Which programming language should you learn first?

Software engineer Preethi Kasireddy answers your questions!

Question: “I want to get started with programming but I don’t know know where to start. What programming language should I pick? Should I focus on front-end, back-end, machine learning… or something else? There’s so many options to choose from, it’s overwhelming.”

About Preethi:
Preethi Kasireddy is an engineer based in San Francisco. She's an avid learner who taught herself programming and machine learning, and is passionate about understanding things clearly and explaining them to others via blog posts.

She was previously a front-end & API engineer at Coinbase, a digital currency platform, where she helped architect and rebuild their front-end in React, Mobx and Redux. Prior to that, she was a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs. She studied Systems Engineering at USC.

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[ParmMohan-usrn]

Wow, She is SMART! She knows exactly what she is talking about! Looking forward to more videos!

[johnjaramillo]

Don't know if you read these comments, Ms. Kasireddy, but thank you very much for your insight. I am just starting out in programming, and one thing I notice is that classes don't really offer direction. This has been a big help. Thank you again.

[horridohobbies]

Your key points:

- easy feedback loop; immediacy of results
- easy setup; no need for complex IDE
- dynamically typed
- ubiquitous; program on any platform
- versatile

However, JS has downsides, too:

- it's a very sloppy language; it has numerous WATs and WTFs that can distract beginners
- it's an inferior way to learn about object-oriented programming, which is the most important paradigm in the industry
- beyond the language basics (like conditionals, loops, functions, etc.), JS is a rather large, complex language; ES8.0 has a language spec of over 885 pages!!!

This is what's in store for beginners as they advance in their education.

It's hard to dispute the easy feedback loop, but all the other points are hardly unique to JS. Python is built into macOS and Linux. Installing Python under Windows is no big deal.

Ruby is also very easy to install. Both languages are dynamically typed and extremely versatile. I don't think it's an automatic win for JS.

[bobsburger]

Probably the best explanation video thus far....other videos ramble on irrelevant material or promote ads...this is very helpful

[JavierCarrion]

Nice I am in the same journey started with Python and now I understanding with JavaScript. Thank you for your insights.

[ProgramWithErik]

JavaScript should be taught in schools. It's not perfect, don't get me wrong. There is a reason that one of the best selling books in JavaScript is called "JavaScript: The Good Parts", because there are certainly parts that aren't so good. Nevertheless, it's such an easy language to jump into, and the ecosystem is so huge, it's well worth learning.

[sandeepvk]

JS if you want to be in Web. Python for Data sciences. Swift for Iphone. C++ for Cryptocurrency.

[Daniel-ljbo]

Well balanced opinion, there are pros and cons to everything, this is a very pragmatic view that admits the negatives and puts them in context.

[PabloPazosGutierrez]

it doesn't matter, choose anyone and start doing stuff :)

[thebestnerd]

im glad I started with javaScript using khan academy. if I wasn't for that I would have not got into programming.

[themarchhare]

When you spoke about becoming hooked on Javascript I could almost feel your joy. That's cool. I hope I feel the same way ....off I go :)

[MrMoises]

I am very new in programing, just started last week learning Python and so far I like it, also I started to learn HTML this week at FreeCodeCamp and I also like it very much specially the flexibility of leaning it anywhere using my android phone or mac. I don't know if I will continue learning both languages at the same time or if programing is for me but I will give it a try. Thank you for posting this video, it was very helpful.

[nirvana]

I personally think C is the first language one should learn and then C++ and then anything else.

[excxmoody]

That's how JavaScript has been for me over html/css. Dissecting those two over JS extremely easy to follow but JS while I'm slowly picking it up by viewing another persons code and reading about it, has been fun to figure out.

[overtheunder]

I would definitely start with HTML and some css if you like. It’s good to help you just understand how code really works. Not loads, just enough to get you knowing the basics of code. Then move on the the rest, like JavaScript

[Efficienthacks]

You make some good points. It really depends on the person.

Personally, I'd start with C# or Java because the development tools give you autocomplete and real time syntax-error highlighting. and debugging is pretty easy.

Once you get the fundamentals, the best way is to crack open some existing code and try to modify it - you'll pick up the language way faster that way.

[SuprunAlexey]

Machine learning nice choice, I think it's very good choice

[cyrilwaechter]

Thanks a lot for this testimony.
I love python but your argument are pretty good ! I totally understand what you encountered. If I was not already «in love» with programming before starting to learn python I would have probably give up. It took me a while to get further than doing useless loop and calculation which only works on console/IDLE. Actually, starting with Flask or Django libraries for python are probably good ways to avoid this feeling of doing so much useless things before getting into real things.

[SSEnrich]

I don't even know if I have started with programming languages. I have started with freeCodeCamp. First in line there is HTML and CSS. Which are mark up languages? At least HTML is. So I guess javascript will be my first. After that I have heard so much about python and I will try to learn that even if it is not part of fCC. Also I hear a lot about react, angular, jquery, mongoDB and flutter. I have to look more into that exactly what it is later. Finally I will have a look into the job market. What language does the market want the most. In my area I got the impression it could be useful to know .NET. I haven't decided on anything yet though.

[brucepark]

Thank you for this insightful message! Great stuff.