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General Discussion

Posted by Miron Kiselev
Miron Kiselev
1,184 Points

What Programming Language Should I learn?

I have an intermediate knowledge of html and CSS. I would like to build an app, that will have some social parts to it, such as signing up and creating different cards for different shops. What programming language should I learn?

4 Answers

notf0und
notf0und
11,940 Points
notf0und
notf0und
11,940 Points

Are you talking an iPhone/Android app? If so, I would of course have to strongly suggest Objective-C or Java.

If you're talking about a web app, Javascript, PHP/Ruby/Python are all good bets.

My personal opinion is that you learn Javascript, since you're already focused on web. From there you can decide where you want to go, but a back-end language like PHP will probably be next on the list.

Gildo Santana
Gildo Santana
3,184 Points
Gildo Santana
Gildo Santana
3,184 Points

I agree with Bryan, JavaScript is the next logical step. All his suggestions are very good. I don't know any PHP or Objective-C, but it doesn't mean I can't recommend them as well :) You should also consider putting C# on your list, it's quite similar to Java and, if the rumours of Microsoft buying Xamarin turn out to be real, one day C# and .NET may very well possibly be the easiest and most practical way to develop for Android, iOS, Windows and Windows Phone (some people say it already is). I don't know, to be honest, I don't know much about mobile app development at all, but it's just an idea...

Miron Kiselev
Miron Kiselev
1,184 Points
Miron Kiselev
Miron Kiselev
1,184 Points

Thanks you for your advice. I am looking to build a social network(ish) most of which will be made for mobile devices (iPhone and Android, less so wp). So after I learn JavaScript, what would be the easiest/best way to build the thing described above? Thanks for the help already

Gildo Santana
Gildo Santana
3,184 Points
Gildo Santana
Gildo Santana
3,184 Points

Remember that I don't develop mobile apps yet, same as you, so please don't take my post as expert advice. I'm just a noob. Choosing what language to learn first is a diemma in itself. To develop native iOS apps you need Objective-C and you'll need Android for Java (I believe both are available on Treehouose). It probably could be done withh HTML5 too. That's for the client side. On top of that, for a social network app, you'll need some kind of server infrastructure probably programmed with another language, a database system, etc. Perhaps you should start a new forum thread explicitly about the possibilities for such an app: possible server side languages/frameworks, suggested cloud infrastructure/platform, database options, whether or not it's feasible by one person alone, costs involved, recommended books/resources to learn from, level of experience needed etc. I know this kind of question is difficult to answer, but hopefully some of the instructors and more experienced members will give us all noobs some insight.