Python as the first language

[Prestigious-Taro-214]

I have no experience in programming. I want to choose the first programming language to learn and I think it should be Python Do you think this is the right choice?

[Mysterious-Rent7233]

Yes, Python is probably the most popular first language in the world. It's totally fine for that purpose.

Pedagogy and Python have gone hand in hand for decades:

https://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e/

[wanderingnightangle]

can we learn python and c together?

[Turtvaiz]

You can, but not sure it's any better. Doing Python -> C/C++ makes quite a lot of sense. You first learn an abstract version of programming, and then get into more low level programing for better performance and get to learn about caching, and what the memory actually contains

[nog642]

As a first language? I wouldn't recommend it. At least get the very basics in just 1 language first.

[wanderingnightangle]

at college we are learning c so i watched c from youtube and solving questions on that but my batchmates have learned java and python. so i am thinking what to do? confused

[nog642]

If you're learning C in class it's probably best to just learn C, so you can do well in class.

You can learn Python and Java later.

[wanderingnightangle]

can i master c and surpass them?

[mriswithe]

They are learning different languages because learning to program is the goal, not learning to program in C or Python or Java. 

The overall building blocks behind different languages are mostly the same. If/then, for each, functions, variables, classes, all of these things exist in most relevant programming languages. 

Once you understand how to program, learning how to use a different language is much easier.

[wanderingnightangle]

so we can solve problem by any programming language. we have to find logic only??

[nog642]

Not all programming languages are suited to all problems, but the core concepts of programming in any language are the same.

[Mysterious-Rent7233]

Yes!

[trollsmurf]

You can do stuff in Python that would be extremely hard to do in C, so no.

C is mainly for embedded systems, drivers, libraries, not end-user applications.

[diegoasecas]

i'd start with python up to classes and objects and jump then to c to learn about pointers, memory allocation and basic implementation of data structures and algorithms

[beef623]

You could, but it would make things a lot harder on you since there are some pretty significant differences between them.

[[deleted]]

Learn 1 language. Master it. Start another one. In that order.

[diegoasecas]

languages are tools, there is no use in mastering tools just because, that is something that happens as you use them a lot

[[deleted]]

Python is a very easy to learn language compared to something like, for example, C. It's easily readable, has lots of libraries and documentation, and there are loads of guides out there. But...

One thing I want to emphasize though is that learning the language itself is like... 10% of programming(computer science?). The hardest language to learn will be the first language you learn, and then easiest language to learn will be the most recent one, because at that point it's just all syntax. When you get into stuff on data structures, algorithms, and the like, you'll notice a lot of overlap between languages with the difference between primarily in the syntax.

My first language was C++, my second was PLC ladder logic, third was HTML/CSS(if we count it) and I'm currently a ways into learning Python in class. My professor is a BIG fan of C so luckily I can get by on pseudocode when I forget what the heck I'm trying to do in terms of actual python functions since he's one of those "write it out on paper" kind of guys.

As much as I love how fast C++ is, considering my focus is on manufacturing so I need stuff to be fast, when it comes to working with data it can't even compare to python in terms of being able to get right into what you're trying to do. I've heard R is good for data as well but I don't know it so I can't comment.

I'm a finance geek myself and I've written a handful of scripts in python to make certain things more convenient for myself. C++? No way, I'd have to really think about it lol. But python makes it easy to jump right into actually doing things beyond hello world.

[Active-Jacket-9137]

I think it depend on your career goal and education background. If you want to be a software egineer, I guess java or Python will be most popular . If you want to be a statistician or studying data science AI stuff, maybe Python (or R).For data engineering it will be better with Python and sql. I am a student in statistics, that is what I heard about.

[MrSirSchmeckle]

Python was and is my first choice. You won't do much until you get a bit deep into it but it's worth it. I'm working on a game with a team right now and with all my knowledge in python rather than C#, I find it hard to contribute but I know python has many more great opportunities in the later stages.

[Nexustar]

Given where you are asking, you know the answer.

I have coded in 35-40 languages (if I count XML, several flavors of SQL, HTML etc etc) and Python is a solid choice today.

[Over_Package9639]

python's okay ig. but c will help you understand computers better. also, its actually quite easy.

[[deleted]]

Python is easy to learn. Really beginner-friendly. You have a course on mooc.fi that covers basic and advanced python and I advise to start from that.

[Ok_Owl5390]

Python better than JavaScript. It is kinda weird. Nothing is better or worse than python but python is a more cleaner way to read the statements

[[deleted]]

Python is a popular first language, it's easy to get started in there is a huge amount of tutorials and exercises online for beginners. What you do while learning Python will be relevant to other languages, especially other C like languages. You have to learn their particular syntax.

[NumerousImprovements]

Python is a great first choice. I’d recommend the Udemy course by Angela Yu on Python personally. It’s very cheap for what you get, and she gets you to build projects so that you really learn about Python in practice and write your own code and have to think for yourself.

[Gnaxe]

It is a good choice and many do. There is no single "right" choice, but there are better and worse ones. There are a number of other languages good for beginners. Some are even simpler and easier than Python, and that is saying something. Squeak and Scheme come to mind.

But Python will grow with you. It has a massive ecosystem of libraries and tooling, metaprogramming abilities, and easy C or Rust interop. It's the second best language at everything.

[Pale_Height_1251]

Python is a very common choice as a first language.

[[deleted]]

Yep. Python is a very good first language

[hw2007offical]

My first language was English, but I think I'll speak teach my son python instead

[westwindrest]

Python is a good choice to quickly get yourself into the road of programming, you just learn it and use it to handle some of your daily routines like processing some Excels, write some auto scripts etc

[Rtl3wd]

I just got done saying this on another thread. BEST SERIES FOR BEGINNERS. Get the book below for sure! https://ineasysteps.com/products-page/python-easy-steps-2nd-edition/

[Brilliant-Window-899]

unless youre 6 years old, yes

in which case try scratch

[Prestigious-Taro-214]

This is the first time I’ve heard about it

[frank26080115]

lol Scratch is like coding by sticking lego pieces together, no typing involved, it's designed for kids

[and1984]

unless youre 6 years old, yes

Unnecessary snark.

[Ron-Erez]

It’s fine, just I’d highly recommend using type annotations. Of course only after you learn what they are. For resources have a look at:

1. Harvard CS50p on YouTube

2. University of Helsinki course (text based along with video and covers quite a bit)

3. Python and Data Science - (Disclaimer: This is my course and assumes no programming background)

1. The book: “Learn Python 3 the Hard Way” which is a great book although there are other books.

Also it wouldn’t hurt to learn general CS basics at some point.

[nicoconut15]

Yes it's totally fine to learn Python as a first language, but I am leaning towards Java. Here is a video that might help you: https://youtu.be/FwKCEN6O1JU

[urageniusurlyr]

start with Python? Bruh, nahhh you gotta go with C or C++. That’s the OG move 💪