Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#1

Post by mhorne27 » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 12:55 PM UTC

I want to learn to code. Which language should I start with, and why? Just signed up for Codeacademy...

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#2

Post by nyddle » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:08 PM UTC

Python seems like a good choice as it is simple and can be used in a wide variety of applications.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#3

Post by facorreia » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:10 PM UTC

I believe that you can't go really wrong with any of the languages offered at Codecademy. If you have to pick one I would suggest JavaScript. It's not uncommon for projects to involve another language + JavaScript, so the syntax knowledge should be useful for years.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#4

Post by mkaziz » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:15 PM UTC

facorreia wrote: post #3

I believe that you can't go really wrong with any of the languages offered at Codecademy. If you have to pick one I would suggest JavaScript. It's not uncommon for projects to involve another language + JavaScript, so the syntax knowledge should be useful for years.

I would actually recommend against using JS as your first, since it's so atypical.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#5

Post by cafard » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:22 PM UTC

What is your preferred computer? If Windows, then I must agree with myddle's recommendation of Python.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#6

Post by porter » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:33 PM UTC

Python. Just pick it and move on.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#7

Post by obeid » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:33 PM UTC

Python

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#8

Post by dennybritz » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:36 PM UTC

It doesn't really matter, but Python is a good choice. It's intuitive, has a great ecosystem, and lots of different practical applications.

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#9

Post by gb2312 » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:40 PM UTC

c#是我第一个学的语言。

Re: Ask HN: What language should I learn first?

#10

Post by danford » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 1:41 PM UTC

mkaziz wrote: post #4

facorreia wrote: post #3

I believe that you can't go really wrong with any of the languages offered at Codecademy. If you have to pick one I would suggest JavaScript. It's not uncommon for projects to involve another language + JavaScript, so the syntax knowledge should be useful for years.

I would actually recommend against using JS as your first, since it's so atypical.

I would have to disagree. It all depends on how you learn JS. I really liked the book JavaScript: The Definitive Guide 6th Ed. which at many points talked about the differences between JS and C. As someone who learned JS as a first language, I find the syntax is close enough to C and C-Like languages to make picking them up fairly easy, but I'm still a novice and while I know JS pretty well I've only dabbled in C, D, and Rust as lower level languages. I found these languages to be almost like "extended" JavaScript because I didn't have many issues reading simple functions, and that's why I think it's a good language to start on, you can learn how to actually read and understand code with C-like syntax which, for me, made understanding lower level C-like code seem a lot easier.

Plus I think JS is fun to use because of how fast you can see your work "come to life". JS is also in high demand.