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OCTOBER 28, 2022 / #BEGINNERS GUIDE

The Best Programming

Language to Learn –
Beginners Guide to
Coding
Dionysia Lemonaki
:
 Technology is ADVERTISEMENT

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Chris

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various tasks. And
behind these Work together in real
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modern-day
software
programs are
thousands of lines Sign up
of code.

Coding is one of the

most valuable skills to
learn today. You can
not only build any idea
you have and see it
come to life, but you
can also improve your
:
 future.

Knowing how to code

increases your
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statistics, software
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According to the U.S.

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statistics, the
anticipated change for
:
 2021-2031 is a 25%
growth, which is much
faster than average.

All the data above

sound great, but with
hundreds of
programming
languages available
today, choosing the
best one to learn can
leave you confused,
intimidated, or even
overwhelmed.

The truth is, there is no

one correct answer to
the question 'What is
the best programming
language to learn?'.

The language you

choose to learn will
depend on many
things, such as what
you want to build,
:
 you want to build,

what projects you

want to work on, your
individual career goals,
the desired path you ADVERTISEMENT
want to take, or even
how much you want to
challenge yourself.

In this article, I first

explain what
programming
languages are and go
over the differences
between
programming,
scripting, and markup
Professional
languages.
emails
come from
I also list some of the professional
most popular addresses.
languages that
Go from
beginners choose to [email protected]
to [email protected]
learn according to the
Stack Overflow
Sign up
Developer Survey for
2022.
:
 2022.

Here is what we will

cover:

1. What are
programming
languages?

1. Progra
mming
languag
es vs
scriptin
g
languag
es vs
markup
languag
es -
what's
the
differen
ce?

2. The most
popular
programming
:
 programming

languages to
learn

1. HTML
and CSS

2. JavaScri
pt

3. Python

4. SQL

5. C++

6. Java

Let's dive in.

What Are
Programming
Languages?
Coding involves telling
a computer what to do
how to do it. You do
this by providing it
with a sequence of
instructions using a
:
 instructions using a
language both humans
and machines
understand.

The machine
interprets the
instructions and
ADVERTISEMENT
carries them out to
achieve a specific
result.

Computers do not
understand human
languages. They only
speak binary – a
language consisting of
0 s and 1 s.
WhistleOu

In binary, 0
represents off, and 1
represents on.
Whist

It makes perfect since

that binary is the
primary language of all
machines since
NBN &
:
 WhistleOut
NBN &

eOut
machines since

electronic devices
have thousands of
4G/5G
transistors (or tiny
switches) inside them. Home
Internet
And the switches turn
on or off depending on
the flow of electricity.

WhistleOut
But coding in binary is
time-consuming and
very error-prone. So,
humans invented Open
computer
programming
languages that are
readable, easier to
learn and understand,
and much more
human-friendly.

Computer
programming
languages fall into one
of two groups: low-

level and high-level.

:
 level and high-level.

Low-level
programming
languages have little
or no abstraction from
the machine's
instruction set.
Essentially, their
instructions are close
to the machine's
processor's
instructions.

Binary code (or

machine code) and
assembly language are
considered low-level
programming
languages.

High-level
programming
languages are more
human-friendly.

They are similar to

:
 They are similar to
human languages and
look a lot like English.
They offer a shorter,
more precise, and less
verbose way to create
instructions that the
computer can
understand.

Programming
Languages VS
Scripting ADVERTISEMENT

Languages VS
Markup
Languages -
What's the
Difference?
At this point, it is
Work together
worth mentioning that
in real time
every language fits with live doc
into a specific editing.
category.

There are three

categories of

languages:
:
 languages: Sign up

Programming
languages

Scripting
languages

Markup
languages

Programming
languages are used for
writing logical sets of
instructions for
computers to execute
and solve a problem.

Programming
languages are written
in a human-readable
form but get
converted to machine
code (binary).

And this conversion

happens with the help
of a compiler, which
:
 of a compiler, which
fully translates at once
all the instructions
written in a high-level
programming
language into
something the
computer's CPU can
easily understand.

Once the instructions

are in a machine-
readable form, the
computer executes
them, and they can run
on the machine.

Scripting languages go
hand in hand with
programming
languages – you can
think of them as a
subset or subcategory
of programming
languages.

The main difference

:
 The main difference
between programming
and scripting
languages is how each
gets compiled.

Scripting languages
get intrerpreted
rather than compiled.

Scripting languages
use an interpreter
which translates each
instruction, executes
it, and then moves on
to the next instruction
and continues to do
the same line by line
instead of all at once
as a compiler does.
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Markup languages are

presentational
languages and not
programming or

scripting languages.
:
 scripting languages.
They are entirely
different since they
don't involve logical
processing.

Markup languages are

languages used for
defining, describing,
and structuring data
on a web page. They
also lay out and style
data on a page.

The Most
Popular
Programming
Languages
to Learn
In the following
sections, I list some of
the most popular
languages that
beginners choose to
learn. I also list their
:
 use cases and some
resources for you to
get started learning
them.

HTML and CSS

HTML and CSS are not
technically
programming
languages, but
according to the Stack
Overflow developer
survey for 2022, they
rank first as the most
popular languages for
people learning to
code.

HTML and CSS are

markup languages, and
you use them to create
static web pages.

They are two

languages you need to
:
 learn if you are
interested in becoming
a frontend developer.
You can also learn
them alongside
JavaScript to add
interactivity to the
static pages you
create.

HTML (which stands

for HyperText Markup
Language) defines the
structure and content
of a web page. So, the
paragraphs, headings,
lists, forms, and links
you see on a page,
along with their
hierarchies, are all
HTML code.

And thanks to the

ADVERTISEMENT
latest version of
HTML, HTML5, you
can embed images,
:
 can embed images,

videos, and audio in

web pages eliminating
the need to use extra
plugins like you had to
in the past.

CSS (short for

Cascading Style
Sheets) styles HTML
elements. It is
responsible for
presenting content in
a visually appealing
way.

CSS code enables all

the different colors
and fonts. The sizing of
elements and how
those elements get
displayed on the page.
The page layout and
how items get
arranged next to one
another.
:
 another.

To learn HTML and

CSS, check out the
following resources:

Learn HTML –
Beginner's
Course

Learn CSS in
this free 6-hour
video course

Learn HTML
and CSS with
this free 11
hour course

Learn HTML
and CSS in
Spanish –
Course for
Beginners

Responsive
Web Design
Certification

JavaScript
:
 JavaScript
According to the Stack
Overflow developer
survey for 2022,
JavaScript has ranked
first as the most
commonly used
programming
language for ten
consecutive years. And
it is the second most
popular language for
people learning to
code.

JavaScript (not to be
confused with Java) is
a scripting language
that lets you add
interactivity and
dynamic behaviors to
otherwise static web
pages.

Some interactive
features JavaScript
:
 can add are:
ADVERTISEMENT

A map with a
user’s current
location

A message
shown to a user
once they land
on the page

A change on
the page based
on user input

An animation
when a user
clicks a button

A smooth scroll
effect when
there is a
button to scroll
back up to the
top of the page.

Mouseover
effects

One of JavaScript's
:
 One of JavaScript's

strengths as a
language is that you
don't need to compile
your code to see the
results of your work.

Javascript is built in
and runs in browsers,
meaning you don't
need to install it on
your local machine and
go through a
complicated and error-
prone installation
process.

JavaScript is used
primarily for client-
side programming and
server-side scripting.

Specifically, JavaScript
is used for frontend
web development and
even backend web
:
 development with the
help of Node.js, a
JavaScript runtime
environment for
running JavaScript on
a server and not just
the browser.

Knowing JavaScript is
a must if you want to
work as a frontend
developer, and it is a
popular language of
choice for backend
and full stack web
development roles.

To learn more about

the differences
between frontend and
backend web
development, give this
article a read. And to
learn what the job of a
full stack web
developer entails, give
:
 developer entails, give

this article a read.

Besides creating
ADVERTISEMENT
complex web
applications,
JavaScript is also used
for creating browser
games.

To learn JavaScript,
check out the
following resources:

Full JavaScript
Course for
Beginners

Learn
JavaScript in
Spanish – Full
Course for
Beginners

Learn
JavaScript by
Building 7
Games - Full
:
 Games - Full
Course
JavaScript
Tutorial: Build
Flappy Bird and
Doodle Jump

JavaScript
Algorithms and
Data
Structures
certification

Python
Python is a general-
purpose server-side
scripting language.
And according to the
Stack Overflow
Developer Survey for
2022, it is the third
most popular language
for people learning to
code.

Python is a great
:
 language for beginners

thanks to its readable,

intuitive, concise, and
beginner-friendly
syntax.

It is a popular language
when working with
large amounts of data,
so it's often used for
machine learning, data
science, data analysis,
and data processing.

It is also the language

of choice for web
scraping. Web
scraping is an
automated technique
that extracts, collects,
and processes large
amounts of raw data
from the web.

You can also use

Python for backend
:
 Python for backend
web development to

create web
applications with the
help of frameworks
such as Django and
Flask.

ADVERTISEMENT
In addition, Python is a
popular language for
test automation.

Instead of writing all

the tests for your
programs manually,
you can rely on
automation tools,
Python libraries, and
Python scripts to get
the job done.

To get started learning

Python, check out the
following recourses:

Python For
Beginners
:
 Beginners

Courses
Ranked from
Best to Worst –
freeCodeCamp
Edition

How to Code
20 Beginner
Python
Projects

Learn Python
by Building 12
Projects in This
3-Hour Course

Backend Web
Development
with Python -
Full Course

SQL
SQL is short for
Structured Query
Language.
:
 You will likely hear it
pronounced one of
two ways – "S. Q. L."
(ess-kew-ell) or
"sequel" (like a sequel
to a movie).

Either way, SQL is a

language used for
working with
databases and any job
that involves storing,
managing, accessing,
and analyzing data. It
is one of the languages
of choice for data
scientists, data
analysts, statisticians,
and marketers.

Specifically, with SQL,

you can access, query,
manipulate and
interact with data
stored in relational
databases.
:
 databases.

A database is an
electronic storage
localization for data. In
databases, you can
easily retrieve and
search through your
data.

And a relational
database stores data
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in a structured and
tabular format. That is,
it stores information in
tables (which you can
think of as storage
containers for the
data) organized in
columns and rows. All
data items stored have
pre-defined
relationships with
each other.

With SQL, you can

write database queries
:
 write database queries
to perform any CRUD

(Create, Read, Update,

Delete) operations on
the data.

It is worth mentioning
that SQL is not
technically a
programming
language - you cannot
build web applications
or software tools using
it. It is a query
language and a tool
used for managing
relational databases
and performing
operations on the data
stored in them.

And although it ranks

fifth as the most
popular language for
people learning to
code according to the
Stack Overflow
:
 Stack Overflow
Developer Survey for

2022, it ranks third as

the most popular
language for
professional
developers.

So, it is a good idea to

learn SQL as you may
need to use it in a
professional setting.

To learn SQL, check

out the following
resources:

Learn SQL –
Free Relational
Database
Courses for
Beginners

SQL
Commands
Cheat Sheet –
How to Learn
:
 How to Learn
SQL in 10

Minutes

Learn SQL with

These 5 Easy
Recipes

SQL and
Databases - A
Full Course for
Beginners

Relational
Database
Certification

ADVERTISEMENT

C++
In the early 1980s,
Bjarne Stroustrup
created a language
influenced by the C
programming
language. It could get
close to the machine
hardware and do
demanding low-level
computational tasks,
:
 computational tasks,
but it also provided a

higher level of
abstraction without
losing the low-level
efficiency of C.

So, the language 'C

with classes' was
created, and in 1984
'C with classes' was
renamed C++.

C++ is a superset of C
and provides
additional capabilities
to the C language.

C++ allows the

programmer close
access to and
manipulation of the
machine while
providing efficiency
and high performance
for large-scale
:
 for large-scale
systems. At the same
time, it is higher level

with enough
abstraction away from
the machine.

C++ is both a
procedural and an
object oriented
programming
language. OOP divides
a program into objects.

Everything gets
organized and divided
into smaller groups of
related parts or
objects, which are an
instance of a class,
following a bottom-up
approach.

This programming
style creates more
readable and usable
:
 code that is easier to
maintain while

providing better data

security.

C++ is a popular
language for:

creating game
engines

creating
computer
graphics

creating
applications

creating VR
applications ADVERTISEMENT

creating web
browsers such
as Google
Chrome,
Mozilla Firefox,
Safari

creating web
:
 creating web
browser
extensions - the
Google Search

Engine is built
in C++

According to the Stack

Overflow Developer
Survey for 2022, it
ranks sixth as the most
popular programming
language for people
learning to code. And
it is a great language if
you want to get a
software engineering
job and develop
programs and
applications.

To learn C++, check

out the following
resources:

How to Learn
:
 the C++
Programming
Language
Learn C++
Programming
for Beginners –
Free 31-Hour
Course

Learn Object
Oriented
Programming
(OOP) in C++ |
Full Video
Course

Java
Java is an object-
oriented, general-
purpose programming
language whose
syntax is based on the
C and C++
programming
languages.
:
 One of the language's
advantages is its

portability. Portability
in computing means
that programs get
written once on one
machine and can be
transferred and run
smoothly on another.

The Java Virtual

Machine lets Java run
on any device and
operating system.

Java is used for:

Building mobile
applications for
the Android
Operating
System ADVERTISEMENT

Backend web
development

Game
:
 Game
development

Creating

embedded
systems

Building
desktop
applications

Building
enterprise-
level software
tools for the
banking
industry

Building
artificial
intelligence and
Internet of
Things (or IoT)
devices

Keep in mind that Java

is not the same as
JavaScript – they are
in no way related to
:
 in no way related to
each other despite
having the word 'Java'

in their names.

JavaScript is an
interpreted scripting
language that runs in
the browser and
doesn't need to be
compiled.

Java uses a
combination of a
compiler and an
interpreter and runs
on machines - not in
browsers.

According to the Stack

Overflow Developer
Survey for 2022, Java
ranked 4th as the most
popular language for
people learning to
code.
:
 code.

Java coding skills can

help you get a job as a
software engineer, a
web developer, and an
android developer.

To start learning Java,

check out the
following resources:

Learn Java –
Free Java
Courses for
Beginners

The Java
Handbook –
Learn Java
Programming
for Beginners

Learn Java
Programming
(version 17)

How to Build a
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Sudoku Game
:
 Sudoku Game
Java Desktop
Application – A
Free 2-hour
Course

Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide
was helpful and gave
you some insight into
some of the best
languages to learn as a
beginner programmer.

Thank you for reading,

and happy coding!

Dionysia Lemonaki
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