5-6 years ago, if you were just getting started, you only had a couple of choices, now there are dozens of choices. If you were starting from scratch again which language would you pick up first?
Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
1–10 of 13 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#2I'd still choose Java as my bread and butter language.
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#3Scheme, because of this book:
Why argue with the MIT folks?
Followed immediately by: C, Javascript, and a scripting language (Ruby or Python are good choices).
You've also got to work Java in there somewhere, just so you know where people are coming from. It could come first, or last, depending on your tastes.
If you love Windows technologies you can probably substitute C# for one of those things. Maybe even for several of them. I have never seen .NET but I hear good things about it from those who have.
If you can't stand SICP, or can't follow it (perhaps because you are seven years old?) then the initial choice is harder. Javascript is sitting on your desk right now, so it's an obvious possibility. Try Ruby or Python. Or just give in and learn PHP like everybody else seems to do. You'll run into problems, but you can fix them later.
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#4Python! Instead they tried to teach me pascal! A language that simultaneously sucks and isn't used that much! Good thing I forgot it all after I stopped learning it. Well, okay, maybe it didn't suck, I can't remember, but I tend to forget bad memories, so it probably did.
Then again, technically I didn't learn that much pascal anyway, so I don't really count it as my first language(and there was logo before it, but I learned even less of it).
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#55-6 years ago there were only a "couple of choices" compared to "dozens" now?
Nearly all of today's practical languages were around 5 - 6 years ago.. Perl, Python, C, C++, Java, Ruby, JavaScript, etc. Of the major languages only C# wasn't particularly well developed at that point (and Ruby lacked a good usage case at the time).
I doubt many here will chose a language that's come along in the last 5 years (Io, Clojure, Scala).. though I'd like to be surprised :)
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#6Assembly language.
I firmly believe that people will never use high-level languages well until/unless they understand how those high-level languages translate into machine code.
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#7C
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#8I started with assembly, moved to C, dabbled in C++ and some of the microsoft solutions (c#, VB), then moved to ruby for web stuff...
Cant say I would want to learn in a different order, but I do wish I would have moved out of my assembly language stage faster...
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#9Scheme, because of this book: http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ Why argue with the MIT folks? Followed immediately by: C, Javascript, and a scripting language (Ruby or Python are good choices). You've also got to work Java in there somewhere, just so you know where people are coming from. It could come first, or last, depending on your tastes. If you love Windows technologies you can probably substitute C# for one of tho…
I tried this. It hurt...I don't want to go into detail, but it hurt.
Re: Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first?
#10Python. I actually wanted to learn it in earnest around 2001-02, but never really pushed myself.
Given that I'm now attempting to make it my primary language, especially since django came out, I would love to have had 6-7 years of experience behind me.