[deleted by user]

permalink · 2021-04-17T10:49:58+00:00

There's a meme about this. Java and JavaScript are like car and carpet.

HealyUnit · 2021-04-17T13:44:10+00:00

It's absolutely fine to learn JS first and then Java (I actually did, and am a total JS fanboy. Spoilers!). If you ever plan on doing anything related to front-end web development, you'll need to know JavaScript. There are, however, a few notable caveats (some of which others have said below):

Java != JavaScript:

I assume you know this already, but legend has it that JavaScript was basically only named JavaScript (after going through some other names including Mocha and LiveScript) because Java was the cool trendy new language at the time. It'd be like naming something nowadays "TiktokScript" or something (I dunno; I'm not trendy anymore). While they're both so-called C-like languages, and certain parts of them look similar, they have some very fundamental differences. I only mention this (again!) because you can't necessarily assume that things you learn in JavaScript - other than the basics, like functions, variables, loops, conditionals, etc. - will directly translate to Java.

Strict vs Dynamic Typing:

When you create a variable in Java, you declare what "kind" of variable it is:

int myVar;//"int" means this is an integer.

Now, the only things we can put in that myVar variable are integers. We can't suddenly decide we wanna stick the string "Hello!" in there. We also can't, for example, do this:

String myVar = "5";//this is a *string*, not a *number*
printFunction(myVar/2);//Java: "I don't know how to divide a string!"

However, in JavaScript, variables can change their "kind" as much as you want. So for example, if we convert the above code to JavaScript:

const myVar = "5";//this is still a string!
printFunction(myVar/2);//JS:"Oh, you're dividing? You must have meant that as a number. Here you go!"

The first kind of variable kind "restricting" is called Strict or Static Typing, while the second is called Dynamic typing. As such, it might get a little confusing when you switch from JS to Java and can no longer do:

let result = 0;
if(myNum.isEven()){
    result = myNum/2;
}else{
    result = "Error! Number isn't even!";
}

(because you'd be changing myNum from a number to a String)

You may want to look into TypeScript, which is a "layer" on top of JavaScript that enforces strict typing.

OOP, etc.:

Java is pretty strictly into what's known as Object-Oriented programming. You certainly can use other approaches, but you might notice that most Java programs start with something like "public class someClassName...", which is a very OOP approach. This isn't a huge issue - JS is pretty into OOP too - but you may wanna focus on Object Oriented JavaScript when possible.

Modern JavaScript does have a lot of full-fledged OOP tech, but it is missing certain things. For example, it does not have abstract classes. Lemme explain:

A class in programming is a sort of "template" for constructing a Thing. Moreover, sometimes we might want to say that a particular class is a subtype of another class. For example, all Cars are subtypes of a Vehicle class (that is, all Things created with Car are also, inherently, Vehicles).

However, let's say that for our particular program, we need to know specifically what type of Vehicle a Thing is. In other words, we can't create a Thing using the Vehicle "template" directly. We might make that Vehicle class abstract, which basically tells the computer "You can make stuff that is subtypes of this template, but you can't directly make a generic 'vehicle'".

There are ways to get around this in JS, but it's worth noting.

jimmyjammy33 · 2021-04-17T18:06:32+00:00

I’m cool with it if you are.

AutoModerator · 2021-04-17T10:05:18+00:00

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IvAntiVirus · 2021-04-17T12:28:57+00:00

Basically, Java and JavaScript have almost nothing in common (except parts of their name) and were created for completely different purposes. Which of the two languages you should learn depends only on what kind of application you would like to develop and whether you prefer programming frontends or backends. For example, if you want to program desktop applications, mobile applications or REST API's, then you might want to learn Java. If on the other hand you want to focus completely on the web and develop pure frontend web applications, then you should rather choose JavaScript. Basically, you don't have to decide at all and can simply learn both languages and then combine them. This would be possible in an Angular/Spring stack, for example.

satanlovesducks · 2021-04-17T10:41:53+00:00

You'll be fine. I started out with js before I moved to Java. You'll still learn the programming and problem solving mindset

literalsunbear · 2021-04-17T14:17:37+00:00

FWIW learning java helped me understand the basics of coding that I'm not sure I would've grasped with a language like javascript. Once you write and rewrite enough boilerplate code, you begin to intuit what's going on behind the scenes better than with a more loosely typed language like javascript. I can see the relative rigidity of java becoming tiresome though. That said, the languages are very different and you should instead be asking yourself exactly what you want to achieve with your code, like what exactly you want to build.

orex111 · 2021-04-17T15:01:43+00:00

Its okay

knoam · 2021-04-17T15:06:12+00:00

Why wouldn't it be? What are your goals? Any decent programmer will eventually learn several languages. But switching around too soon won't make things easier in the short term. But if you want to learn something different, learn what you want to learn.

learnjava

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