If you don't know which programming language you should learn first

5 pointssneha19951 comment

If you don't know which programming language you should learn first...

1) Pick one from this list:

• JavaScript • Python • Ruby

2) Learn the basics

• Data types • Values • Variables

3) Build something (important)

You can’t improve if you’re not building.

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1) I'd definitely recommend Python over both Ruby and JS because Python has again become highly relevant (much more so than Ruby), and it's a language that actually complains when you do something nonsensical, like dividing by zero or asking for a non-existing list element; JS fails silently in these cases, making it in the end more difficult to write correct code. I'd still put JS second because of its key role in web browsers. JS is a language you hardly can avoid so go learn it to a degree.

I'd add SQL to that list and tell people not to wait too long before taking it up along with relational databases. PostgreSQL and SQLite are good for getting acquainted with the relational model, the fundamentals of which are only mysterious as long as you are not shown (or discover yourself) how simple and basic (and important) they really are.

3) Yes, yes, and yes.

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