What to choose as your first programming language?

It is a challenge to Choose your first programming language. Many people have gone through this when taking their first steps on this path. Your reasons for learning programming can vary. You may want to learn programming as a hobby or for a personal project, or you may be looking for a career change or a side job. The choice of your first programming language can also depend on these reasons.

In this article, five popular programming languages ​​are suggested to start the programming path. From this list of well-known and growing languages ​​that are ready to dominate the programming world for a long time, you can find a language that meets all your expectations as a first programming language.

Python

In recent years, Python has become one of the most popular programming languages ​​for beginners and especially for self-taught programmers. According to the PyPL Index, which analyzes Google searches for programming language tutorials, Python outpaces all other languages ​​by a margin.

The main reason for Python’s popularity among beginners is its easy-to-understand syntax. Compared to languages ​​like Java and C, Python’s syntax is closer to the human languages ​​that we understand. By using only the most essential symbols and keywords, Python has eliminated the unnecessary and verbose syntax we see in other languages.

For example, a simple Hello World function in Python is written in just one line of code.

print("Hello World!")

While to achieve the same result in C language, we need to use syntax with more lines of code.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    printf("Hello, World!");
    return 0;
}

Python supports functional, procedural, and object-oriented programming patterns. So mastering Python allows you to explore and try different ways of coding and solving a problem.

Since Python is used in all areas of programming, learning Python gives you more freedom to decide what path you want to take as a programmer in the future. Python is currently the leading language in data science and machine learning. Also, it is used as a back-end language in web development and is a popular scripting language used to automate tasks. So if you choose Python as your first programming language, you will have the opportunity to explore different areas of programming before you decide what your favorite area is.

Another thing that can be useful for you as a beginner is the advanced and extensive set of libraries and frameworks that have been developed for the Python language. These libraries can simplify the complex details involved in the code implementation process for you and allow you to focus on learning the programming aspects first rather than the technical aspects of things.

Python’s large and rapidly growing community is another reason to learn it as your first programming language. There is a wide selection of tutorials, videos, articles, and books to help you learn. A large and active Python community helps beginners on platforms like Stack Overflow and GitHub.

Javascript

Javascript is the web language, and all known browsers, including Chrome and Firefox, support it. If you dream of becoming a full-stack developer, knowing how to code with Javascript is essential for creating web frontends. This necessity has made Javascript the most popular programming language among developers.

Although Javascript is not as simple as Python, it is very easy for a beginner to learn and understand, and most importantly, you can test Javascript code directly from your browser without worrying about additional tools like IDEs.

After the introduction of Node.js, it is now possible to develop both back-end and front-end web applications using Javascript. So if you want to pursue web development in the future, learning Javascript eliminates the need to learn a second language to create a website backend.

Today, Javascript is more than just a language used for web development. It is currently used in developing mobile and desktop applications and has found even greater use in data science. So by learning Javascript, you will have many choices for your career path in the future.

As the language with the largest number of repositories on GitHub, you can always count on the Javascript community to provide plenty of tutorials and help when you’re having trouble understanding something.

With amazing third-party libraries and frameworks, finding solutions to countless Javascript programming problems has become very easy. If you’re planning to learn Javascript for front-end development, you’ll need at least a basic understanding of HTML and CSS and how to design websites with them.

Go

Go is the youngest language on our recommended list as a first programming language. Go was originally developed by Google, was released to the public in 2010, and is currently maintained as an open-source language sponsored and supported by Google. Go has quickly become a popular language in the programming community due to the unique feature set it offers developers and its ties to Google.

Go has combined useful features from different programming languages ​​while removing their negative ones. For example, like C, Go supports static typing and runtime efficiency while providing similar readability as Python.

This combination of features makes Go an ideal programming language for beginners. Go has a simple and neat syntax without the overwriting of other object-oriented languages, which makes it very easy to learn.

As a language built in the modern era with modern requirements, Go supports most of your needs without needing external dependencies, eliminating the hassle of managing dependencies when you start programming.

Most importantly, Go handles concurrency with goroutines, unlike any other language. Concurrency is a difficult subject that many novice programmers do not fully understand, but goroutines greatly simplify the subject and help programs to support concurrency.

Go was ranked the 12th most popular language in Stack Overflow’s developer poll. This is an impressive development for a new language with a history of little more than a decade, and it certainly bodes well for future development. In the same survey, Go was named the third highest-grossing technology. If you’re learning to code in hopes of a career in the field, this should definitely be good news for you.

As a young and growing community, Go users are sure to welcome newbies and are willing to help you out when you have a problem. Go also has excellent documentation that tells you exactly what you need to know to learn.

Ruby

Like Python, Ruby is a human-readable language. In some cases, Ruby’s syntax is even easier to read and understand than Python’s. But Ruby has a bit more symbols and keywords than Python.

This is a while loop written in Python:

total = 0
for x in range(5):
    print(x)
    total += x

And this is a while loop written in Ruby:

$total = 0
for i in 0..5
    puts "Value of local variable is #{i}"
    total += i
end

Because Ruby is designed to make programmers more productive and fun, its syntax is similar to English, and its thinking approach is natural when solving problems. So programming with Ruby will be exciting and intuitive even as a beginner.

With Ruby, you have more than one way to solve a problem and the freedom to choose whatever method feels most intuitive to you.

Ruby programs treat everything as an object. So you will have the freedom to add unique features and functionality to any object without any restrictions.

With the introduction of the Ruby on Rails framework, Ruby grew in popularity and became a popular language in web development. Ruby on Rails is a full-stack framework that is easy to use and suitable for beginners.

Although not as popular and widespread as languages ​​like Python and Javascript, Ruby has grown in popularity over the past few years and is in high demand in the programming community. In a recent Stack Overflow survey, Ruby was ranked as the fifth highest-paid technology among developers. Many startups use Ruby to save resources while meeting their programming needs.

Ruby also has an active community of developers who welcome and help beginner programmers with open arms. Third-party Ruby libraries known as Gems are also evolving to help you with complex programming tasks.

Because Ruby is popular in web development, learning Ruby as a first language would be ideal for people who want to pursue this programming field.

C and C++

Even though C and C++ are not as easy to learn as the other languages ​​on this list and may scare you away from programming forever, learning these languages ​​will give you a deeper understanding of programming concepts and how programming languages ​​work at a basic level. And it allows you to master the programming process completely, unlike other languages.

The first languages ​​taught in many universities worldwide are C and C++. This is a testament to the importance of learning C and C++ as languages ​​that force students to look beyond syntax and theory and really understand what’s going on behind the scenes.

Today, these languages ​​are used in almost all areas of programming, including backend development, game development, operating system, and browser development. As the oldest yet most popular languages, C and C++ have a large community of programmers who are willing to help you along the learning journey with plenty of tutorials and answers to your questions. So if you are ambitious about choosing your first programming language, C or C++ would be a good choice for you.