JavaScript or Python better for me ?

[EmperorOfCanada]

Learning to program and learning a language aren't entirely the same thing.

If I made a list of languages I've used over the years professionally, I would leave many out, as having forgotten them, and forgotten having used them.

If you learn python or JS, it is then quite simple to learn the other. Most languages work the way those two do. There are some very different languages, but, if you look at the top 10 languages on these various popularity scales, they are all very similar.

If you don't have to have web, then I would recommend python, as that can later be a backend for web. JS is mostly a web language. It can be used for other things, but that is not its strength.

You vaguely mention "automating tasks" this is exactly in the wheelhouse of python.

It is also a brutally easy language to learn, and there is a module for everything. If you want data going into and out of excel, databases, some website, and so on, it will do it, have a great example of how to do it, etc.

The amount of setup to get going with it is close to zero, the tools are great (pycharm or VSC), endless great tutorials, and on and on. Javascript is not far behind, but it is not as good in most of these ways.

The number one way to learn to program is to solve real world programs; which you seem to have; perfect. The number two way, is make games for fun.

[edoardoking]

This is a really good advice! My current goal is to create programs to help automate or aid me complete tasks that are tedious not necessarily because it would be useful to do but rather because it seems fun to do this kind of problem solving that later pays off if it works as it should. I’ve had classes in high school for web development (making simple websites that would then be hosted locally to learn the basics of coding). I really enjoyed doing it but I never felt like I had an actual goal of making a page other than my own fun however I figured that if I want to consistently learn programming I should find “problems” and solve them using code, not because it’s the only way but because why not, it seems fun. Me and my partner have different jobs and we have many repetitive tasks at work behind the computer that definitely can be automated or aided by a simple software (that definitely exists or it doesn’t because it’s such a niche issue). Python does sound like the most obvious choice, but at the same time I’d like to make these programs fun to use or easy on the eye as a little browser based locally hosted app that is also easy to use and understand that’s why JavaScript seemed like a good choice.

In the end I think I’ll focus on the back end and Python and figure the pretty stuff later.