Software engineer Preethi Kasireddy answers your questions!
Question: “I want to get started with programming but I don’t know know where to start. What programming language should I pick? Should I focus on front-end, back-end, machine learning… or something else? There’s so many options to choose from, it’s overwhelming.”
About Preethi:
Preethi Kasireddy is an engineer based in San Francisco. She’s an avid learner who taught herself programming and machine learning, and is passionate about understanding things clearly and explaining them to others via blog posts.
She was previously a front-end & API engineer at Coinbase, a digital currency platform, where she helped architect and rebuild their front-end in React, Mobx and Redux. Prior to that, she was a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs. She studied Systems Engineering at USC.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iam_preethi
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Your key points:
– easy feedback loop; immediacy of results
– easy setup; no need for complex IDE
– dynamically typed
– ubiquitous; program on any platform
– versatile
However, JS has downsides, too:
– it's a very sloppy language; it has numerous WATs and WTFs that can distract beginners
– it's an inferior way to learn about object-oriented programming, which is the most important paradigm in the industry
– beyond the language basics (like conditionals, loops, functions, etc.), JS is a rather large, complex language; ES8.0 has a language spec of over 885 pages!!!
This is what's in store for beginners as they advance in their education.
It's hard to dispute the easy feedback loop, but all the other points are hardly unique to JS. Python is built into macOS and Linux. Installing Python under Windows is no big deal.
Ruby is also very easy to install. Both languages are dynamically typed and extremely versatile. I don't think it's an automatic win for JS.
Obrigado Cinthia Lages pela tradução. 😀
I personally think C is the first language one should learn and then C++ and then anything else.
I am 18 is it too late to start programming?
Probably the best explanation video thus far….other videos ramble on irrelevant material or promote ads…this is very helpful
Would AngularJS be just as good as JavaScript to start with?
JS if you want to be in Web. Python for Data sciences. Swift for Iphone. C++ for Cryptocurrency.
Hi, I just started learning code. So I can really go straight studying Javascript without studying html and css?
Is blockchain programming a good idea to pursue as a career? A lot of questions have been raised about the viability of the technology. Would like your take on this.
I am very new in programing, just started last week learning Python and so far I like it, also I started to learn HTML this week at FreeCodeCamp and I also like it very much specially the flexibility of leaning it anywhere using my android phone or mac. I don't know if I will continue learning both languages at the same time or if programing is for me but I will give it a try. Thank you for posting this video, it was very helpful.
Thank you!
Asking Preethi Reddy: Why are you so _____?
Nice I am in the same journey started with Python and now I understanding with JavaScript. Thank you for your insights.
Preethi, do you still believe that JavaScript is still the language to learn first?
it doesn't matter, choose anyone and start doing stuff 🙂
Are you outsourcing any of the development to India?
Preethi is hot
Do you recommend any tutorial thats good for absolute beginners in html and css? 😊
how many programming languages have you learned mam?
I think Python is easier. (Is command prompt in windows a Language too? )
Soooo did you ever learn Python, as its listed as one of the easiest to learn ?
im glad I started with javaScript using khan academy. if I wasn't for that I would have not got into programming.
Thank you!!!
Smart and beautiful winning combo. I am just starting this and not sure where to start. The more I try to step away from Python the more I see I need to start there? Any feedback? Java first?
I have found JS boring. I started with C. To understand how computers work u have to know C and it makes u a better programmer.
She is great👍
Hi, I recommend also to touch TypeScript, as they are orders of magnitude higher now in the "type abstractions", they in fact only develop or rather "discover" type system used or wildly abused by JS programmes and are searching for viable patterns to formalize into syntax, while still sticking to promise to follow future ECMAscript, (so pure javascript) future… this sound great. Type system of TS is currently capable to express things that are just impossible to do in latest C#8 for example. It sounds weird, but while JS is quite dangerous without types, using VSCODE editor its even possible to code in pure JS having simply "//ts-check" help of typescript compiler to "guard you" and the VSCODE simply "guides you" even through syntax and semantics by quite nice error messages and hints what could be better written…. I was SHOCKED last few days, while investigating its status after few years… I am still considering GO, PYTHON3 and C#8/NETCORE3, but it will be something around those things (Go leads you better to use paralelization, but isnt saint, its … different, doesnt like inheritance, objects too much and generics, but that must not be bad at all, as its native and FAST; python for datascience, yes, also very nice on devices, micropython/circuitpython and C# is general purpose uperset of Java, far better expresivity, even LINQ, but be carefull to target new things on portable NETCORE3 runtime…). And sure, using TypeScript, there is clean path to write multiplatform desktop/windowing apps using Electron chromium/node portable playground, of course, commandline tools possibel too. NODEJS may soon have some follower based on TS glued far more into core, so we will see…
Excellent, excellent, excellent! You are my new gateway drug. 🙂
I don't even know if I have started with programming languages. I have started with freeCodeCamp. First in line there is HTML and CSS. Which are mark up languages? At least HTML is. So I guess javascript will be my first. After that I have heard so much about python and I will try to learn that even if it is not part of fCC. Also I hear a lot about react, angular, jquery, mongoDB and flutter. I have to look more into that exactly what it is later. Finally I will have a look into the job market. What language does the market want the most. In my area I got the impression it could be useful to know .NET. I haven't decided on anything yet though.
I am learning my first programming language Python how can I learn it fast so that I could learn 1 more language
who came hear just to see whether or not she says JavaScript
Preethi is pretty and smart!
Thanks for sharing
She's cute.Just like JS.
I'm gonna be brutally honest, yall can hate me for it. First off, this video happens to show up cuz I'm subbed to FCC, okay that being said, I've already decided which language I'm interested in (Web Dev) anyway that done. The main and only reason I clicked and watched this entirety of this video (11mins) its cuz she's super beautiful and cute LOL and finally I did learn some new stuff, pointers, cuz I've only started learning JS recently. So yeah I only watched the video to see her 🙂 :0
What is the advantage and disadvantage of learning python first over JavaScript?
That's how JavaScript has been for me over html/css. Dissecting those two over JS extremely easy to follow but JS while I'm slowly picking it up by viewing another persons code and reading about it, has been fun to figure out.
Thanks