Demand for programming skills have gradually increased over past few decades. A short time ago, only a handful of people became computer programmers and everyone saw the with admiration. But now as we have entered into a digital age, the IT sectors and jobs have increased manifold. And these jobs require you to have a hold on one or more programming languages. When you decide to learn a programming language, the biggest question that comes in your mind is that ‘What is the best programing language to learn first’? We will answer this query of yours in this blog.

To make a right choice from the beginning, you need to evaluate a certain pointers as a wrong choice can cost you your time as well as money. You need to assess your reasons to learn programming language. For instance, whether you need to advance in your career, get a certification in programming language, develop an application, or learn new skills to change your career line. You also need to keep in mind the skills you already possess which may align with a programming language.

Here are some languages which are popular with employers now-a-days. These languages are suitable for beginners and will get advanced as you learn more and become proficient.

Also read: How many programming languages are there?

What programing language to learn?

Python

Best programing language to learn first

Python has become one of the most popular and commonly used languages in modern times. It is also an easy language for beginners. This language was developed by a Dutch programmer whose goal was to develop the easiest programming language to read. His goal has obviously been achieved. Many big and famous companies like Google and Netflix use Python now.

Pros:

  • Fastest growing programming language in the world.
  • One of the most flexible language. You can use it for data science, machine learning, web development etc.
  • Also dominates industry of finance, electronics, media etc.

Cons:

  • Cannot be used for front-end web development and app development.
  • Does not start with programming basics.
Platform:Web, Desktop
Level:Beginners can learn easily
Skills Needed:Problem-solving, abstract thinking
Degree of Use:Widely used in both technical education and business use
Popularity:Becoming continuously more popular
Annual Salary Projection:$92,000

JavaScript

JavaScript is an object-oriented programming language. It is commonly used to create effects in web browsers which makes it interactive. One of the three core technologies of World Wide Web besides HTML and CSS is JavaScript. JavaScript has a superset which is TypeScript. This can add optional static typing to JavaScript. Until 2017, JavaScript was the best programing language to learn first. Now the position has been taken by Python.

Pros:

  • Used at the front-end of some popular websites. For instance, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Amazon etc.
  • Also used in popular web frameworks such as AngularJS, Node.js, and React.JS.
  • FreeCodeCamp (online course) which teaches web development promote JavaScript as the best programing language to learn first.

Cons:

  • Not very suitable for aspects other than web development.
  • Many programmers do not appraise it as a good language.
Platform:Web, Desktop
Level:High-level
Skills Needed:Basic programming knowledge, Knowledge of core Java sufficient.
Degree of Use:Used both on the client-side and server-side that to make web pages interactive.
Popularity:One of the most popular
Annual Salary Projection:$72,500.

Java

Java is owned by Oracle Corporation and has an object-oriented structure. This general-purpose programming language is one of the most common used language regardless of platform. Because of its capability of Write Once, Run Anywhere. It is being considerably used in hundreds of applications. New frameworks of Java such as Spring, Hibernate and Struts have also become very popular. It has a vast community of developers.

Pros:

  • Portability across various platforms from data centers to mobile phones.
  • Used in the backend of various popular websites. For instance, Google, YouTube, Amazon, Twitter etc.
  • Extensively used in application and web development in addition to Big Data.

Cons:

  • Significantly more challenging and complex to learn.
  • Difficult to start as a beginner as you have to learn a lot of new vocabulary.
Platform:Web, Mobile, Desktop
Level:Intermediate
Skills Needed:Problem-solving, knowledge of the object-oriented structure.
Degree of Use:Widely used; highly applicable.
Popularity:One of the world’s most popular; high demand.
Annual Salary Projection:$94,000

C and C++

One of the oldest programming language used is C. Also, it has been a root for other programming languages. For instance, C#, Java, and JavaScript. C++ is like an enhanced version of C. Both of these languages are important and are being widely used in computer science and programming. And they are both high-performance languages. The developers of C and C++ make use of compilers for various platforms which makes applications in these languages highly transportable.

Pros:

  • Widely used in developing applications with performance as major issue. For instance, video games, commercial products like Adobe, Firefox and client/server applications.
  • C can be used for learning fundamentals of programming at lowest level.
  • C++ will allow higher control than other programming languages.

Cons:

  • Coding in C is difficult for a beginner and very strict language.
  • Challenging to understand than Java.
Platform:Mobile, Desktop, Embedded
Level:C – Intermediate to Advanced 
C++ – Beginner to Intermediate
Skills Needed:Problem-solving, basic computer knowledge.
Degree of Use:C – One of the most widely used
C++ – Widely used
Popularity:C – Higher migration from C to C++
C++ – One of the world’s most popular languages
Annual Salary Projection:$91,000

Ruby

Best programing language to learn first

Ruby is a language which is comparably easy to learn. This makes it a perfect match for beginners to start with. It was developed in 1990s with a human-friendly syntax. There is a web application framework which is implemented in Ruby i.e. Ruby on Rails (RoR). Ruby has a vast community of developers which is growing because of the interest shown by beginners.

Pros:

  • Flexible from the point of view of its object-oriented architecture.
  • Easy language to start as no specialized vocabulary required.
  • Can be learnt in short time and enforces good programming style.

Cons:

  • Slow runtime speed.
  • Hard to find good documentation.
Platform:Web
Level:Beginner
Skills Needed:Problem-solving, abstract thinking.
Degree of Use:Least broadly used
Popularity:On the rise
Annual Salary Projection:$90,000

Conclusion

There are hundreds of languages out there. But we have shortlisted for you the ones which are common and popular and best for beginners. Learning these languages will give a rise to your career and boost your CVs. The best programming languages to learn first will depend on your needs and on the basis of that you can choose from the list.

We hope that this article helped you in deciding the language you want to learn. You can share any feedback in the comments. Thank you for reading. Keep learning, Keep coding!

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