Don’t learn a language, learn to program
Everywhere I look on the Internet, I see the same question over and over again: which language should I learn if I want to make it as a programmer. I decided to write an article about it, so it can be clear for once and for all…
It really doesn’t matter which programming language you learn. I would say browse the internet to see which languages are out there and in which fields they are being used. Pick a few different ones that are being used in the field that makes you excited. Check out the syntax of those languages and compare them. Which one seems nice to you. If you don’t see the difference yet, because you are a complete newbie, don’t worry, just pick one one of them. Find a tutorial about it, create a few small hello world like programs with it and then pick one of the other ones. Repeat the process. Which one seemed more obvious to you? Which one seemed to be a little easier to grasp then the other? Pick that one, and do some more tutorial projects with it.
Throughout your career you will learn a lot more programming languages and you should. Don’t stick to a single language. Using multiple languages will teach you a lot. I do advice you to find a language you feel comfortable with and use it for a longer period so you can really progress your programming skills while using it. Then try to use those programming skills with a completely different language after let’s say a year… See how things are done differently in that language. You will see a lot of similarities, but also differences with the language you are used to. What are the pros and cons of these different approaches. Why would the creators of the language have made this choice. Learn learn learn…
In many questions I also read things like: My teacher wants me to use … but I really don’t want to become a … programmer. What I often say to those people is: “Your teacher probably chose this language because it has a low learning curve, and it is an easy language to start with. This makes it easier for him to focus on the real programming dilemma’s and not on syntax issues.” Whenever you know how to Program, you can always switch to another language, and you should. Do it at least a couple of times after your first year of programming, so you know what other languages are like. Then find the one you would like to do some professional work with and stick with it for a little longer.
You will not become a great programmer by learning the syntax of a language by heart.
Then the most important part of this article. The point I really want to make here: You will not become a great programmer by learning the syntax of a language by heart. Even great programmers that have many years of experience still go to Stack Overflow and documentation pages of their language to see how to use that function again. Becoming a good programmer is learning how to design your application, how to structure your code, how to keep it maintainable, how to keep your code future proof, how to use some design patterns, etc. To learn all this, you should keep on reading books about programming, and keep on reading articles on Medium to improve your knowledge on programming itself. Not the language. All these things will in big lines be the same for all languages.
Keep on reading books about programming, and keep on reading articles on Medium to improve your knowledge on programming itself
Here’s a few books that might help you improve your skills as a programmer. And remember to keep on learning at least one new thing a day.
- Design Patterns - Elements Of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (by Eric Gamma) [gang of four]
This is perhaps the most famous book for programmers. It is not a fun to read book, but it is good to have the knowledge that is shared through this book. - Domain-Driven Design (by Eric Evans)
This is a very good book to learn how to structure your applications in a domain driven (DDD) way. - Clean Code (by Robert C. Martin)
This book by “Uncle Bob” as people call him is a good way to becoming a better programmer. Keeping your code clean and easy to read will make it maintainable and future proof. Really a must-read for every programmer.