What programming languages should I learn?
I’ve lived in both France and Spain, and part of the reason I decided to live in these countries, was because I already spoke the language in both places. If I achieve my dream of living in Italy, I know exactly which language I’ll learn to make it as easy as possible to integrate: Italian, obviously (or love and food, depending on your perspective).
Deciding which computer programming language to learn isn’t quite so straightforward; it all depends on what your goal is, what task you want to achieve, or what problem you need to solve.
Some of the most common languages include (we’re including the aforementioned HTML and CSS, despite the debate):
- HTML
- JavaScript
- Python
- CSS
- Ruby
- PHP
- C++
- SQL
Some of these languages are easier and more desirable to learn than others, although that doesn’t make them any less useful. In fact, it may be more beneficial for your career to learn one of the “dreaded” computer programming languages, as you’ll be more in demand.
According to Stack Overflow’s data, the most disliked languages are Perl, Delphi, and VBA followed by PHP, Objective-C, Coffee Script, and Ruby.
o users, or do you care more about how it works?
Those are two of the main distinctions between what are known as front-end and back-end computer programming languages.
What is front-end and back-end computer programming?
Front-end development involves working with code that produces the elements that users can see and interact with; it’s all about how a website looks and feels.
Back-end web developers make sure the website works as it should do, and the code they write is normally invisible to users. Back-end web developers work with databases that store information such as customer details, and servers which are where databases (virtually) live.
Both front-end and back-end computer programming jobs are creative in their own ways, but front-end developers often need to have a visual eye so they can judge what will work best for site users.
Basic examples of front-end development include that pretty-looking font on your favorite web page, or that slider on the homepage of a news site, or even the dropdown menu where you can choose your preferred option. Everything from the color scheme to the layout to the positioning to the typography is a front-end developer’s responsibility.
The three main languages front-end developers need to know are:
- HTML
- JavaScript
- CSS
The below is an example of some basic HTML coding that has determined the positioning of an image, text bolding, and bullet points.
You might also hear about other elements, such as Bootstrap, AngularJS, and EmberJS, which control how content looks on different devices such as smartphones and tablets. A front-end developer often works with user experience and user interface specialists to make sure the way the website looks, feels, and works is best for users.
On the other hand, common back-end languages include:
- PHP
- Ruby
- Python
- .NET
Below is an example of some basic Python code that is telling the computer that I want it to print the phrases (or strings) “hello” and “Karen McCandless” (my name).
To get a better understanding of when you might interact with front-end or back-end code, think about when you’re making a purchase on Amazon. When you’re searching, filtering, and going through the process of buying a product, you’ll be interacting with a front-end developer’s work. But the smooth running of functionality such as recommendations, or when you enter your payment details, is the work of a back-end developer.
Some web developers know both front-end and back-end programming languages. They are normally referred to as full-stack developers.