Re:What programming language should I start with?
by tel on Tuesday August 21, 2007 @01:20AM
(#44659)
Learn whichever language is closest to your application. If you want to make a blog, go take a look at some blogging software already out there and learn the language it's written in. (Wordpress -> PHP w/ HTML & CSS just because they're always helpful)
Then, once you've got your feet wet, learn another one. I feel like I never understood one language until I could compare it to another.
Python and Ruby are great for hammering out functionality and learning. Common Lisp/Scheme are great for widening your perception of how problems can be solved. I don't want to say much about C because I'm not proficient with it, but it definitely gives you a closer feeling to how your computer runs your code even if it obfuscates the problem a little. Learn Haskell/OCaml when you're feeling lucky. They will break your brain and then rebuild it in crazy, inventive new ways.
Then, once you've got your feet wet, learn another one. I feel like I never understood one language until I could compare it to another.
Python and Ruby are great for hammering out functionality and learning. Common Lisp/Scheme are great for widening your perception of how problems can be solved. I don't want to say much about C because I'm not proficient with it, but it definitely gives you a closer feeling to how your computer runs your code even if it obfuscates the problem a little. Learn Haskell/OCaml when you're feeling lucky. They will break your brain and then rebuild it in crazy, inventive new ways.