Which language should I start with programming and coding?

[Husseinisdoingfine]

I want to get in coding/programming, which is the best beginners language?

[thisintegrated]

Depends.  What do you wanna make?

Go and F# (and maybe Rust) are the best.  But they're still uncommon, with limited support.

If you don't know what you want, do python or JS.  Python is easier, for desktop, and is good if you ever wanna go into back-end web development.  JS is more useful if you focus on web and front end, but awful to use.  It can be used for desktop applications but they're gonna be slow and shitty.

C# is great and perhaps the most versatile of all.  Great for desktop, mobile, web, and gaming.  But OOP, the concept C# is based off, is, arguably, a pointless PITA that causes more problems than it solves.  F# is a less annoying version of C#.

Edited April 28, 2022 by thisintegrated

[Gesundheit2]

I would start by understanding the concept of programming in general, and for that, it doesn't matter much the language you choose. But I know that many IT universities teach C++, so that might be ideal. Once you get a hold on the fundamentals, the rest is just syntax, which differs from language to another but is easy to pick up on, you can even learn multiple languages after you get past the learning curve, there's not much difference between the most popular ones as far as I know. Your focus shouldn't be on which language to choose, rather it should be on how to understand the computer language in general and the fundamentals of programming, like variables, functions, etc.

[thibault]

When people ask me this question I always give the same answer. Don't go around looking for the best language, there isn't one. What you want to do is start coding things that you have an interest in and use whatever language is best for that. That way you will develop a skillset that suits your specific interests. Having that skillset will make you want to code more things that you are interested in and will snowball your learning. If you start off saying I need to learn everything about Python and the TensorFlow machine learning module but have no end project in mind, you will never get through the debugging hell that is programming. Always start coding with a goal in mind.

Anyways to narrow down your choices I would ask you what you want your first finished project to be :

• A video game ?
• A website ?
• A mobile app ?
• A telegram bot ?
• A desktop app ?
• A simulation ?
• etc...
• etc...
• etc...

 

Start with answering these kinds of questions then narrow down to the language. The question you have asked as it currently stands is like asking "What is the best tool to build a house ?". I mean are you building a wall ? The floor ? The roof ? The bathroom ? Are you working on the electricals ? I think you get my point...

 

EDIT : Oh and regarding what others above have said about learning the general principles, just play around in Scratch for a few days/weeks until you get the hang of it. That should be enough general understanding to get you started in programming.

Edited April 28, 2022 by thibault

[mostly harmless]

There are many videos discussing this on youtube.

I would recommend Python first. The most important thing about programming is an algorithmic approach to problem solving. That is the same in any language. Python is more simple for beginners, you have many job opportunities if you learn Python and you can do that more quickly than C++ for example.

 

[Michal__]

On 4/28/2022 at 1:53 PM, thibault said:

When people ask me this question I always give the same answer. Don't go around looking for the best language, there isn't one. What you want to do is start coding things that you have an interest in and use whatever language is best for that. That way you will develop a skillset that suits your specific interests. Having that skillset will make you want to code more things that you are interested in and will snowball your learning. If you start off saying I need to learn everything about Python and the TensorFlow machine learning module but have no end project in mind, you will never get through the debugging hell that is programming. Always start coding with a goal in mind.

Anyways to narrow down your choices I would ask you what you want your first finished project to be :

• A video game ?
• A website ?
• A mobile app ?
• A telegram bot ?
• A desktop app ?
• A simulation ?
• etc...
• etc...
• etc...

 

Start with answering these kinds of questions then narrow down to the language. The question you have asked as it currently stands is like asking "What is the best tool to build a house ?". I mean are you building a wall ? The floor ? The roof ? The bathroom ? Are you working on the electricals ? I think you get my point...

 

EDIT : Oh and regarding what others above have said about learning the general principles, just play around in Scratch for a few days/weeks until you get the hang of it. That should be enough general understanding to get you started in programming.

This.

And besides just programming you should also learn things like UML, Agile, documentation etc(basics of software engineering) - if you want to make it a career.

Also - read Clean Code so you know about the best practices right from the start and don't build up bad habits.

And maybe some math if you ever plan to create video games (doesn't have to be everything they learn at universities but it would be nice if reading some vectors while watching a "how to create ____ game" doesn't give you a headache).

Edited April 29, 2022 by Michal__

[Thanks]

If you want just to see if you enjoy programing then python.

If you really have a vision for yourself as a programmer then the best is to start with c++ as it will give you solid foundations.

I started with c++ and all other universities that I know also do so

[something_else]

If you wanna become a professional programmer, web development is a good place to start IMO. The barrier to entry isn’t too high. You’d want to learn a JavaScript framework like Vue or React and a backend framework like Django (Python) or Laravel (PHP)

If you just wanna learn the basics of programming from scratch and aren’t exactly sure where you wanna go with it yet then it’s very hard to go wrong with Python

You can learn with pretty much any language though. And the way you properly learn programming is through hobby projects. Once you’ve got the basics down, you want to think of something cool you could program and see it through to completion. This teaches you way better than any tutorial, plus you can then put these hobby projects on a CV

[Ninja_pig]

I don't think you should be asking which language to learn, because once you learn one language, you can learn the others a lot faster. Instead, be asking what resources are best for learning. If you're just starting out, I recommend following a few project tutorials. They will let you see each concept in action as it is used. Also, the true skill in programming is not really remembering syntax, but being able to think through a problem, write pseudo code, google the correct things, and read error messages.

 

[thibault]

26 minutes ago, Ninja_pig said:

I don't think you should be asking which language to learn, because once you learn one language, you can learn the others a lot faster. Instead, be asking what resources are best for learning. If you're just starting out, I recommend following a few project tutorials. They will let you see each concept in action as it is used. Also, the true skill in programming is not really remembering syntax, but being able to think through a problem, write pseudo code, google the correct things, and read error messages.

 

I definitely recommend freeCodeCamp as well. I got all my basic web development education through them.

[Yarco]

Python if you want to make desktop programs or automate your job. The problem I found is that after all the tutorials are done, you need to be able to create problems for yourself to solve. If you aren't good at finding inefficiencies in your life to automate or make more efficient via coding, I don't know if you'll get much use out of any kind of coding really.

C# if you want to create games.

[Ninja_pig]

11 hours ago, A_v_E said:

@Ninja_pig  if hell exist it must be coding.


 

I actually think coding can be fun once you get good. It allows me to easily get deeply into the flow.

[Dodecahedron]

Learn C++. Then you will be able to learn any other language quite easily.

[PenguinPablo]

TheOdinProject is AWESOME! It's a free coding bootcamp site that gives a really good foundation and conceptual understanding + includes a lot of coding projects along the way with what you're learning.

You can pick two paths Javascript or Ruby on Rails. I'm going for Javascript since it seems to be much more relevant and in higher demand nowadays. 

 

[binder]

Start with JavaScript. Is beginner friendly as Python and you can create anything easier than using Python. I recommend startin as a front end Web Development with JavaScript as a beginner.

[BuddhistLover]

@Husseinisdoingfine I feel like for you, if you want something easy. Become a front end web developer. Learn HTML, Javascript, Python, CSS, and everything else needed to become a front end web developer. Then, go work on websites, and that could be your door into programming. You might like it, since it is pretty easy to pick up and high in demand. 

[kray]

On 4/27/2022 at 8:58 PM, Husseinisdoingfine said:

I want to get in coding/programming, which is the best beginners language?

Java and C++, helps you understand the the bottom layer. I'd say go even more lower in the stack and learn systems programming, you would need C for this. Of course the fundamentals are the first thing you should learn. I'm guessing you don't have a formal degree in Computer Science, but that does not matter, especially in today's industry. But my recommendation first and foremost is to learn about the Fundamentals, such as: Object-Oriented design/programming, important data structures and some basic algorithms, Dynamic programming, basic asymptotic time and analysis. I wouldn't worry about the core theory stuff, such theory of computation on a sequential or parallel processor, but if you are interested learning about that stuff, it gives you a more clear idea of how different algorithms you write can be better/worse. After all this, I'd say learn Java or C++, and move onto Python from there. At this point you would have knowledge in two or three languages that you could use in a server side development role. Next learn the Web dev languages like HTML, javascript, CSS and the fundamentals of Web development. By now you would have knowledge in both server side languages as well as client side languages, and now I would say to learn about how the Web dev side of things communicate with the server side of things. Get a grasp of databases and cloud computing, and you should be ready for the industry

 

Again, this is all brolic, but going this route in my opinion is logical. Again it's up to your preference, if you want to do Web development or Web design only, you would start with Javascript, but if you want to do something more in the realm of full-stack application development, then I would highly recommend going the above route. 

[integral]

Typescript is a mix of everything you need to learn the fundamentals and a playground to have fun. Its popular job wise and can build anything with it.