Which code language to learn?

[Walt]

Hi everyone,

I am planning on learning a coding language. I know HTML and CSS as language but have no experience on any programming. Any advise on which language to start learning? 
Thanks!

[Lurick]

What do you want to do? General coding or something specific?

[LUUD18]

If you want to learn the principles of Object Orientated programming I would say C#. If you want to to more web related things then I would suggest Javascript (+TypeScript).

[Walt]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

What do you want to do? General coding or something specific?

I really just want to start somewhere that is not that difficult. I don't have any specific things like games, apps etc. 

[Lurick]

C# or Python would be my recommendations.

[Walt]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

C# or Python would be my recommendations.

 

2 minutes ago, LUUD18 said:

If you want to learn the principles of Object Orientated programming I would say C#. If you want to to more web related things then I would suggest Javascript (+TypeScript).

Thanks! Where do you advise me to start? Basic youtube  or websites?

[Lurick]

Just now, Walt said:

 

Thanks! Where do you advise me to start? Basic youtube  or websites?

Download Visual Studios 2017 Community Edition and then just start poking around online for tutorials. YouTube and just google searches  

[General Winter]

i've been learning from sololearn.com , it guide you through both simple and complex concepts for a huge variaty of practical languages and if you already know the basics you can take a shortcut quiz to prove it

 

and the best part is all of their lessons are free for anyone to use and it has an app so its easy to learn on the side if you're busy

[VintiumDust]

23 minutes ago, Walt said:

I really just want to start somewhere that is not that difficult. I don't have any specific things like games, apps etc. 

I would definitely Recommend Python. It is easy to learn, but not basic. There is a lot you can do with it.

 

[LUUD18]

I wouldn't start with python. It isn't really similar to other languages syntaxes while C#, C++, Java, Javascript, etc are all quite similar with syntaxing.

[Angry Badger]

I'd start with Java. The community is big with a lot of popular frameworks that are often used in enterprise applications and other projects. 

 

Tutorialspoint is free, but they move forward quite fast compared to what's often comfortable for a beginner. 

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/index.htm

 

A more interactive and "hands on" way to learn Java would be Codecademy. 

https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-java

 

If you've got money to spend, going for an e-book might not be the worst idea. The content is often explained in a more intuitive manner compared to a lot of free content, with more exercise and better code examples.

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Java&c=books&hl=en

 

There are also some Youtube channels out there with some useful tutorials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBWX97e1E9g&t=34s

 

[Beskamir]

I would suggest C# or Python. C# is basically Java done well but is tied to Microsoft. Python is easier to setup and potentially easier to learn however it's somewhat different from the C like appearance (functionality is more or less the same, just slightly different syntax for things) of most useful languages so it'll be a bit more annoying to switch to something more C like later.

[vorticalbox]

16 hours ago, Lurick said:

Download Visual Studios 2017 Community Edition and then just start poking around online for tutorials. YouTube and just google searches  

if learning c# in learning python pycharm is much better than VS

[Cruorzy]

If you want to do web development which is a really nice start into coding i would recommend PHP/Javascript, don't stay too long with those languages if you want to learn alot of different things like software development. Personally i have watched a few of Traversy Media his videos and find them nice to step into.

 

 

[vorticalbox]

1 hour ago, Cruorzy said:

If you want to do web development which is a really nice start into coding i would recommend PHP/Javascript, don't stay too long with those languages if you want to learn alot of different things like software development. Personally i have watched a few of Traversy Media his videos and find them nice to step into.

 

 

why not cut out php and use node? That way you only need to learn one language and that's JavaScript. 

[Cruorzy]

5 hours ago, vorticalbox said:

why not cut out php and use node? That way you only need to learn one language and that's JavaScript. 

Both are great options IMO.

[vorticalbox]

3 hours ago, Cruorzy said:

Both are great options IMO.

after learning node I like it better. It's fast and scales well.  

[Dat Guy]

Write in C. (It even works nicely for WebDev.)

[cluelessgenius]

id go for c# but i think most people will only tell you what they learned (first) because they have the most experience with it. same goes for me id suggest c´but only because i started with c#. if you want to create desktop software or as of the past couple of years now even mobile iot or gaming. c# gives you quick response of feeling accomplishment. like what i mean is you see results very quickly and therefore youll stay motivated. i think if you have no experience coding pure c might be a bit harsh but again depends on what you want to do with it.

id think of a specific project you want to implement and then go with whatever helps you do it. if you want to write a website go javascript and html/css that kind of thing. you want to make a game try c# and unity and then later you can branch out to c++ maybe. you want to make a mobile app? well java for android c# for windows phone and objective c for ios but there are also cross plattform solution like xamarin allowing you to do it all in c#. what else? yeah idk just dont think about the languga think about the result you want to have first and then go with what suits that best.

e.g. i constantly find myself in need of some tool or another. like a month or 2  back i wrote simple winforms (c#) tool that read passmark gpu benchscore database from their website then read all gpu offerings off of the german version of craigslist.

once i had those 2 lists i had it cross reference them to find out what where the best price / performance offerings on the used market.

[Dat Guy]

57 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

id go for c´but i think most people will only tell you what they learned (first) because they have the most experience with it.

 

C is my sixth programming language if I remember correctly; or my fifth? I still think that knowing C makes you understand many other languages - including C++, Rust and Go - better than learning Python or something.

 

57 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

if you want to create desktop software or as of the past couple of years now even mobile iot or gaming. c# gives you quick response of feeling accomplishment.

 

If a quick accomplishment is everything that matters to you, Common Lisp might be a good alternative. The downside is that knowing it won't help you with any non-Lisp language.

[cluelessgenius]

@Walt you really gonna listen to @Dat Guy? you dont wanna be @Dat Guy

 

oh shit i just noticed im opening myself up to a lot of backfire here...i take it back! i take it BAACK!

 

seriously though no matter what you choose i stand by what i said dont treat it like learning vocables. just think of a project and then learn whatever language while working on that project. tutorial are going to make you have a lot of projects lying around that you have no real interest in or use for. at least this works best for me.

[Dat Guy]

I wouldn't listen to me if I were me!

[Cruorzy]

On 19-11-2017 at 10:31 PM, vorticalbox said:

after learning node I like it better. It's fast and scales well.  

Haven't touched any Javascript tasty thing so far so couldn't advice it, but node seems like something nice to learn.

I should learn something like it.

[ono]

Wow lots of C# recommendations. Not that I disagree. I enjoyed that language when I used it professionally for about 2 years. 

 

These days I've been using scripting languages like Ruby, Groovy, and to a smaller extent Python more, but I wonder how appropriate those are for a first timer considering all the shortcuts you can take in those.

 

It kind of doesn't matter. The main things you need to learn are conceptual, like conditionals, iteration, recursion, inheritance, etc. and those can translate to whatever language you want to learn next when hopefully you have a more specific application in mind (e.g. web programming, scientific computing, game programming, etc.).

[MyName13]

I keep seeing such questions and so many bad answers.Everyone assumes you want to be web designer/developer or mobile app developer.What are you interested in?Machine learning, neural networks, artificial intelligence, computer vision, computer graphics, digital signal processing, embedded systems, computer security (infosec, penetration testing), general software development (in java, c#, c++ etc), mobile development (android, iOS), web design (HTML, CSS etc), web development (HTML, CSS, js, dbms, back end languages like php, js, python...)?