Your First Programming Language

You want to pick a programming language but you have no idea which is best to start off with… This is a struggle that most new developers face especially if you are starting your self-taught journey.

I've been there and I've made mistakes…

My Background

I started coding the year after I got out of school so that was in 2019. I started off wanting to learn C++ for making games inside Unreal Engine. Long story short this was a huge mistake, a person with no programming experience whatsoever should not start with C++ in my opinion.

On top of that, I get distracted easily so it's extra hard for me and I'm sure a lot of people out there can relate. As soon as the work is difficult to understand, my brain wants to take a vacation! This is the ultimate recipe for screwing up… luckily I found Python extremely easy after I was exposed to C++. That's where my journey began.

Although I basically started off in Python I wouldn't code a single thing in python. The short reason is that the language is slow. I'm coding in C++ now and I'm loving every moment of it. That is all thanks to python because python showed me that code can be easy and fun. Without Pythons existance it's possible I would have given up just like a lot of people who have tried and thought that programming was too hard for them.

If you want to read more about my projects and what I'm busy with at the moment read the blogs about My Projects!

Where should you start

There are 2 basic questions you should ask yourself when starting off.

First one: and you need to be honest with yourself… How easily do you understand abstract concepts about code? If your answer is that it's extremely difficult then python is the way to go… Like I mentioned, just because you start off in python that doesn't mean you will use it later, but still, I would totally recommend starting there, keep in mind knowledge you gain from any programming language can carry over to any other programming language.

If you understand concepts easily and you consider yourself to be truly smart you are probably a self-centered jackass, ;) Just joking. Well if it truly is the case, firstly let me say I'm a bit jealous because if you truly commit you will be able to learn any language relatively fast if you have access to the correct resources.

The language you decide on is relative to the next question:

What do you want to code?

There are 3 basic categories, and obviously, there are a lot of subcategories but picking one of these 3 will give you a great indication of what language you should learn first.

Complex Performant Software ( Operating Systems, Advanced Creative Software like Photoshop, Games, Game Engines )
Basic Software ( Calculator Type Apps, Diagram Apps, Text Editor Apps, Chat Platforms, and all the other everyday use apps)
Web (Websites, Web Tools, Cloud Apps)

So if you want to go into Complex Performant Software I would say start off with C++ if you want to be thrown in at the deep end, or C if you want a slow but less complicated start.

C is a much smaller language and has no object-oriented side to it so it makes it a bit more “noob” friendly or maybe even some Golang if you want to write easy code that is still really performant.

If you want to make basic programs and maybe even less performant games then you should learn Java or C#. Java is the best for mobile development because there are already a lot of tools available to help you get started. Note: that doesn't mean you can't write a mobile app with C#.

If you want to do any kind of web development, TypeScript/JavaScript is the best starting point for you.

There isn't much need to look at any other languages to convolute the process; these are the most used languages in the respective fields.

Quick Overview

If you want to write complex software that needs Good performance Learn C++ in my opinion.

If you want to start with basic programs that do cool things like load images and do some crazy things learn Java or C# … I don't have a specific recommendation because they are both really great languages in my opinion. So pick one at random or go do some research on what you want to learn first.

For anything web, learn TypeScript/JavaScript , and if you want something extra to learn after, look at some HTML and CSS because you will most likely use TypeScript/JavaScript with HTML and CSS.

If you're not sure what you want to start with like me when I started out, learn Python!