Hi. I signed up to devrant a few months ago. I’m new to coding. What language do you recommend I should learn, Java or JavaScript? I hear JavaScript is better because it’s a full stack language whereas Java can only be run on the back office.
Also, is it even worth going down the route of programming, since the AI is supposedly taking over the industry? I mean, I feel like I can make quick progress as I’ve already learned how to inspect code in the browser and change font colors and advanced stuff like that. But seems like AI always be one step ahead of me. What do you think?

AI won‘t take over programming any time soon.
Every language is able to everything.
Javascript is the language of the web. It‘s absolute shit but currently there are not many alternatives.
If you start with javascript you risk severe brain damage.
Beside that, there are many more languages other than java.
First you decide what you want to do, then you pick the language.
Kotlin is always a better choice than Java.

Altering some basic css parameters on a web page is not ‘advanced stuff’. Decide what it is you want to do, sounds like front end web dev sparks your interest? If so firstly you will need to master css, css controls the visual appearance of websites, fonts, colour, layout, and some interactive elements it also has variables and can perform calculations it is essential. If you want to design web pages then you need to understand design, that is a whole discipline in itself. This all hangs together with html so you will need to know that too. For animations interactions such as sliders and hamburgers, viewport shenanigans you will need client side scripting language (browser level) I still use jQuery ‘cos I’m an old fashioned wankr. You don’t need to bother with SCSS or LESS these days it’s just a layer of bollocks that is unnecessary with modern CSS.Others will probably steer you away from JQuery though as its pretty ancient.

For backend web dev its PHP for me (76% of Websites 2023). But you will get a whole load of abuse on here for condoning PHP for some shitehouse reason. Stay clear of Wordpress, it’s for cunts.

@helloworld NodeJS and it's npm is a dependency hell. I would take PHP over NodeJS any time of the day.

Sounds like you liked javascript a bit, you can give it a try.

My take on the AI is this:

It's trained on what's on internet, so it can't go outside of that.

The difference between trained and learned shines here, since you will be the one helping yourself when you get stuck on a weird question when not even the internet has heard about it.

That, or the fear that OpenAI uses your code material to train it's AI further, since it can make problems in Non-Disclosure Agreements you will see when you get into the carreer ;)

Learn git.

Whatever you want to do, you need version control.

You will need git.
Without git, everything is pointless.

You will thank your future self.

Hey I found something that further validates my point, so of course I'm gonna share it with you.

(P.S: Everything on the internet has and will have bias in it. Choose your poison.)

https://twitter.com/turnoff_us/...

> changing font color is advanced

This reads life sarcasm or a troll.

javascript is the path to the dark side.

also: learn a bit of EVERYTHING and decide for yourself.

don't learn any specific language, but learn _coding_

also:

learn using search engines!

learn reading documentation!

if you don't excel at both of those, you WILL suck as a programmer.

Thanks for your feedback guys. @Lensflare so you don’t recommend JavaScript? That is unfortunate. I was thinking of learning JS first then jQuery because apparently it’s still very much relevant, a lot of websites still rely on it.
@NeatNerdPrime I’ll have to look into git. Thanks
@helloworld @Hazarth yeah lol I guess it’s not so advanced. When I show my family how I can change colors on the website they think I’m a genius 😂
@tosensei yeah I a probably too focused on picking a specific language. I think I’ll go through a few courses on codecademy and see if there’s anything I prefer

@fumey I don‘t recommend JS if you want to learn programming because JS will give you bad habits and will eventually damage your brain permanently.
I do recommend JS if you just want to quickly hack something together and get results as soon as possible.

Whenever a beginner asks which of 2 languages to pick - I say: do both! Do a few months of Java and a few months of JS

A programming education can have classes in 5 or more different langugages.

You can learn basics in one language and then switch to another. Some of those languages you’ll never use again - but it’s beneficial

No programmer thinks ”Oh what a waste that my first class was 3 months of C++ now that I’m working with Java” - quite the opposite: ”I’ve been working with Java for years - so having tried something else during my education was a big plus”

It’s like if you wanna write crime novels for a living but you never really written a book: take a writing class and write a various genres - you’re not gonna be good if you ONLY write crime before you know basics of writing good fiction

To add to that: don’t be intimidated by me saying educations can contain 5 languages. You don’t need to learn that many.

Most agree there’s a big benefit in learning a 2nd language.
But less benefit going from your 4th to your 5th.

The main thing is: don’t feel like your pick of 1st language is a big decision that shapes your future. Pick any major language at random, learn basics. The language you’ll start working in professionally might be something entirely different you pick later on.

@daniel-wu

As if composer is any better...

Protip... Their implementation is the very fucking same 😆

On topic: as @tosensei said, focus on solving problems.

When you know how to reason about a problem, and know how to formulate a solution in an algorithmic way (say, finite steps, reproducible, deterministic), expressing it in whatever language you want is a matter of searching the syntax.

@fumey you don’t have to get good at multiple languagues

just spend a few months in one language and then switch to another. Even if you still felt like a rookie

That’s common in programmer educations: a beginner class in one language where you learn the first steps of basic variables and loops. Then the next class is in a different language and you re-learn the basics in a new syntax plus some slightly more advanced concept and details about functions

@fumey if you like reading about stuff -- i mean, you are here and the most animation we have is gifs. -- try freecodecamp for javascript. now, the design has changed since the last time i used it, a recent user will and shall tell the pros and cons, you can decide if you want to use it or not.

for the VEEEEEEERY basics and remembering syntax, i could recommend Sololearn, but it's been at least 5 years since i last used it and the remembering syntax part (basically dueling someone else with 5 random questions about the language) REQUIRES the mobile app -- at least the last time i checked, it did.

@fumey Trying some online courses or a bootcamp first is a great idea.

I totally get it. Out of highschool I was unsure what to do. I tried out 4 classes in different topics (web programming, finance, sociology, law) and started out a aiming for a degree in something else, hating it, and switching to programming.

But just saying: the language choice of my first programming courses had very little impact on my programming career. So just pick ANYTHING that sounds fun right now and go with it.

Just pick the top rated course on your course platform without worrying if the language is optimal.

@fumey now you are one of us. welcome to the sleepless nights because you could not figure out something.