Do You Need To Learn A Second Programming Language?

Learning a second programming language is a big undertaking, but it is something nearly every developer needs to do at one point or another. In this video I talk about the benefits of learning a second language, when you should learn a second language, and how to actually go about learning a second language to make it as easy as possible.

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⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction
00:41 - Caveat
01:28 - Benefits of learning multiple languages
05:40 - When to learn a second language
07:17 - How to learn a second language

#WebDevelopment #WDS #JavaScript

[WebDevSimplified]

08:10 - I meant to say Lisp not Lua. Lua and JS are actually very similar to one another.

[dawnfrazier]

For me learning a second programming language like C++ after learning JavaScript helped me review the basics of concepts like loops, objects, and classes after I struggled with them for so long while using JavaScript. Because of learning C++, I am much more comfortable with these concepts in JavaScript and how JavaScript handles these concepts differently.

[xx_kyon]

I felt even more assured of myself after this video. You have no idea how refreshing it was to hear you, that really removed a lot of stress. Thank you!

[Chalisque]

If you only learn one language, something akin to 'overfitting' occurs, whereby you think in terms of all the idiosyncrasies of your chosen language. Learning a few languages helps you learn what is common to all programming, and to be able to think outside the box that your chosen language presents to you. To a man with only a hammer...

[biscuithammer]

learning a 2nd language == forgetting some of the 1st language 😅

[jafffar]

Big YES, I was having hard time learning Typescript, but when I stopped and learnt C# instead, every thing clicked and just like that, I started writing typescript naturally.

[Chalisque]

It is more important to be able to quickly learn what is in demand, than either to learn what is in demand or to have learned what is in demand. Software development is a moving target, and you need to be able to keep up with that moving target. Else you'll just have learned what was popular last week.

[FredtheWebGuyTV]

Great rundown! One other benefit I've found is it helps improve your own efficiency when working on project teams where your secondary language is the primary of someone else you're both working on a project with. All kinds of workflow benefits there. Definitely something recruiters like to see.

[techyjc]

Just a thought/idea… I’ve found it useful to start with a medium sized project for learning a language. I often then break the project into smaller constituent parts exploring and writing the different pieces of code for those, like smaller test projects. Then you can refer to your smaller test projects (they have direct context to your overall need/requirement) as you build the final project. I found those smaller code projects are like waypoints in completing the final project. It can also depends on how you’re motivated but learning something new often is based on a need/reason. So having a larger project can give more impetus for learning the different coding elements. I suppose goal oriented learning if you like.

[user]

Yes! According to the market: PHP, Python, Java, C++, C#, .NET, Assembly and binary code are a must for an internship!

[SachinSharma]

Looks like the rust simplified course is coming.. 🦀 .. if yes waiting for it ❤

[erics]

Yup, I like using leetcode challenges to increase my comfort level with a new language or programming method. Last Advent of Code, the challenge was to use Typescript typing everything fully without any type errors, 'any' types, or ! to force things.

[alexandramoldovan]

This video should have 10000 likes! I have no idea why a lot of people tell js devs not to learn a second language 🤔I tried Python but I don't see myself using it daily so I'm going to learn Java to understand OOP better.

[sudo_apt_install_youtube]

Even if you don't use Rust for any real projects, I recommend every dev learn it. It's made my Python and TypeScript code better overall now that I have a deeper understanding of how the code works under all of the abstractions

[BenyamDegefu]

Thank you. I was actually struggling on being good at multiple languages which I am intermediate at JavaScript and C# and basic on React and Python. Then I consulted ChatGPT 😊 then said It is better if I continue practicing JavaScript and React because I told ChatGPT I was not successful on having intermediate knowledge on programming. The solution is mastering one then move on to next favorite programming.

[NintendoJimmy]

I use JavaScript for frontend and C# for backend.

[waltersumofan]

web scraping app or script works as a great comparison system. Python is known for that but there are libraries in Ruby, JS, and GO all have networking abilities so approaches would be similar and you can learn which language out of those works for you. Rust as a first or second language I don't think you would benefit from what it does until after you've seen a variety of approaches.

[Farruh_]

I've similar question, should I learn back end, if now I'm front-end developer and i like it, but I have a great opportunity to learn back end

[willyhorizont]

I'm on my way to learning my 20th programming language (Groovy) after having learned JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, Perl, Julia, Lua, Ruby, R, Kotlin, Swift, Dart, Visual Basic .NET, C#, Matlab, Octave, Wolfram, Raku, Scala.
After that, I want to learn Elixir, F#, Crystal, Java, Mojo, Clojure, and Livescript.

[QuantumCanvas]

As I'm capable enough to build a fairly complex full stack next.js application I think it's a good time to learn python and go as my 2nd and 3rd language.