Ask HN: learning web programming vs. tablet programming

So I am learning to program, a bit for fun a bit to see if I can start something of my own. The original plan was to learn web programming since I imagined web applications were both fun to develop and the best shot at a start-up. I took up Python and developed a simple file sharing application on Google App Engine (you can see it at myfilesinthesky.com but you don't lose anything if you don't).

Well, thinking about the interface and implementing the programming logic was actually fun. And it took 10% of the time. The other 90% was spent fighting with browsers' quirkiness and with Google App Engine (if I skipped GAE I would have fought with sys admin so not better I suppose). And that was teeth-cringing.

So I am not really sure web programming is that fun after all and the next step would be now to learn javascript to start doing browser-side wizardry which from what I'm reading around looks like as teeth cringing as it gets (ok, cobol programming is worse, I am sure).

And then I read Paul Graham's essays on tablets - paulgraham.com/tablets.html - and I am thinking now that ipad programming can be still promising business wise but much more fun since you have full control of the device and building native apps. No more need to get crazy with browser UI and sys admin stuff!

Before I spend the w.e. of the next six months learning C, obj-C and Cocoa, let me ask you, what would you advise to an aspiring programmer, learn web programming or dive into tablet programming?

Find something that you would like to have but that is not currently available and then build that, that in turn will decide for the platform and associated toolchain.

It is much better that way because you can't really make the case for what is 'better' for an aspiring programmer, web programming, tablet programming or any other 'kind' of programming per se. It all depends on what you want to achieve and programming is just a means to an end.

Also, under the hood all 'kinds' of programming are essentially equal (in spite of many religious arguments to the contrary), it's in the end just a way to very specifically tell a computer what you want it to do and in that respect any programming will serve as a way to get better at every other kind of programming.

The more you do it, the better you get, just like with every other skill.

Good luck!

>> Well, thinking about the interface and implementing the programming logic was actually fun. And it took 10% of the time. The other 90% was spent fighting with browsers' quirkiness and with Google App Engine (if I skipped GAE I would have fought with sys admin so not better I suppose). And that was teeth-cringing.

welcome to programming. programming is the gentle art of staying sane while dealing with the stupid choices of the programmers that have come before you (when you do this long enough, you will start to appreciate the difficulty in making good programming choices.) the deeper your knowledge of a given stack, the less pain you will experience. What's that old saying? "An expert is someone who has made most of the common mistakes in their field."

Some platforms are better than others, targeting one platform is always easier than targeting multiple platforms with the same codebase.

However, iOS programming is far less instantly-rewarding than web programming. It also requires a deeper understanding of the way computers work, because the resource-constrained device does not play well with high-level languages.

I suggest that you learn c, obj-c and cocoa because it will make you a well-rounded programmer. after 6 months, you will then know if you like low-level stuff or web stuff better. if you want to be doing the next thing for 20 more years, it is worth 6 months to determine what fits you best in an empirical way.

Check out http://www.phonegap.com/ you might like it.

p.s. In ui design for the web, put a link to do the thing whenever you talk abotu the thing. for instance, on your home page you say 1. Log in or sign up. you should have those words be the same link as in the upper right. similarly, when you say upload on the left, you could also just have a big upload screen if the user hasnt uploaded any files yet.

It will be a good learning experience, you will be able to instantly test the code, and there are no two ways about it. Few hacks or tricky stuff. It's a pretty straightforward platform.

Also, you can easily earn money with this, and the money is purely passive. No server administration, etc. You can finish it, put it in the store and run off for the next year.

Also, you learn about memory management and device constraints.

If you want something even more interesting, consider a use-case like using a tablet to control some hardware (like a lightbulb).