I have been thinking of learning some programming recently, but I don’t feel confident enough. Is there any point in beginning with something like Zig or Go, and switching to something more serious later?
Is this bait? Zig and Go are very much serious, especially Zig.
Generally python/Javascript is good for learning the basics. To know how types work learn c#/java/go. To learn how the memory works Zig/C are good. To learn about what a fully defined behavior means in a program you learn Rust. To learn what actually happens on the processor you learn assembly.
Honestly, if you’re hyped about Zig go for it, although I’d suggest “warming up” by doing a tic tac toe in python.
A lot of basic principles remain the same from one language to another. Some have more features than other, some have slightly obtuse grammar, but as long as you stay in the same class of programming language, it can be a good learning experience. Learning from “simple” languages and building up was the way to go for a long while.
I’m not sure I’d call Zig or Go “easy” programming language though. Most languages you’ll hear about these days are quite high level (even C++ and C got there over time). These days, I’m not sure where one would start from scratch. “scripting” languages are a good idea, since they are extremely easy to experiment with, and unless you start poking too much can’t do any harm.
But basically, if you stay with imperative programming (most used languages are like this) 80-90% of the knowledge you’ll get in one translate into another; there’s no bad way to start.
Exactly don’t start with easy languages you should start with the best programming language HolyC, the divine language.
I would suggest a different approach. Think about what you want to achieve with programming. Look at the languages which can be used to do this task. Choose one and try some tutorials, I recommend freecodecamp it helped me a lot.
I can’t really comment on zig and go but I think they are pretty serious languages tbh.
It’s…sort of not a question of easy vs hard. Why would anyone make a hard programming language?
It’s more about picking a language that is suitable for what you want to do with it.
C
Or Pascal - back in my day it was believed it’s close to natural language
I don’t think most languages you’ll encounter in the wild are too “easy”.
Universities here start you off with Python in the first semester because it’s easy for beginners to grasp. That doesn’t mean it’s not “serious” though, the whole AI/ML/Big Data ecosystem is ALL Python, largely because there are excellent data processing libraries for Python and stuff like PyTorch for offloading work to the GPU.
Just don’t try to use Powerpoint for programming, it’s possible but you’ll go mad.
I found it easier to start with something considered medium difficulty, because “easy” languages abstract away a lot of problems of programming. So when certain problems arise, its hard to understand what is happening behind the scenes.
If you want to build something, python is great. If you wanna learn programming, it might be confusing.
Anything is better than nothing.
Go and Zig are serious languages. Go is especially established and has a big ecosystem and capabilities. You could stick with Go forever if you don’t want to expand afterwards.
Starting ‘simpler’ is better because it gives you successes. It keeps you going.
Where did you get the idea that Zig is an “easy” language?
crazy to call zig, a low level systems language, an “easy” language
no. You must start with malboge
True evil
I get paid a whole lot to work solely in Deluge. which is the most painfully simple language ever. you want a join() built in? fuck you. sleep()? not allowed. you want a “for i in range()”? nope, they don’t do that here.
simple languages are often the most used in production unless you’re doing something highly specific that warrants a specific language.
Programming is a tool. Systems understanding is what has value. Pick a system you want to learn and actively build and fail consistently.
Repeated exposure to reality is the way to learn fast and gain confidence.
Zig or Go are serious programming languages. Zig is actually the language I would least recommend for complete beginners because in my opinion it is one the most serious languages currently. What lead you to your examples Zig and Go and how do you determine what a ‘serious’ programming language is?
When I say “serious” I mean something widely used and expected on the labor market, like C++ or Java. I don’t really know the world of programming very well, so I may misjudge some languages for being not serious easily. Particularly with Zig, I heard it being called a “vibecoder language”
Well in case of zig the current job market is non existent. And for Go there is definetly a job market. It however always depends on your location. Just like there are areas with 0 to no Go positions available, there are areas with (almost) no Java positions. Same applys to every other language.
“Vibe-coding language?” LOL. Social media threads about vibe coding are like a bunch of people who don’t speak English trying to teach each other English when most of them hate English. The subject is so polluted by rage and misinformation, I think it’s hard to competently process any discussion of it without already knowing a lot about it.
