

There probably isn’t a strict checklist. You may use libraries before you understand every language feature, and you can encounter compiled code or performance issues relatively early. Treat the levels as rough descriptions of independence and depth rather than steps that must be completed in order. Learn the concepts needed for the projects you’re working on, then fill in the gaps as they become relevant.