Best code to learn?

[theanimal]

To all the programmers on this forum- I'm learning code through codeacademy to develop more skills and hopefully result in another income stream for myself. I have a brief background in learning code from earlier this year but I was wondering if there is a specific code that is best to learn? I guess what I'm asking is if there is a coding language that offers the best ROI?

Thanks

[jacob]

It depends on which industry you want to join:
If it's finance, then R, C# or Java (I can barely tell the difference), and python.
If it's physics, then C++, f90, and (maybe) python.

[workathome]

I like PHP for web-stuff, and you can also learn a framework like CakePHP or CodeIgnitor to go along with it. For mobile app development stuff, which is pretty high demand and would be easy to pick up part-time work for, you'd be looking at Objective C or Java.

[KevinW]

It depends on which industry you want to join

+1

Usually there is one language that dominates each sub-industry.

games: C++
iOS apps: Objective C
Android apps: Java
web: Javascript or PHP
startups: seem to like Lisp dialects and Python

Like anything else there is a growth-value spectrum and sometimes the best ROI is on the value side. I've heard of contractors making huge bucks maintaining dreary old mainframe COBOL and Ada code. The work is boring and the skills will be obsolete in a few years, so there is low labor supply, and hence high labor prices. It looks like all future growth will be in web and mobile platforms, which also means there's lots of competition there.

[tzxn3]

Python has minimal syntax and numerous libraries available, which makes it easy to get started with.
C forces you to learn how your hardware works, which is useful knowledge to have.
Haskell is fun if you're into pure maths.

[m741]

Learn Python first. You can focus on coding concepts and not worry about the more obnoxious stuff. It's great for one-off side projects. It's heavily used in industry as a 'glue' language to patch together other code.

In other words it's a good language to learn with, but also a useful language.

Other languages that are useful and relatively widely used - but less intuitive - are C/C++, Java, Javascript, Scala, Objective C, Haskell (depending upon what you want to do).

[theanimal]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll start with Python and then possibly go after Java.

[Hildred]

If you're looking to just learn the basics of programming (variables & loops), then Javascript is as good as place to start as any. You don't need any compilers or extra software - just open up Notepad, write your code and view it in a web browser.

[GandK]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll start with Python and then possibly go after Java.

This will probably get you where you want to go.

Some hard-core people will tell you to start with C++ because so many other languages are based on it, but as long as you understand key programming concepts (e.g. object-oriented programming, how databases work, which languages are generally used for what and why) I don't think it matters which language you work with first. After a while they will all feel familiar and you'll pick new ones up quickly.

[UrbanHermit]

http://sogrady-media.redmonk.com/sograd ... g-0912.png

RedMonk language rankings. Anything in that little cluster to the top-right will serve you well, although each for different reasons. You might want to clarify your goal first, then decide which are the best tools for the job.

[chicago81]

For my corporate job, I've mostly done C++, but have dipped my toes in a whole lot of other languages for various reasons at work. After nearly 10 years of professional C++ development, I have grown to dislike the language. Unfortunately, it is the language with with I have the most experience (and it pays really well.) I get a head-ache (and, honestly, get kind-of angry) whenever I start reading articles about the C++ standards committee and what new (and mostly useless) crap they are trying to add to the "next" standard of the language. Job interviews for C++ jobs (in my experience) seem to be some kind of perverted trivia game trying to test your knowledge of this pedantic crap, which adds almost nothing useful to the day-to-day programmer, but satisfies the intellectual interest of a small handful of unemployable poster-children for the language. (Wow, I didn't intend for this to turn into a rant...but it did.)

For my own personal projects development, Java is usually my language of choice. Java apps are automatically portable to most platforms. The built-in APIs and libraries for Java are very comprehensive. Most of all, I find it more enjoyable to write code in Java than C++. It takes a lot less mental effort to accomplish things. The development environments and debuggers are far superior too, in my opinion.

I must have been exposed to, or dipped my toes in 50 if not 100 different language, scripting languages, etc. After you learn the basics of certain "families" of languages (e.g. procedural, objected oriented, functional, etc.) they all just blend together, with each one having their own subtleties and gotchas.

[5to9]

python is a great first choice, and there are some great resources out there for learning it:

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/

A similar language that seems very popular in web/startup companies these days is Ruby. It's fairly similar to python, and a useful tool language. The local Ruby group I participate in sees a pretty steady stream of companies looking for Ruby developers.

[workathome]

CoffeeScript sounds yummy

[JamesR]

Honestly, I recommend scripting languages like python, ruby, javascript over more conventional languages like C++/Java.

Scripting languages are fun, and there's a lot of demand for web dev type work. You can go quite far with javascript, including mobile phone apps.

[George the original one]

http://sogrady-media.redmonk.com/sograd ... g-0912.png

RedMonk language rankings. Anything in that little cluster to the top-right will serve you well, although each for different reasons. You might want to clarify your goal first, then decide which are the best tools for the job.

LOL, oh how my old-school knowledge has fallen by the wayside!

No Pascal, no Modula-2, no Forth, no Logo... at least Lisp and Visual Basic are still in there as well as venerable FORTRAN.

[MountainMan]

From a beginner's perspective, I'll join the Python crowd in saying that it's a useful, fairly straight-forward and fun language to start with. I don't have much experience with other languages and programming in general (but I have a scientific background which helps) so I can't really compare it, but I've been amazed at how quickly you can write some cool code with the excellent range of libraries available.

[Chad]

FI get a head-ache (and, honestly, get kind-of angry) whenever I start reading articles about the C++ standards committee and what new (and mostly useless) crap they are trying to add to the "next" standard of the language. Job interviews for C++ jobs (in my experience) seem to be some kind of perverted trivia game trying to test your knowledge of this pedantic crap, which adds almost nothing useful to the day-to-day programmer, but satisfies the intellectual interest of a small handful of unemployable poster-children for the language. (Wow, I didn't intend for this to turn into a rant...but it did.)

Sounds like FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board). The number of changes they make to accounting is ridiculous. Just a bunch of losers with no life thinking up changes for the sake of change.

[Chad]

What about Ruby on Rails? That seems to be the most popular boot camp programming language. I don't know a ton about programming, so Ruby could just be a part of one of the others listed.

Also, which is the most profitable language to know?

[UrbanHermit]

What about Ruby on Rails? That seems to be the most popular boot camp programming language. I don't know a ton about programming, so Ruby could just be a part of one of the others listed.

Ruby is the hot language for web startups right now. RoR is technically an application framework not a language, butruby/rails are virtually synonymous since that's pretty much all ruby gets used for.

Also, which is the most profitable language to know?

A good ruby on rails dev can make a killing in the right market at the moment (mostly california and boston), and tends to have good consulting opportunities. There are fewer of these jobs, landing a good one can be tougher.

Java/C# together account for something like 2/3rds of all job postings* (more like 75% in my market), so they are a good bet for ease of employment and a steady payday.

*: once you filter out low-end web-development jobs that are more web page design with a sprinkling of php+javascript.

[SilverElephant]

A short while back I met an IT consultant who's been programming since the early 70s in as many as 16 different coding languages. He had three comments on the subject:

- Most youngsters these days are too preoccupied with the "flavour of the week" coding language
- He made tons of money off COBOL in his time even though it was wildly unpopular, or rather because
- The best approach is to learn the underlying concepts of things such as OOP, database, etc. (the big things) and then try to understand what language is best suited for a specific problem