What programming language did you choose to be your first?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 😜

Funny thing. As 3D Technical Generalist wanting to go more into Technical Art and having to chose between C++, C# and Python, decided to go with Python and C# mainly cause of Python being widely used as scripting language for major software in game dev, but also as regular programing language and recenlty i fallen in love with it cause i automate everything, and C# mostly cause its Unity's scripting language and me having the most experience with that software (and i love C#). I tried C++ and maybe will try it next year but man i am pretty happy with my choices. Good video tho

I think the most important aspect of learning anything is the talent and patients of the teacher and the quality of the learning materials. Also, realize that you don't learn the entire programming language all at once. For any language, you may even never use large chunks of it.

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.

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?

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!

I agree with this, as someone starting the self-taught route, I found that JS (along with html/css) allowed me to keep interested in the journey, especially after failing then finally succeeding at some of the most "simple" projects.

As an Engineer with 25 years experience I love to see guys like you really helping the next generations to come. Your advice is balanced and very sound. I hope all deva wannabes listen and follow you.

Thank you! I am preparing to add web coding to my list of skills and I was overwhelmed by the number of programs. Now I feel better about streamlining my course list and I can stay focused on what I need to know for now. 😀

Great video. I do think that learning some of the more challenging languages are good to give people an idea of what's involved in setting up an environment but I agree that it's better to learn something that's simpler to start coding in straight away. It removes the distractions and lets you focus on the fundamentals.

Started with PHP/MySQL 20 years ago, afterwards I did some R script for a research project, went for Python like a year ago and ended up with Java & getting a career switch into the tech as Java developer quite recently. It doesn’t matter where with what language you start. You just need to love doing it and if you have no idea if you would ever love programming, I’d agree that JavaScript will get you the best starting thrills to love or hate programming.

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.

It depends on purpose and context. A good language for teaching programming and/or CS concepts. If I had to choose, I'd go with Pascal or C. They're very good for elucidating concepts like control flow, procedural programming, etc including data structures and algorithms. They also enforce good habits. Memory management isn't that onerous, since much of the time you can use fixed-length arrays, rather than directly deal with the mechanics. But on the other hand, it's useful to know how memory and addressing actually work, and not just treat the machine like a magic box.

I would definitely recommend to start coding in C++ or Java. These only two languages can build your programming concepts at the best level.

Long time user of Excel and spatial data for work I learned SQL and R Recently I tried JS and Python for fun Each of them have pros and cons, depending on the intended use but all are not too difficult to approach And Yes, you must have discipline and commitment to get something out of them

May I ask a question? Does VB fit writing a medical app to find how to use herbal knowledge to write a herbal prescription for a disease? If it cannot handle the diagnosis complexibility, what language is better to use? It also involves some kinds of database build up. Should I also learn another language to meet my needs? As a beginner coder, please give me your advice. Thanks.

After 3 years of learning coding I have realized that programming is not for me. Too burnt out😢

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

I needed this video last September. My 11th grade daughter, wanting to impress her dad, took an intro to computer programming class during 1st semester this school year. Come to find out it was taught in C#, and she ended up frustrated the entire semester. She got a decent grade mostly from doing well on tests and turning in extra credit reports on computer history topics. :-/

As a CS student I can say that it's always good to rely on a language that needs only a few things to get up and running. However, I may also say that when I started, Java was the language I was introduced to CS to and, now that I am moving on to automating things with python and developing web pages with JS, the transition between a language like Java or C# to a high level language is way more easy and quick than doing it backwards.

About learning C++ in my experience I can't say I mastered the language, but coming from C#/python what I noticed is: The language itself is not hard. What pains you is to learn what the error messages are. You need to learn how the code gets processed, that is: Preprocessor -> Compiler -> Linker -> Executable. Learn a little on wtf the template errors mean. The rest is basically the same as the other languages (logic and stuff) you just get to do you memory management. If I'm wrong in anything pls correct me as I'm still learning as well :)

The moment I saw you discard C# and Java for "being difficult to set up" I knew you were going to recommend JS and Python. I agree on Java and maybe C# not being great for a first language because OOP should not be the first thing you learn. But I think another thing you need to consider for a first language is not having to deal with weird errors like JS with its type coercion and Python with identation errors. I still think C++ is a great learning tool because while you might have access to complex things, you won't stumble on them accidentally. By the time you know what a pointer is, you can already move on to OOP.

I think it depends a bit on the context of your learning. I learned SQL first because I needed it for work. It drove me to finally dive deep into Python so I could automate much of my SQL work.

i have build many projects and have 2 y of exp. Can not find a job. What language should i chose?

My first programming language was java in the university and I am very glad for that, putting the time into it. Subjectively it was quite a good experience to learn having a decent IDE helping you out with a debugger and other build in tools. Also the object-oriented paradigm felt natural for me with it's explicit static types giving you compiler errors, finding the problems earlier in the process. I sticked to Java since for me it has a nice feedback-loop to it and a lot of good resources. It is very hard to give a good advice. You may should try for yourself.

I agree with your suggestion. I went to a university and got a degree in computer science and this is the order that I was taught while in school. C++ (3 courses) C (1 course) Java (1 course) Swift (1 course) PHP/HTML/SQL (1 course) Python (1 course) And graduating from university, my first programming job we actually used C#.

I'm absolutely not an expert but I feel like it's probably not a bad idea to pick a language you can see yourself working a job with in general. Personally, I picked R programming and Python because I'm an undergraduate math major. I'm hoping to get into a Ph.D. program so that I can do research in statistical learning theory and then eventually become a data scientist or statistician.

So what if I’ve already started learning python I’m working on learning c and I’m going to college in two days to start learning C++ first semester I don’t have to do this I am knocking out, prerequisites at a community college, and my C++ class is not required

This video is my introduction to you, and despite my initial skepticism, your summary seems accurate and practical. Thank you-- I subscribed.

I would still suggest "The C Programming Language" 2nd Ed by Kernighan & Ritchie - brilliant book - anything Kernighan was involved with is superb. the book is short, good exercises and C is a simple language with 32 keywords. You are going to have to know about memory management, stacks and heaps if you want to be any sort of a decent and safe programmer, imho. And learning at this level makes the concepts you will meet in higher level languages much easier to grasp.

A website running JavaScript is NOT a "JavaScript Application". If you make something like a calculator, that is a "utility". A web application entails utilizing read/write access to actual data that would be saved somewhere, and you can't do that with JavaScript.

Andy, I've got something for you. a challenge. I'm new at all of this coding thing, and I'm looking for another laptop. Would you take a chance on an older HP Elitebook 840 G3 with 16GB of ram, and 512 SSD? And it's only $200, or wait for an Acer newest laptop with the same specs and cost a little over $400?

I'm new to coding and got C# setup without a problem. Also BepInEx documentation is really straight forward on how to compile plugins against a game. I think saying skip C# because of a somewhat steep setup process can hurt the fun some people can be having.

Thank you Andy 🙏🏽 You have lifted me up from a deep pit as I am a beginner struggling ☺️ Our school teachers chose C# for our very first language.. some dropped out of class, its so frustrating at times..

How are you doing? I'm having a hard time opening the self-taught studying that you have. Would you happen to have it in a different format?

I decided to go with python first a couple weeks ago. Only had an extremely basic knowledge of html and css structure from a high school web-design class (20 years ago). I recently purchased a book on Python that also dives into SQL. Curious why they have them together in one book. Is it common to use both languages together?

C++ is widely used and important for game development, finance, robotics, systems-level programming and large, complex software systems. It is also the language that many libraries, frameworks and tools are written in, making it a valuable language to know. Not the friendliest, but I still think its worth while.

Lord have mercy on the guy who picks up C++ as their beginner language. That being said - the one mate that did this is the best programmer out of all of us in my circle now lmao

I want to do Harvard CS50 introduction to computer science course but the issue I'm having is that I want to major in Java but Harvard cs50 is focused on C language. Should I go ahead or look for another course?

What should you pick if your most recent experience is VBA and you did pretty well and were comfortable with it?

Great video. I came to the same conclusion after sampling many languages. But between JavaScript and Python I would put Python at the top since there's a HIGH potential for a learning developer to get bogged down in all of the frameworks and trying to figure out the "best" way to do something in JavaScript. Python has GREAT documentation and is less of a moving target IMO. All that being said, JavaScript will probably be the winner in the long term with so many things being web-centric.

In school we started with sql and now doing Java. I don’t think it’s so bad to start with. Of course syntax in java is a bit complex but sql for example is very easy in my opinion and has a use too. Knowing how to see search data in relational databases is quite useful if you want to extract data out of a huge database

Ok. Nice video. Still I have a question. I picked python as my first language. I went threw some books (automate boring stuff with python - half way, etc.), but I quickly lost motivation to continue. Only think, what might interest me is develop apps for androind. Please, do anyone have recommendation for any framwork, tutorial or language that can help me to transit from python to apps development?

Amazing video. I’m at the beginning of my journey into IT, and I know I’m gonna need a little bit of programming when I eventually end up in cybersec (my dream field). Programming, however, is my WEAKEST area. Networking is a breeze. Server administration isn’t as bad as my scripting, so. Anyway, thanks for the video! Short intro and I didn’t even realize the end was the end 😂 definitely earned a sub from me.

- Java *- I disagree* In fact, the reason I would not recommend JavaScript for beginners is *specifically* because it's a dynamically typed language. While that gives you more freedom, it definitely has a tendency to create hard-to-deal-with errors that would be easily avoided in a statically-typed language. Maybe Java specifically is not for everyone, but I definitely go with a statically-typed option whenever someone asks me what they should learn first.

I started in the early 90s with C64's Basic. After purchasing my first own PC in the mid 90s I wrote some small programs with GWBasic and QuickBasic. In 1997 I learned Pascal and a collegue showed me Borland Delphi, and I used Delphi for over 10 years. Coming from procedural Pascal, it took some time until I learned the concepts of OOP, and 2010 I switched to C#, which is still my favorite language. In the 2010s I learned Python to write some Scripts at work, did some little stuff with Java and a little bit PHP. I would recommend to start with a language that has a C-like syntax because most modern languages use this syntax. The language should be also object orientated and type safe.

Correct me if i am wrong (I'm a beginner). Ive heard swift is good long term since swift is used for all platforms not just app development and now that ar is out, I'm sure most of the software inside vision pro is going to be using swift as well.

I would still make an argument for C#. Building GUIs or games with Unity/Godot can be pretty engaging. If you go the web route your are bound to need to learn a plethora of other technologies - bash/linux, html/css, JavaScript, databases, …

I'd say 2-5 years through your journey, it's good to know BOTH javascript and python another domain specific language of your choice (Rust/C++ for systems dev, Kotlin/Swift for mobile, etc.). Most software projects use a combination of languages and you get paid good money for knowing different parts of a stack.

I'm just a beginning programmer, or perhaps an intermediate, but I've found Swift and SwiftUI to be a great experience. I don't have much to compare to, but I find Swift to be very readable, and as I understand it, pretty safe to use. I read some Python from Blender plugin development, but can't say I'm in love with reading that. Sometimes "language culture" just carries over, and I can't for the life of me see the benefit that some programmers have for terseness using single letter constants or whatnot. In Swift you often see long constant and function names that make everything so much clearer. Has nothing to do with the language itself, but as I said... once you're in you try to conform to what others are doing and the Swift-way fits me better. Due to lack of guru-ness, I shouldn't really comment, but I think Swift is good due to type safety and explicitness as well. I'm not buying the "a pen is not a great tool, because every time I try to dig up my garden I have to waste so many hours due to the ineffectiveness of it"-argument. You should only evaluate Swift and Kotlin in the context for which they were made. No need to "compare" tools for different purposes.

Thanks Andy :) These tips help me a lot.

Just play the standard and learn C as your first language. Although many would say that low-level languages like C need you to take extra effort in stuff like memory management, I personally feel that this gives you great opportunity to experience the fundamental theories in programming hands-on. For example, I think that learning pointers in C helps a great deal when it comes to understanding why you need immutable classes in OOP.

I code in C++ and should be earning a fair bit of money doing so once the project is well enough along to get funding, but I recommend Rust for people who need to write fast code that doesn't pause for garbage collection. (C++ vectors pause for resizing, which can stop things just like a garbage collector.) Instead of Python, which is slow, I recommend Haskell, which has a REPL and a compiler; when compiled to machine code, it's around 1/3 as fast as C. Or you could use Julia, which also has a REPL and a compiler. I agree about C#, Swift, and Kotlin. They are mainly one-platform languages; I write cross-platform code. It's possible, I've heard, to run C# on Linux, but I'd rather use a language that's designed cross-platform.

I have reading writing difficulties how to make this program visual studio code speak to me when I put my cursor on a tag. I am learning python can you help me

I am learing coding right now, and I found this video really helpful, I am learning html and java, but I find it quite hard but I'm going to keep on going to chase my dream!

I speak "a few" languages :) and have been coding for 25 years now and I think your suggestions are good for the most part. In my opinion PHP is a good way to learn to code because it is not "too easy" and covers a great deal of ground, conceptually. Having some resistance at the start is good for grappling with code. I didn't start with PHP by the way. I am merely suggesting from personal experience with young coders. Mine was indeed C++. If any new coders find this to be helpful I also think Python and JavaScript and yes, PHP are good. They give you 3 distinctly different concepts to master and you will develop a great deal of coding flexibility if you take them on. That being said, if you do take on C++ learning other languages becomes mostly trivial. That is a good thing. Good luck with whatever you choose. Also expect big changes in coding concepts over the next few years. AI will change how we do things.

My first language was C#. It's a bit hard in the beginning but once you learn a a good amount of it..... You have no idea how fast you'll learn other languages like Java, JavaScript, Python, C++ and now I'm even learning C. I totally recommend it!

In my IT-HTL (HTL=Höhere technische Lehranstalt = higher technical college/school) we started with C#. Installing an IDE (like VS) and the SDK is not that hard. However, when it comes to fun programs and ideas you are right. At first you are very much bound to console applications, which can be hard to have fun with/make fun little projects. In school the teacher gives you the tasks (and hopefully tries to make them fun). We for example coded a chess game, a tic-tac-toe game and a Connect Four game. PS: actually we started with drawing pseudo code the first ~ 1-2 months.

What are your thoughts on Dart? I saw a course that combines Dart & Flutter that looks interesting.

I think starting with a strictly typed language is probably far better in the long term as a beginner. The learning curve might be slightly steeper in the very very beginning but i think trying to introduce those OOP concepts later on might end up being more confusing. Java and C# also have type inference anyway so its really not a bad first language either way.

Python is god tier. My first language was Python, I started coding when I first entered high school. Later on, for my first year of university, I was introduced to a compiler language for the first time, C. Even though we were only learning basics of C, it was still pretty challenging because you had to learn how to pass by reference. I'm currently in my first year of software engineering and we are learning Java. The course is great as it introduces OOP concepts and design patterns to help maintain the readability of your code. However, Java enforces you to utilize OOP concepts- you cannot write a program in Java without having 2000 lines of getter and setter methods. From my experience, do not code in C languages if you are a BEGINNER, you waste too much time learning the fundamentals. Start with a simple language like Python, then spend a bit of time with Java. This will help build a solid foundation later on for more complex languages like the C languages. I also recommend doing leetcode problems even if coding is just one of your many hobbies. I hope this helps!

Great stuff! Thanks for this video.

I'm not sure I'd recommend Javascript! It's really hard to get right with so many pitfalls! I think you have some good points around downloading tools to get going - gone are the days when GW-BASIC is part of DOS - but there's plenty of other things out there to try! And as a seasoned developer PHP is good. It's come a long way from the old days when it was a horrible mess and it's actually quite nice!

That's interesting. I started in preparatory school with flowcharts to understand basic concepts like IF, FOR, and stuff like that. Then we moved on to C++, but I never did anything spectacular, just simple things. I didn't really understand what I was doing deep down; I was still stuck in the flowchart mindset. In fact, I got a 10 in Flowcharts, but I had difficulties with C++ because I wanted to understand the "why" behind things, like "static void" and stuff, but the teacher just said, "That's how you write it." Anyway, the only thing I remember from C++ is that you had to declare variables at the beginning and the famous "static void main." When Java came along, the same teacher said, "Get ready to suffer," "C++ is child's play compared to Java." This was about 14 years ago. And true to his word, it all started without libraries, pure and hardcore language. I remember some traumatic instructions (just a single line of code to print something to the console). I don't know if it was the quality of teaching, the time (years ago), or if I just wasn't cut out for it, but I wasn't the only one. The whole group failed. The only part I semi-enjoyed was when they taught us how to use user interface libraries in Java. I was obsessed with buttons, alerts, and stuff on the screen at that time. I think that's why I managed to create a small semi-animated interface. It felt like I was truly programming. The teacher said, "I'm going to pass you because I see you're putting in the effort." Anyway, when I got to university, it was hell. They assumed we already mastered Java and bombarded us with a bunch of libraries. I couldn't concentrate on learning because I wanted to know what was behind those libraries (I didn't understand the abstraction of it all), and that was my downfall. In addition, instantiations, classes, object-oriented programming, all with exercises that honestly didn't motivate anyone, took away all my desire to learn programming. It wasn't until I became obsessed with understanding what the university didn't have time to teach (due to the limited semester time, curriculum, etc.) that things started to change. I didn't become an expert by any means, but I began to grasp the abstraction of the concepts themselves. I created my own dictionary, an Excel file with every term I wanted to understand its meaning. I watched hundreds of videos and tutorials to "understand" rather than master the concepts themselves. I guess you could say I became an expert in "concepts." That calmed my restless mind, and I could focus better. Although I didn't know exactly what code was behind a library, I wasn't obsessed with it anymore. I also stopped obsessing over why something was called a "class," the difference between structured programming and object-oriented programming, the reason for "import" and "export," etc. (In fact, back in my day, if my memory serves me right, we still used inline styles in HTML; there wasn't the practice of separating the design into a CSS file.) In my restless mind, it didn't fit that programming was done in a different way, with different files calling each other, the topic of variable scope, "public," "private," and those things. In conclusion, times have changed. Now you can learn at your own pace, without the pressure of getting good grades or having incompetent teachers, which, believe it or not, can affect your morale when you're young. I think the best thing is to project what you want to achieve. Do you want to learn to teach? Do you want to focus on mobile apps? Web development? You have to enjoy your goal; that's the only way you'll put all your effort into it. If it helps, I was deeply wounded. I was afraid to look at code for years because of my traumas from university and some evil teachers. So, don't underestimate your initiative and enthusiasm. There are malicious people who can try to make you feel incompetent, and if you're weak like I was in my case, you could throw away all your talent. Now, the question everyone is asking: Can I program now? Well, like I said, it took me more than 10-12 years to get close to code again. I have no experience, and it's very strange because I don't really know how to code, but I can communicate with ChatGPT and explain all the concepts I've learned to make it do the things I want. In less than 2 months, I've "programmed" over 20 scripts in vanilla JS, purely based on concepts without ever having developed anything before. I even created a Tinder extension to compare compatibility between 2 profiles with AI using the OpenAI API. I'm 35, and I believe it's never too late (I dropped out of engineering in my fifth semester when I was 21). Precisely because I didn't pass Java and Math 5, I fell into depression, and the rest is history. I beg you, go for what you want, not what is imposed on you.

I remember helping my kids learn Java for a mandatory High School class. The initial setup was not a problem. The biggest hurdle was that the teachers really did not understand the concepts involved. It was a fine line between generating working code and not overwhelming the teachers with stuff they have never seen before.

I downloaded your pdf and my phone was not able to open it? It's able to open every other pdf I've ever downloaded though. Do you know why your pdf is different?

Can you please explain what each language is most practical though? C++ I know is very good for making games & Operating systems? (though I think Unreal is replaced them) . Not so good for making stuff like a notepad.

I have taught beginners in Java, JavaScript, C#, C++ and a bit of Python and I totally agree! However, I do think that there could be some reasoning behind learning C++ or C# as the first language if you were learning within a game engine like Unreal or Unity. It is still hard, but much, much more motivating than he console (and for some even more than webapps 😉)

honestly the first one you should learn is probably scratch, it helps with a lot of simple concepts with pseudocode, if you do understand the absolute basics however i think python would be the go to language for beginners, not only is it simple but it even contains so many features which can get most things done, C is also a great introductory language for those with a strong will for learning as it's basically programming as a whole package, containing direct use of memory and all, it's a little harder, but definitely worth learning

Ok how about this, what is the best language in a general sense. Putting aside everything you said and just getting to the best. Which one? I already started in c# but learning through VScode annoys me left and right. I want to try something else. My interest lies in apps, mobile or PC. But I don't want to start with training wheels.

I'm something like one third through my comp sci degree and I have learned programming through Python, and I would honestly recommend it for a first language. It originates from C and it will provide a very clear cut way to learn the fundamentals of programming while encouraging good habits like indentation. It's also a good way to learn Object Oriented Programming :). I'm dipping my toes into C now and concepts transfer well from Python, going from reference based variable assignment to memory value assignment is a bit of a transition for me, but I feel that it would have been harder to start with C. After I have a decent understanding of C I want to learn C++ for that sweet sweet OOP.

I think you hit the nail right on the head with the "they're not pokemon cards" info, but I disagree with the two that you chose. I like JS and Python, even though python doesn't scale well, but learning a lower level language I think is the move. I say this because it's vastly important to understand datatypes, how memory works (pointers), and how data is structured. Because of this I think C is actually the best to learn in because you have to manually handle everything. Is it more difficult, yes, but when you transition, if you transition, you'll have an understanding about programming that people who start at JS or python simply don't have at the same point you'll be at in learning. Is it hard yes, but like the butterfly, the struggle cultivates strength that will pay dividends in the long run. Also don't focus on transitioning. learn one language REALLY well, because they're all similar and at the end of the day it's mostly syntax, but you won't progress to more difficult challenges if you stop at the same point in all new languages.

I usually recommend Java since it teaches you the fundamentals of any programming language like the most common datatypes and oop concepts (interface, abstraction, encapsulation etc) which resides in almost all programming languages in different shapes and forms. Once you learn the basic stuffs that you're gonna need anyway in any programming languages, the other stuffs becomes easy to grasp. I know it's hard to learn for beginners, but once you learn it seriously, you're set for life. I personally don't recommend js and python cause it makes you dumb in the sense that it does not teach you the fundamentals. True you can start building stuffs faster, but then when you ask them about any basic stuffs about programming, they are gonna try and relate to js and python which lacks many of those concepts or has a roundabout way of doing that, which does not truly answer your question.

Perhaps it helps to delineate the language you begin with from the one you intend to work with. They don't necessarily have to be one and the same. I, for one would love to see more tutorials in Pascal, which was (in part) designed with teaching purposes. Although Python was about the second language I delved into (after C++) it's also relatively slow. Beginners are usually shielded from that detail. I was shocked to see that the difference between a solution to a competitive programming problem in Pascal vs Python can range in a speed difference of about 9x (60ms for code in Pascal vs 540ms for one in Python). Also, Python is not far off from C++ in one particular point, that of being a Swiss knife, one which you can easily harm yourself with if you are not careful with its features. Python can create the illusion that most every manipulation, be it numbers crunching or string processing, can and must proceed on the spot, in the shortest amount of code possible. If a longer (but faster or more robust) solution is found, it is deemed "unpythonic" or just plain ugly. It's just that, favouring aesthetics over inner workings can create long-term headaches once you try to learn how a system works under the hood.

To start with c# you just need to insall visual studio and create a console project.. also it's the best in terms of debugging.

Great advice! For absolute beginners (or children), I would also recommend visual programming languages. They allow users to drag and drop statements, provide a limited scope of options at each learning stage, and feature integrated tools such as a simplified IDE with explanations of the fundamentals, among other things.

As a beginner programmer, I found that programming has to have a goal. If you want to become a web developer HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are a must. On the other hand, if you want to build programs that use mathematic skills then you can use C++. Moreover, based on what your career is, pick the language that suits best this career. Btw, I started coding with HTML :)

Thank you Andy for the wonderful pdf!

I've read the manual and it was awesome. Thanks for sharing. 🙌

Biggest advice I can give is to learn math. Do some calculus and linear algebra, because it rewires your brain to think a lot more logically and for me it really helped when first learning how to program

After 20y teaching programming, I'm convinced Java is the best (or less bad) to start. Once softened the reading from stdin, my students get the concepts acceptably fast and can switch to other langs quite easily. I've tried ( extensively ) C, Bash, and Python. Most of the code they produce is to be run on the shell. I guess other similar langs like C# could do too, and I might try some of them in the future.

Well every choice depends on the context, I would like to learn C++ if my career will be based on embedded system programming. In any case, knowing OOP principles is always good and interesting in my opinion. Setting up an AMP stack is not so difficult, especially if you learn docker which is something that will help you a lot in case you're involved with multiple projects, based on different technologies. I mean, I don't see much difference in setting up a nodejs env with any database vs Amp

A lot depends on what your immediate goal is. If you want to get into web programming quickly, especially at a commercial level, I'd suggest JavaScript with the MERN stack since thats were a lot of jobs are. But if your idea is to learn programming over some time (for example, you're preparing to go to college and study CS), I'd suggest a slower approach starting with Python. I'd suggest that for High Schools and Intro to Programming classes, for example.

I see what you did with that thumbnail... Here I was thinking you were going to say no to Python! :P

I first started coding in 1978, and graduated from college in 1987. I’ve programmed in every language you mentioned plus a whole lot more. I agree with this list 100%. The popularity of C#, Java, and PHP are offset by the fact that the pay rates are generally lower for these languages than Javascript / Node and Python. That’s because the latter languages allow you to work faster and more reliably once you understand them. I am a classically trained computer scientist. I’ve taught at the college level. After 35+ years of software development, I am still current in technology and I love my work. But I have no use for C# or Java or PHP anymore. I still use C++ daily for microcontrollers and recommend it for that specific application. Otherwise, I recommend following the advice in this video

.NET isn't easy to get up and running? Downloading the .NET SDK is too much work? How is this different from JavaScript or Python? You also need to install Node for JavaScript and other editor tooling, the same counts for Python. Only console applications? With .NET you can create a Web API with just two lines of code. Please show me an example of using Python where you don't install anything, don't use any editor plugins and any command line tooling.

That was quite interesting for someone with no coding background as me. I'm trying to study roadmaps before starting exactly to avoid wasting time. It seems others experts share the same as you, with some small differences. The path seems to be hard, I'm not saying we need to avoid difficulties, it is just that we need a good roadmap to avoid being frustrated and taking too much time to learn something. I will consider that, thank you!

I do agree with your choices. I would probably put C# third purely because of Unity. I use Python a lot, but JavaScript has a lot of advantages - you don't need to install anything to get started and it is much easier to do fun, visual projects - see The Coding Train for some amazing learning material in JavaScript.