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General Discussion

Posted by Rachel White
Rachel White
1,607 Points

Best programming language to build a dynamic online calculator?

I'm new to programming and have done the intro html/css course. My next step is to look at back end, a lot of what I'd be building would be online calculators, so users can determine the best answer for their specific situation. UX will be key to enable self service.

Do I choose PHP, Python or Ruby?

1 Answer

Kevin Korte
Kevin Korte
28,149 Points
Kevin Korte
Kevin Korte
28,149 Points

Doesn't really matter as much as your front end stack does, I think. I assume you want to log the users responses in a database? Really any of the back end languages can.

When I hear calculator, I hear live-updating, client side work. That means Javascript. That also might lead you to something like Node.

Personally, I'd lean most towards a Node.js, Express.js, Angular.js stack to build a calculator guidance website. But, you're new, so dabble in a little bit of them all before deciding, and see what you like. There isn't a wrong answer, just a "best for you" answer.

Rachel White
Rachel White
1,607 Points

Thanks Kevin, that's very helpful :)