STOP Learning These Programming Languages (for Beginners)

Stop trying to learn every programming language. In this video I'm going to tell you which languages you should avoid (if you're new to programming).

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[AndySterkowitz]

What programming language did you choose to be your first?

[kevinvikan]

To me Javascript was the first one. This is because I started learning to code with a few books that have interactive content that happen to be about Javascript.

[user]

At my university, we started with C as the introductory language. Once you know and understand the concepts, it's trivially easy to learn a more high level language or go into an object oriented language. I'm happy the program made the choice to teach us C first.

[j.l.]

C was my first language because of Harvard's CS-50. It was a pain in the beginning for sure, but I think Harvard has that same idea of C being the "right" way to be introduced to CS. After that I spent time with JS a little before settling on Python and SQL. I use Python every day for work automating my workflow and developing network applictations for Cisco platforms.

[aybgim]

I couldn't disagree more. I learned C++ first, then Java, then Python, and became productive fairly quickly with each of them. But having decades of programming experience, I still find JavaScript unnecessarily complicated, and actually prefer Typescript. I personally would never recommend JS as the first language. Python may be OK but you will still miss very important concepts. Setting up a dev environment with C++ or Java is easy - just get a decent IDE. And most importantly: static typing is your best friend while learning to code. It will help you to avoid bad habits at the very beginning.

[paulkeating]

Hey Andy big fan, you helped me when days were tough going the self taught route, but I'd have to majorly disagree about C# /Java, These are widely use and have big communities like you said, But more importantly it can teach you about strictly typed languages which makes move over to say something like Javascript a breeze and once you are there you practically get Typescript for free. I dont think its hard to install visual studio and get up and running. Most of the free coding courses will even hold your hand throughout this whole process.

[blacktigershearthstoneadve]

Programming is hard. Just be a taxi driver.

[r.b.ratieta]

Funny thing, after dabbling with different languages, your conclusions were similar to mine. I did JavaScript in college because that's what they started people in the CS pathway on. I didn't finish college, but I was intrigued by the analytical and experimental parts of programming that I started experimenting with other languages. I tried C next, which, like you mentioned, was readable for a novice in terms of what the code is generally trying to say, but a bit of a learning curve. Other people recommended Python as a starter language, and that's what I'm working on right now, and while I get that JavaScript was considered a good starter language by my college, Python actually made more sense to me because, yes, while bloated compared to C and Assembly, Python is more or less like, "If you can organize your drawers, folders and binders, Python will make a lot of sense to you."

Thus far my goal is to learn/master Python, then eventually work my way back down to the C languages, then eventually Assembly.

If I could land a job with it that would be great, but honestly, even if I don't, I just like the ability to "talk" to machines and use them to create things. There's a fascination aspect alongside it that extends beyond sheer practicality.

Got to keep the brain active and neurons healthy. The more you learn, the more capable you become, the better you can understand the world around you.

[gerardgauthier]

I always felt that the bottom up approach worked best for programmers that 'really' wanted to understand how programs work.
Myself, when asked, I always recommend C followed by ASM. I find if the student can master C (C language, extensions, standard library, bin utils, etc), then they can move into other languages with some understanding of what's going on under the hood.
Note: An additional plus for C is that its pretty much ubiquitous in programming.

[ericdavidheredia]

I remember watching some of your first videos, they really helped me out and I'm sure they're doing the same for other people as well. I went from a starbucks barista to a developer 4 years ago. Glad to see your channel is doing well, keep up the great work!

[bobbydavis]

Best thing I ever heard pertaining to C++ and difficulty was from Bjarne when asked to describe C++ difficulty, "C gives the opportunity to really shoot yourself in the foot if you aren't careful. C++ will blow your whole damn leg off." Or something to that effect, it was a quote that was shared to us on our first day of class in OOP in C++. C++ is an amazing and powerful tool for programming, but not an easy one.

[v.nd.tt.s]

Yeah, I personally initially wanted to start with C++ But then realized that I know too little to do anything so I decided to switch to learning Html/Css and that was pretty fun.
Then I did a tiny bit of JS, got to know how the learning process works and only then I switched to C#.

Generally it's not easy but I manage to make small bits of progress each time and keep myself engaged into the process.

I definitely don't get completely stuck.

[LegoSciGuy]

great video. If you had a child in 7th grade. and they were going to take a coding class, what would you like their coding language to be? Just learning through block coding or is there a language that is appropriate for that age that lends itself to a more advanced language in high school or beyond?

[traezeeofor]

Excellent video as always Andy, thanks so much.

But the PDF is 67MB yet just 12 pages; based on past experience I definitely believe it could be way smaller and still be of great quality.

Please keep doing what you do. You're an inspiration to so many of us.

[matthewfeatherston]

My first programming language was Java due to what my University made us learn... I did not find it that bad, but there was definitely a learning curve... My first programming job, which I still have after three years ;), made me learn C and OpenGL.... Now those were some heavy hitters between pointers and addresses it was enough to drive me crazy 😜

[vincentjohnston]

Gr8 inspiring video Andy! I am from the almost 'Atlantean' era of the Commodore 64 (which features in the John Wick movie series), the BBC home computer, the MSX, ZX Spectrum, ZX81 and fantastic OS's like MS DOS combined with COBOL and BASIC - in those days when you turned on the computer you had to write some coding just to search for a file. I currently enjoy HTML and CSS and still get a buzz from tweeking my website using code.

[hovardlee]

My first programming language was C++ cause it was required on 1st semester of my telecommunication studies. Regarding C++ you do not need to learn the low level stuff. You can focus on algorithms and data structures.

As database programmer I can say that writing good SQL queries is an art :) Also there are extensions like T-SQL or PL/SQL which allow you to write programming like procedures or functions. But this is a different world :)

If I could start again then Python.

[MgelikaXevi]

agreed. Another reason to skip C++ for now - it is more like "specific industry language" . For example, my city lacks demand for it as there are only few companies in related industries, but everything "web-based" is booming, because it has a wider circle of clients.
Also, a potential problem if you are self-taught - even those few job opportunities we have in C++ - have a requirement of a specific university degree.
So you might check your local job market. Mb it is different, but it is always aa good idea to be sure

[riazmahmudhossain]

Thanks Andy :) These tips help me a lot.

[jamesknauer]

Thank you for this. Did all your don't's and could not agree more, having been at it since 1978 (FORTRAN on punch cards). The best language I encountered for what it needed to do was Turbo PASCAL, and later Delphi, up to a point. Anything was possible, and if it wasn't fast enough you could get away with inline assembly code for the tricky bits.

Well done, Sir!