[YoungENT]

I have no technical background but am very interested in learning web programming. Is java a good language to begin with?

[Your Restrain]

I think Visual Basics is the best language to start with as it does a lot of the programming in the background and your graphical interfaces are pretty much drag and drop. It is also not case-sensitive or as strict as Java. It'll teach you the basic concepts used in programming in general.

Although, Java is not the worst language to start with, i'd recommend Visual Basics.

[jimdandy75]

If you want web programming, start with HTML. Then move on to PHP, Javascript or Pearl.

[macosxnerd101]

It is a good introductory language, but not for web development. You really need a strong background with OOP before you touch Applets, which are the most basic web elements with Java, and this will take about 6 months from no prior programming experience. The Java EE platform is more geared towards web development, and it isn't something you want to start out with. Take a look at languages like PHP, ASP.NET, or ColdFusion instead.

[YoungENT]

Thanks for the guidance, guys.
Before I found this forum, I signed up for a java programming course at my school. I hope I am not completely lost from day 1!

[Your Restrain]

go to www.TheNewBoston.com. This guy introduces java and a ton of other programming languages in 90 tutorials in a comedic fashion.

Good quality knowledge right there

[YoungENT]

Your Restrain, on 23 October 2010 - 03:13 PM, said:

go to www.TheNewBoston.com. This guy introduces java and a ton of other programming languages in 90 tutorials in a comedic fashion.

Good quality knowledge right there

Thank you for this! I am going to start watching some PHP tutorials now.
Is it reasonable to think I could get a good baseline knowledge from watching these?

[RandomlyKnighted]

Depends upon how fast you learn. As macosxnerd101 said, I'd start with something like ASP.NET. It is designed for web development and you can use Visual Basic or C# with it. I prefer C# and highly recommend it for the simple fact that it teaches you good programming practices.

[YoungENT]

RandomlyKnighted, on 23 October 2010 - 03:29 PM, said:

Depends upon how fast you learn. As macosxnerd101 said, I'd start with something like ASP.NET. It is designed for web development and you can use Visual Basic or C# with it. I prefer C# and highly recommend it for the simple fact that it teaches you good programming practices.

I am starting with macrosxnerd101's suggestion of PHP only because this tutorial (www.thenewboston.com) does not appear to offer ASP.NET. Do you know of any places to help learn ASP.NET?

[jimdandy75]

YoungENT, on 23 October 2010 - 03:35 PM, said:

RandomlyKnighted, on 23 October 2010 - 03:29 PM, said:

Depends upon how fast you learn. As macosxnerd101 said, I'd start with something like ASP.NET. It is designed for web development and you can use Visual Basic or C# with it. I prefer C# and highly recommend it for the simple fact that it teaches you good programming practices.

I am starting with macrosxnerd101's suggestion of PHP only because this tutorial (www.thenewboston.com) does not appear to offer ASP.NET. Do you know of any places to help learn ASP.NET?

Once again though you are referring to web programming languages, do you already know HTML? If not I highly suggest that be your starting point. w3schools has great beginners tutorials for learning html and web development.

[macosxnerd101]

The DIC Tutorials Sections have a ton of good tutorials on Java, PHP, ASP.NET, VB6, VB.NET, C#, as well as other languages. I highly suggest checking them out!

[TokoYami200]

I started with C++ and Java, totally forgoing other languages. It depends on how easily you can grasp concepts; there are some books which portray the language well enough in a simple fashion that you understand how everything fits together without going into detail more than required. I never feel like I should have started with something simpler, if you have the right resources it's just as simple as learning an easier language.

I'm still a noob - a self taught noob - but I know enough to help my friends who started with basic (programming classes) as well as be waaay ahead of them in everything programming related. Mwhaha.

If you're okay with researching and reading, you can start with Java and use services like this forum and the official Sun developer thingy (clicky) and be completely fine until you're ready to learn more advanced topics. I'm still going through it, but it's great!

Whatever you decide, the best way to program is to just do it and play around with whatever you do; you can't break anything and as you experiment you'll learn a lot. Have fun!

[YoungENT]

jimdandy75, on 23 October 2010 - 04:07 PM, said:

YoungENT, on 23 October 2010 - 03:35 PM, said:

RandomlyKnighted, on 23 October 2010 - 03:29 PM, said:

Depends upon how fast you learn. As macosxnerd101 said, I'd start with something like ASP.NET. It is designed for web development and you can use Visual Basic or C# with it. I prefer C# and highly recommend it for the simple fact that it teaches you good programming practices.

I am starting with macrosxnerd101's suggestion of PHP only because this tutorial (www.thenewboston.com) does not appear to offer ASP.NET. Do you know of any places to help learn ASP.NET?

Once again though you are referring to web programming languages, do you already know HTML? If not I highly suggest that be your starting point. w3schools has great beginners tutorials for learning html and web development.

Cool thx...no I have no experience what so ever...I will check this out

TokoYami200, on 23 October 2010 - 04:25 PM, said:

I started with C++ and Java, totally forgoing other languages. It depends on how easily you can grasp concepts; there are some books which portray the language well enough in a simple fashion that you understand how everything fits together without going into detail more than required. I never feel like I should have started with something simpler, if you have the right resources it's just as simple as learning an easier language.

I'm still a noob - a self taught noob - but I know enough to help my friends who started with basic (programming classes) as well as be waaay ahead of them in everything programming related. Mwhaha.

If you're okay with researching and reading, you can start with Java and use services like this forum and the official Sun developer thingy (clicky) and be completely fine until you're ready to learn more advanced topics. I'm still going through it, but it's great!

Whatever you decide, the best way to program is to just do it and play around with whatever you do; you can't break anything and as you experiment you'll learn a lot. Have fun!

Thanks for this! I do not mind putting in some work to build a core knowledge.

[Dogstopper]

This would be better in a non-Java forum for non-biased results. Moved to the Cube.

[Oler1s]

There's 5 languages that have very high mainstream usage and focus these days. They are Java, C#, PHP, Ruby, and Python. Obviously there are more languages in use, but the five I listed are what you will encounter with highest probability.

I normally recommend Python and Ruby. I favor Python and C# as languages, so I would tell you to use Python. But both Python and Ruby have lowest barriers of entry with, what is, I think the greatest bang for time investment. PHP also has a low barrier of entry, but I dislike the language ecosystem.

It's not enough to have a good language. You must have good frameworks and libraries to make use of. These provide pre built design and code for you to build off of. Well tested, well designed, mature frameworks are important. All the 5 languages I mentioned have mature frameworks you can use. One reason I suggest Ruby and Python is that frameworks for these languages are very easy to get into. Look at Django (Python framework) and Rails (Ruby framework). They are mature, well designed, have good documentation, and have ecosystems that are beginner friendly.