Which programming language should I learn?

HTML? C++? Python?
Depends on how well you already know programming.
I went from Python to C++ and do some HTML on the side. I'm also starting to dabble in C#. Just depends on what you already know

 

Ruby on Rails and php mabye? Sorry I don't really know I don't don web based stuff but this is what comes to head when I read this.

 

My first programming language was PHP 5 years ago. Why? PHP is the most dominate programming language when it comes to developing server side web applications. I've learned a little ruby but haven't really mastered the syntax. Every server now days runs PHP but that's not always the case with ruby. Ruby is also the most common when it comes to content management systems like WordPress. Plus PHP is faster than ruby. Although a lot of programmers love ruby because the syntax is similar to Java and C++ and people hate that PHP stays behind the times due to legacy support. Ruby is upcoming but PHP is the past, and present.

If you want to get into web development, make sure you know basic HTML and CSS before moving into PHP and Javascript. What's the difference? PHP is processed on a server (thus a server side programming language). It's primary used for accessing database and creating websites that are dynamic and has a lot of user interaction (like logging into a website or a database of videos). Javascript manipulates HTML (the code that makes websites) after the page has processed through a server.

So what language should you start with? If your main focus is web development, I'd start with PHP. It's simple to learn, extremely well documented, supported by every web host, and fast. Want to make a website but might want to code for desktop? Try learning python. It's harder for developing websites but can also be used for desktops. Want to eventually learn Java or C++, start with Ruby on rails.

My recommendation is PHP but it's ultimately up to you. I'd recommend you checking out http://youtube.com/PHPAcademy. I knew nothing about programming and that's what got me started (plus the guy is a cute english guy)

 

If you want to go with something that has a wide range of potential uses (including web sites), go with C#. I love .NET and there's now a free non-express version of Visual Studio which is the greatest IDE out there.

 

Don't get hung up on what you learn on, you'll have to learn a new language in 3-5 years anyway. The concepts and thinking behind it are more important the syntax you memorize.

30 years as a software developer. If you "GET" programming it doesn't matter what language you know.

 

JavaScript pops up pretty much everywhere these days, so its a good language to learn if you also would want to branch out into non-web stuff later Try out node.js for example, you can get some cool stuff up and running pretty fast with node and mongodb, but it might not be the best place to start if you don't have any programming experience.

 

I would suggest Python. It will get you going nice and quickly. And there's plenty of documentation and tutorials around for it. And also a wide array of fun applications you can build with it.

Personally I learned with PHP before moving to Python and other languages.

 

Basic, fortran, pascal, cobol, dbase, c

First languages I learned, dbase was the only one we learned on a IBM PC. Yep, PC, not XT, or AT. The rest we used our schools mainframe.

Since then I've learned at least 20 other languages, all the way up to erlang.

Java, php, python are all good choices.

 

python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python python

1) easy to learn
2) u dont work for the programming language, the programming language works for YOU
3) great tutorials on the web
4) short code do great things

Once u learn python u can decide if ur really interested into more programming, then u can start learning according to the branches u like, for example C or Java which are popular but require more time learning and takes more time producing working programs.



EDIT:
Many ppl suggests the first languages THEY learned.
I learned C first.
But i dont recommend it to begin with.
Learn python and u wont break your head over trivial stuff, it'll be way more fun as well to write 100 lines of code and have a working game, instead of 10000 lines of code in C and spending hours debugging those linking errors, null pointer exceptions and memory leaks.

 

Depends on why you want to learn. If you aspire to get a programmer job, check job offers. You'll probably stumble upon Java, probably shell scripting, things like that... You can give them a try.
If you want to get results quick, and have a bit of fun, check Python (2.7). For web related stuff, check other posts above - html, php, etc.
Now if you really want to understand what is going on, on the deepest level, and have enough free time in your hands, learn Assembler - ARM or Intel. It will kill your boredom, and probably fry your brain on the process, but it's A LOT of fun.

 

Yup. Learn how to understand and think object oriented programming. Learn relational database logic. Some days I might be working in asp classic our vb6 winforms with tsql for sprocs, some days I might be dealing with vb.net with oracle. I'm only 27 but the majority of my work is in legacy or porting legacy. At least I'm not on the as400 team.

The biggest short coming a lot of our new developers have is they don't know that much db stuff. Learn programming and database logic and design, get a degree, then ????, then profit!

My knowledge is that I have experience developing computerized maintenance management systems and manufacturing execution systems. This means big sites that make fda or beauty products definitely have a purpose for me for both those types of systems.

 

Don't know how the job market looks today but a few years ago they predicted a 5 million worldwide shortage of cobol programmers. I would personally go for that and work anywhere in the world (preferably the Caribbean) for huge amount of money!

 

Try to learn C/C++ and Java. They are universal languages and widely supported. You can also try learning Visual Basic.NET which is my favorite

 

PHP, Java, or Python.

 

Hands down, I'd recommend Python 3. It's the easiest language for beginners, I'd say. It's easy to get a lot of stuff going, even stuff that seems "complicated," like a web server. I was quite surprised, for example, it's possible to create a fucking TLS-enabled TCP server in 50 lines or less. (In case that doesn't mean anything to you, it's a secure (meaning both encrypted and authenticated) server that processes requests over the internet.)

As a professional software developer, I hate Visual Basic .NET.

I don't recommend C or C++ for beginning programmers, as it's a great way to get frustrated and burn out fast.

Python all the way.

 

This is an old thread.

 

The languages that I know and use every day are Python, C and Fortran. I can also read some IDL (Interactive Data Language), which is a proprietary programming language used by some for scientific data analysis.

Java or python are decent general purpose programming languages if you're just starting to dip your toes into programming. Don't bother too much with how they look, focus more on the general ideas behind what you're trying to learn.

There are other programming languages such as php, js, go, julia, etc., but they're not really general purpose languages. Learn them only if you know what you're doing.

Finally, I'd avoid C++ like the plague. That beast is not for beginners.