What's the best programming language to learn when you're just starting out?

William Chu — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 14:47:52 -0400

Response by CPT Enrique M. made Mar 28 at 2016 2:53 PM

CPT Enrique M. — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 14:53:58 -0400

Java or python.

Pretty easy languages to learn and it gives you a great leg up for other languages such as C# and so on.

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Mar 28 at 2016 3:09 PM

SSG Ed Mikus — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 15:09:09 -0400

Python

Response by Andre Behrens made Mar 28 at 2016 4:12 PM

Andre Behrens — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:12:29 -0400

That depends entirely on what you want to accomplish. If you want guaranteed employment, Java is very safe. If you want to work with numbers and or at Google, Python. If you want to build UI, you'll have no choice to learn either JavaScript for web, Objective C or Swift for Apple's platform, Java for Android, or JavaScript for the web.

I started with PHP 14 years ago. I haven't used it in years. But it got me where I needed to go. I would say that is more useful: Figure out where you need to go.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 28 at 2016 4:12 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 16:12:57 -0400

ok well first you really need to assess how much you know about computers. Very little? Then it's best to start in English and learn word, excel, PowerPoint, access.
Now if you're a bit more educated to the level of knowing the first method of trouble shooting is always turn it of and back on again then follow these.

This day and age I always have people go ahead and start out light in Java and objective-c. Both for app development which is the going trend so people are commonly already "familiar"

But to get deeper into it and start doing some real work I recommend a two parter. Grabbing a Linux OS and going for Python. Although spreading your skills is wise. c, Java, c#, perl, and ruby are all very similar in but putting them on your tool belt opens up your marketable variety.

But the most important language out there. That I advise people to get a solid understand of, almost everyone's foundation; effective coding in C.

C is the I believe the most important and widely used programming language. The common understanding is C is the basic "machine level" languages. With a good hold on that moving up isn't going to be an option.

It can be a struggle though. Many many late nights of debugging and many a time I felt like throwing my machine off the roof. An unforgiving stricter code with a steep learning curve

But going at it first is much like BCT it'll teach you the discipline to be successful in coding but you have also accept you'll have to learn a whole lot to make anything useful.

I don't think I answered your question but hopefully you got some knowledge.

Response by CPT Jim Schwebach made Mar 28 at 2016 6:10 PM

CPT Jim Schwebach — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 18:10:30 -0400

I started out with ALC. It helped when it came to learning higher level languages.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2016 5:58 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 05:58:37 -0400

It all depends on what you're trying to accomplish. App developing would be something like Objective C or Swift. Basic computing C or Python. Site development HTML and CSS.... There is of course more sophisticated languages, but again it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Response by PFC Terry Schmidt made Mar 29 at 2016 11:53 AM

PFC Terry Schmidt — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:53:18 -0400

I personally would suggest JAVA as it is very forgiving and a simple language to learn. It will also help you learn how to get your structure correct.

Response by Raymond Cox made Mar 29 at 2016 12:03 PM

Raymond Cox — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 12:03:23 -0400

It depends on what you want to build. Everybody has their own opinion and will try to tell you to learn this or learn that. My advice is learn whatever you want, and spend time coding not thinking about whether or not you're doing it "right".

Response by Kevin Kwan made Mar 31 at 2016 1:59 PM

Kevin Kwan — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 13:59:17 -0400

I go with Java. Plenty of jobs out there, android...enterprise...web.

Response by PO3 Sheldon Skaggs made May 10 at 2016 9:38 AM

PO3 Sheldon Skaggs — Tue, 10 May 2016 09:38:18 -0400

Like many have already said, it depends. It depends on what kind of development you want to do, and more importantly what your target employer uses.

Until you have landed that position that allows you to focus one a handful of languages I highly suggest you try to become fluent in multiple languages; heck we should all be doing that anyways.

With that in mind I would suggest at least Java and C#. If you plan to focus on web development you should add JavaScript, CSS, and HTML to that mix.

Some more advice is to attend user group meetings in your area. Normally these are sponsored by recruiters like TekSystems who can tell you what employers are looking for in your area. Again, don't limit yourself yet, that will come when you have the position and you are doing your best to really learn what the employer uses.

Response by TSgt Joseph Dwyer made Sep 9 at 2016 10:03 PM

TSgt Joseph Dwyer — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 22:03:09 -0400

All depends on what you want to get into. Like a lot of people said if you want to develop for mobile then Java, or Swift might be a good starting point. It also helps to look at the basics of programming that will help you across all languages.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 22 at 2017 11:26 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 23:26:05 -0500

For pure employment purposes, Java is a mainstay: https://www.indeed.com/jobtrends/q-java-q-Python.html
However, Python is a little easier, and it is big in the field of machine learning, which is all the rage at the moment (and likely to be in the future).
Finally, there is an expectation across some of the industry that programmers will be "full stack" developers, with some understanding of UI development (so JavaScript, HTML, and a framework like AngularJS or React) as well as competency working on the server-side with Java, and a basic understanding of relational databases and SQL scripting. Having said that, the most important component there is Java. In my part of the industry it is expected. I know very knowledgeable developers who only know Java and SQL, and they know it very well, but I don't know any developers who lack at least some knowledge or experience with Java. I would recommend a prospective developer start with Java and to look forward to adding JavaScript and Python later.

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Response by PVT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 28 at 2024 5:33 AM

PVT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:33:54 -0500

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