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Ask HN: Is it important to learn C/Java before Python?

by nitin_flanker on 9/14/17, 10:24 AM with 7 comments

I am completely new to programming (Though I'm familiar with basics and few facts). I want to start my way into programming with Python. Is it a good idea? Or should I really need to learn C/Java and other basic languages first?

I don't have too big career goals with programming as I'm already in another field of work. I just always wanted to learn programming and hence decided to start now.

As I will be learning this from home in my free time, please suggest few resources to get started. Books, communities, or anything a beginner should know of.

  • by davelnewton on 9/14/17, 11:51 AM

    No. In fact I explicitly recommend against learning C first (and I wouldn't recommend Java first at all; too much ceremony before you can actually get to programming).

    Personally I'd go for https://learnpythonthehardway.org/ but there are a ton of options and it's not necessarily a big deal when you're just starting out.

    That said: if you decide to keep programming I'd recommend learning something about C (not C++) because it's good to know what's actually happening in Python, and how much it does for you.

  • by hacker_9 on 9/14/17, 10:32 AM

    Not at all, in fact in a lot of places Python is taught first. Best advice would be to pick one language and learn it thoroughly. Later on learning your next language will not be so difficult as you'll find a lot of the concepts are shared, so you can build upon what you know and just look for the differences. Your third language will be even easier again as you have a bigger 'toolbox', so to speak, to draw on yet again. And so on.

  • by MichalSternik on 9/14/17, 10:37 AM

    Go with Python.

    Python and C/Java share a lot syntax-wise, but python is higher-level, more beginner friendly language - it's got REPL, big community, lots of intro books and libraries.

    And even if you decide not to start with Python, avoid C. As a beginner, you don't want to deal with manual memory management on top of everything else that you have to learn to be a coder.

    Most importantly, have fun! :)

  • by ssl_loop_a on 9/14/17, 10:41 AM

    Python is pretty good start for people who just want to learn basic principle of programming.

    It will be much easier for beginner to install a good text editor(like sublime text or atom) and python itself. After that you can just sit in the front of your computer and start code, experiment as much as you want. Without any worries about memory leaks, that can show up in C/C++.

    Good luck!