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    What programming language should you learn first?

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    • dafyreD
      dafyre @thwr
      last edited by

      @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

      JavaScript? Seriously?

      I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

      It depends on where you want to go... For Web Apps, JavaScript will wind up being a must.

      For Desktop Apps, it depends on your development platform of choice.

      scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • scottalanmillerS
        scottalanmiller @thwr
        last edited by

        @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

        JavaScript? Seriously?

        I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

        Scripting languages are one of the two types of programming languages. There is nothing "more" programming language than a scripting language.

        thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • scottalanmillerS
          scottalanmiller @dafyre
          last edited by

          @dafyre said in What programming language should you learn first?:

          @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

          JavaScript? Seriously?

          I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

          It depends on where you want to go... For Web Apps, JavaScript will wind up being a must.

          For Desktop Apps, it depends on your development platform of choice.

          JavaScript is great for desktop apps, too. Some of the best modern desktop apps are JavaScript... including Microsoft Office!

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • scottalanmillerS
            scottalanmiller
            last edited by

            JavaScript is a great language to know, but a terrible place to start learning.

            thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • RamblingBipedR
              RamblingBiped
              last edited by

              Perl! 😮

              If you're coming from the perspective of most people that hang around this place I would say take a look at C. Learning C will not only help you gain a deeper understanding of all things *nix, but it will also give you an easier transition to other languages because of the similarities in structure and syntax.

              If you're a beginning beginner, I'd look at Python. (maybe Ruby)

              Nice article, I enjoyed the comic.

              MirtaM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • scottalanmillerS
                scottalanmiller
                last edited by

                I always recommend Python for learning.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • thwrT
                  thwr @scottalanmiller
                  last edited by

                  @scottalanmiller said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                  JavaScript is a great language to know, but a terrible place to start learning.

                  That's the point. JavaScript isn't bad, but the lack of strong types (e.g. an unsigned int is an unsigned int and an instance of A is in fact an instance of A. This leads to bad writing style right from the beginning.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • J
                    Jason Banned
                    last edited by

                    I learned Java (not Java Script) first and then VB.net.

                    That's about the extent of what I know

                    thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • thwrT
                      thwr @Jason
                      last edited by

                      @Jason said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                      I learned Java (not Java Script) first and then VB.net.

                      That's about the extent of what I know

                      Java is not related to JavaScript in any possible way, except for the very basic C-style syntax maybe. Same for VB.NET, which is a real programming language in the .NET ecosystem.

                      J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • J
                        Jason Banned @thwr
                        last edited by

                        @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                        @Jason said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                        I learned Java (not Java Script) first and then VB.net.

                        That's about the extent of what I know

                        Java is not related to JavaScript in any possible way, except for the very basic C-style syntax maybe. Same for VB.NET, which is a real programming language in the .NET ecosystem.

                        No one said it was...

                        thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • thwrT
                          thwr @scottalanmiller
                          last edited by

                          @scottalanmiller said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                          @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                          JavaScript? Seriously?

                          I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

                          Scripting languages are one of the two types of programming languages. There is nothing "more" programming language than a scripting language.

                          I still like to think of scripting languages as languages that get interpreted, while programming languages need some kind of compiler / JIT and do not rely on an interpreter.

                          IMHO, there is a difference.

                          scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • thwrT
                            thwr @Jason
                            last edited by thwr

                            @Jason said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                            @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                            @Jason said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                            I learned Java (not Java Script) first and then VB.net.

                            That's about the extent of what I know

                            Java is not related to JavaScript in any possible way, except for the very basic C-style syntax maybe. Same for VB.NET, which is a real programming language in the .NET ecosystem.

                            No one said it was...

                            Just tried to make it clear for others who may read this later.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • scottalanmillerS
                              scottalanmiller @thwr
                              last edited by

                              @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                              @scottalanmiller said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                              @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                              JavaScript? Seriously?

                              I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

                              Scripting languages are one of the two types of programming languages. There is nothing "more" programming language than a scripting language.

                              I still like to think of scripting languages as languages that get interpreted, while programming languages need some kind of compiler / JIT and do not rely on an interpreter.

                              IMHO, there is a difference.

                              Scripting = interpreted
                              Compiled = compiled

                              Both are equally programming languages. Programming language has zero connotation with compilation. It's like how lager and ale are both beer, one is not more beer than the other. They are two equal types of beer. These are two equal programming types. JavaScript and C are both 100% programming languages, one is not more than the other.

                              thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • thwrT
                                thwr @scottalanmiller
                                last edited by

                                @scottalanmiller said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                @scottalanmiller said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                @thwr said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                JavaScript? Seriously?

                                I think you should first learn a programming language, not a scripting language. Something strong-typed, preferably.

                                Scripting languages are one of the two types of programming languages. There is nothing "more" programming language than a scripting language.

                                I still like to think of scripting languages as languages that get interpreted, while programming languages need some kind of compiler / JIT and do not rely on an interpreter.

                                IMHO, there is a difference.

                                Scripting = interpreted
                                Compiled = compiled

                                Both are equally programming languages. Programming language has zero connotation with compilation. It's like how lager and ale are both beer, one is not more beer than the other. They are two equal types of beer. These are two equal programming types. JavaScript and C are both 100% programming languages, one is not more than the other.

                                Good enough, if you like to think of scripting languages as a subtype of programming languages (which they are). But a scripting language isn't a replacement for a compiled language, they both target different use cases.

                                Back to topic. The question was: Is JavaScript a good way to learn a programming language. At least I think it isn't good for learning programming. Mixed the terms above.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S
                                  Shuey
                                  last edited by

                                  I've heard from multiple friends who code that C (C11) is a great foundational language for anyone interested in pursuing programming or even just for developing better logic skills.

                                  thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • thwrT
                                    thwr @Shuey
                                    last edited by

                                    @Shuey said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                    I've heard from multiple friends who code that C (C11) is a great foundational language for anyone interested in pursuing programming or even just for developing better logic skills.

                                    C is great for learning, but can also be tricky for beginners. A more high-level OO-language like C# or Java could also be worth a look (@scottalanmiller will probably disagree on C# and I'm not a fan of Java at all for a lot of reasons).

                                    What makes C a bit hard is that you need to get into pointers and arrays pretty early for simple things like "strings" - C just does not know such a thing. Also, the missing memory protection can be tricky: You can easily read and write data outside the boundaries of a previously defined array, for example.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • stacksofplatesS
                                      stacksofplates
                                      last edited by

                                      Ha I learned QBasic as a kid, and had a VisualBasic class in 9th grade. But I haven't done hardly anything outside of scripting in BASH.

                                      thwrT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • gjacobseG
                                        gjacobse
                                        last edited by

                                        Some of the projects I would like to take on, require some programming... However, I just can't seem to figure the logic of it. Maybe partly due to the 'Attention issues' and being quick to get frustrated on it. I can 'map it out' but I can't convert that map to any sort of code.

                                        scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • thwrT
                                          thwr @stacksofplates
                                          last edited by thwr

                                          @stacksofplates said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                          Ha I learned QBasic as a kid, and had a VisualBasic class in 9th grade. But I haven't done hardly anything outside of scripting in BASH.

                                          BASIC on Atari 400/800/800XL/ST for me. Turtle (Ha!) and Turbo Pascal at school. And Cobol on a HP 3000/947 to which I had access to from time to time.

                                          scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • scottalanmillerS
                                            scottalanmiller @gjacobse
                                            last edited by

                                            @gjacobse said in What programming language should you learn first?:

                                            Some of the projects I would like to take on, require some programming... However, I just can't seem to figure the logic of it. Maybe partly due to the 'Attention issues' and being quick to get frustrated on it. I can 'map it out' but I can't convert that map to any sort of code.

                                            Many people find that if you didn't program as a child, you never develop the mental pathways for it. Like playing violin or speaking French.

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