What Programming Language Should I Learn First?

The most common question I get asked from people who want to learn how to program is “What programming language should I learn first?”. Most people expect me to say something like as, “Start with programming language ‘X’.” or “I started with ‘X’, then ‘Y’ and etc….”.

If you are reading this then more than likely you're wanting to learn how to write software applications (commonly referred to as programming) and looking for a place to start. Perhaps you are thinking about going to college and want to get a head start or you have a business and need a software application or website or you just want to learn how to program because you are thinking about changing careers etc. Regardless of the reason you are here for an answer.

When I am asked “What programming language should I learn first?” Instead of giving them an answer, first I respond with a question. “What are you wanting to do?” Whereas, most experienced programmers usually say, “start with C first because most of the programming languages are based on C” and that is what they started on back in the good ole days of terminal computers. Others would say, “ learn Python because there are so many free learning tools available online and the Python community is really large”. Both of these answers are good answers and hold some of merit but I respectfully don't agree.

The purpose of this question is to find out if they really NEED to learn how to program in the first place. Allot of times people don’t realize that there are tools available (and most are free) to help them do what they want or the program has already been done so there isn’t a need to reinvent the wheel.

Is there really a need to learn programming?

The question is do you really need to learn how to write software? If all you want to do is make a website for your business, blog, or whatever then there are plenty of website building tools online and most of them are free! There is no reason to learn the intricacies of client side and server side web programming languages if you don’t plan on being a web programmer. You will end up frustrated and pay someone else to do it for you or not do it at all.

However if you are planning on starting the next big social media website then you should learn all you can about social media websites and the programming language(s) needed to make them. Maybe you are wanting to become a game designer then you will need to know all the languages associated with the game engines available.

Where do I start then?

Once you decide what it is you want to do, research what language (or languages) you will need to learn in order to create the software needed for the purpose you are writing software for. Most of the information you will be researching can be found online and usually the tools needed are available for free or at really low cost. If you still need more information, look for other people or companies that are already doing or doing something similar to what you want to do and ask them what languages and tools they use.

The next thing to do is once you know what software will be the most applicable to create your application, look online and find some tutorials on how to write programs for that language. Another option is to buy a book on the subject. Look around your area for a college bookstore. Allot of times, they have books they can’t use because the instructor changed the book and now the bookstore has excess stock so they will sell them at a discount. Another thing I recommend is sign up for a forum that specializes in the programming language you want to learn, read and ask questions.

To answer the question (kinda)

It is estimated that there are over 20,000 programming languages on this planet and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. For example Python is a very powerful scripting language heavily used on Google’s search engine and applications. Python is also used in the back end applications on most Linux operating systems. However if you are wanting to make a video game for the latest game consoles, then Python would not be the language to learn. Most game engines use C/C++.

Common Programming Languages

Below is a short list of the most popular programming languages and what they are most commonly used for to help you get an idea of where to start.

C/C++ Programming Language

This is the language that most programming languages are based on. It is very versatile and you can program just about anything with them. ‘C’ is used allot in programming microcontrollers and drivers for operating systems. It is a "low level" programming language and has a pretty steep learning curve. C++ is the object oriented version of C and is used mostly in things like Operating System sub-processes, game engines, 3D modelling programs and now it’s starting to find its way into the embedded systems world.

Java

Java is a very useful programming language and it is cross platform (which means it runs on most major operating systems that support the Java Runtime Environment) and has a very large knowledge base. Java has lately found its way in the smartphone industry and has now become one the most popular and widely used programming languages in the world and one of the highest paid too! This is a great first language to learn and there are allot of free tools for learning to program in Java and actually creating real Java applications.

The downside to Java I would say would be how big the programming language actually is. There are libraries for everything and object oriented programming in general is a little tricky to get the hang of with things like inheritance, constructors, deconstructors and etc.

Python

As stated above, the most complex web applications use Python. Python is not as easy as most people think it is to learn and I don’t recommend it as a first language because it’s more of a scripting language than actual programming. Also it’s very specific in what it was designed for and therefore limiting. But what it's designed to do, it does very well. The tools are free and the knowledge base is very large but I personally do not think a beginning programmer should start with this language.

One reason I would caution a person to learn this language first is the tab based function encapsulation. Without brackets, this can become confusing as a person would not typically learn to tab over to encapsulate or even nest functions.

HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT/PHP/MYSQL updated: HTML5

If you are wanting to be a web programmer, then these scripting languages are a must! They are simple to learn, the tools are already installed on your computer (except PHP and MYSQL), and the knowledge base is extremely large (arguably the largest of all the programming languages). This is a very competitive market as most entry level programmers know these languages inside and out. Most of the people who take the time to learn these languages do so for their own websites benefit or to start a web programming business.

I would say that this is a fun scripting environment to learn because it’s very simple and you see results immediately. I personally have used these languages as front end for larger more complex back end applications as they are easier then hard coding a user interface.

In conclusion

To restate the question, “What programming language should I learn first” is not as simple as saying, "start with this language or that one." Instead, ask yourself, "What is it I want to do and is this something I want to spend allot of my time doing?"

Leave a comments below about what you would recommend as a first language. Lets see what the world has to say about this.