Stop Learning These Programming Languages (as a beginner)
Stop Learning These Programming Languages (as a beginner)
“What programming languages should you learn?” has been answered many times. “What programming languages should you NOT learn?” will be answered in this video.
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Content
0.13 -> There are hundreds of videos on youtube about
top programming languages to learn.
4.12 -> But, there are almost no videos that tell
you the languages that you should avoid as
7.799 -> a beginner.
8.8 -> Learning programming by picking a wrong language
is like using a hammer for a screw.
12.42 -> It might work in the end but there will be
a lot of damage in the process.
16.26 -> For a new programmer, this damage might look
like difficulty to make progress, demotivation
21.23 -> and not being able to find a job even after
learning coding.
24.57 -> When I started my programming journey, I also
made this mistake and ended up getting rejected
29.43 -> by hundreds of companies.
30.849 -> In this video, we will talk about 5 programming
languages that might not give you good value
35.35 -> for your time.
36.35 -> At the end of the video, I will also tell
you about a few programming languages that
39.39 -> I recommend.
40.39 -> Let’s do this.
41.95 -> At number 5, we have C++ which is a language
taught by many colleges and universities.
47.43 -> Now, before you start writing that hate comment,
hear me out first.
50.37 -> Every language that I cover today has its
own advantages and there are situations in
54.77 -> which you should learn them.
56.03 -> I will cover those specific cases for all
the languages including C++ in a moment.
60.82 -> But we can talk about that, we need to understand
why some people recommend C++ as your first
65.38 -> language.
66.38 -> Most of the time, their argument for C++ would
be something like “You should learn C++
71.01 -> to know how a computer really works”.
72.89 -> And they are partly right because C++ does
offer some low level capabilities like memory
77.18 -> management etc.
78.33 -> But, this argument is no different than saying
“You need to know how a car’s engine exactly
82.61 -> works to learn how to drive”.
84.61 -> Certainly, there is benefit to knowing the
inner workings of an engine in case your car
88.71 -> breaks down but it’s not a requirement.
91.13 -> The art of being wise is the art of knowing
what to overlook.
94.42 -> I believe that C++ is unnecessarily complex
and harder to learn than most other popular
99.63 -> languages.
100.63 -> And I say this as someone who actually codes
in C++ in my day job as a Software Engineer
104.88 -> at Google.
105.88 -> So, I would not recommend C++ as a first language
to the beginners.
108.93 -> Now, there are circumstances in which you
might want to learn C++.
112.63 -> If you want to do game development using the
Unreal engine or you want to do competitive
116.56 -> programming, you should pick C++ because it's
faster than other popular options.
120.97 -> If you are not that particular and you want
to make fast progress, stay away from C++.
126.17 -> At number 4, we have C++--, which is the C
language.
130.64 -> Now, I am aware that C is the mother of all
languages because most modern languages like
134.9 -> C++, Java, Python and Javascript are all based
on C. Infact, the first course on programming
139.84 -> that I ever attended was in C language.
141.81 -> But I never even mentioned it in my programming
journey because it practically had no impact.
146.849 -> That’s because C is a low level procedural
language used for system applications.
151.3 -> This means that unlike other programming languages
in demand right now, C is not an Object Oriented
156.8 -> programming language.
157.91 -> That’s why it lacks many features like Polymorphism,
Encapsulation and Inheritance.
162.15 -> If you don’t know what that means, that’s
fine.
165.15 -> What you need to know is that if a company
is looking for a Software Engineer who can
168.77 -> program in “Java, C++, Python or any similar
language”, C does not fall in the category
174.04 -> of similar languages.
175.04 -> So, you will have a great disadvantage when
looking for a job.
178.02 -> Now, there are jobs that require C programmers.
181.18 -> These would include Operating Systems and
Embedded systems related jobs which are not
185.19 -> high in demand.
186.19 -> So, I would not pick C as my first language.
188.819 -> At number 3, we have one of the most popular
languages and that is PHP.
192.519 -> There are a couple of reasons why PHP is not
a great first language.
196.8 -> Number one, there are many other alternatives
like Node or Python that are better than PHP.
201.569 -> Number two, PHP is rapidly declining in popularity.
204.659 -> Yes, there are millions of websites that currently
use PHP.
208.159 -> One of the reasons for this is the fact that
PHP is used by content management systems
212.489 -> like Wordpress.
213.739 -> Since Wordpress is so popular and millions
of people who don’t know coding use Wordpress
217.89 -> to make their websites.
219.33 -> This artificially inflates the total number
of websites that use PHP.
223.04 -> If you look at this graph from Google trends,
you can see that PHP’s popularity is declining.
228.049 -> For comparison, I have also added Python and
Javascript on the same graph.
231.769 -> Most of the companies that use PHP in the
backend are from the early 2000s and I don’t
236.11 -> see why a company starting out in 2023 would
use PHP in the backend.
239.39 -> Here are some popular companies that use PHP
in the backend.
242.51 -> Technically speaking, Facebook uses Hack which
is not exactly PHP but their own better version
247.93 -> of PHP.
248.93 -> Anyway, unless you are hell bent on working
at one of these companies and they demand
253.019 -> that you need to know PHP to interview, I
would not learn PHP.
256.449 -> Before I tell you why you should not learn
the most popular programming language of our
259.85 -> time and what you should actually learn instead,
let’s quickly talk about the number 2 language
263.271 -> on our list.
264.271 -> And that is SQL and there are few reasons
for that.
266.9 -> SQL is not a general purpose programming language.
269.7 -> SQL is only used for creating, reading or
updating the data stored in a database.
273.74 -> That’s why, there is nothing that you can
really build just with SQL.
277.13 -> As a beginner, you will not be working with
databases anyway.
280.13 -> So, learn a general purpose programming language
first and then when you need to hook databases
284.58 -> to your website, you can learn SQL.
287.139 -> And this brings us to the number 1 language
on the list and that is Javascript.
290.72 -> Now this one is a little tricky because there
are some people for whom Javascript is the
294.6 -> wrong choice and then there are others for
whom Javascript is the only right choice.
299.07 -> Let me explain what I mean by this.
301.13 -> Most beginners who try to learn Javascript
do it because they want to do front end development.
305.36 -> In case you don’t know, front end development
means writing code that decides how a website
309.66 -> looks and behaves.
310.759 -> Now, most people think that they will learn
Javascript along with HTML and CSS and voila!
315.62 -> They are done.
316.62 -> In reality, it’s very rare to find any modern
websites that use just these 3 languages.
321.169 -> Usually, you will have to learn a CSS framework
like Bootstrap or Tailwind on top of CSS.
326.38 -> For Javascript, you will have to learn a framework
or library like Angular or React.
330.96 -> Depending on what you are building, you might
have to learn additional technologies like
334.52 -> Next or Redux.
335.889 -> As you can see, this path is very long and
can be very confusing for a beginner.
340.1 -> On the other hand, front end development is
very high in demand and to get a job as a
344.47 -> front end developer, you might not have to
go through Algorithmic style interviews that
347.88 -> require a good knowledge of Math which makes
it easier to find a job if you don’t have
352.12 -> a degree in STEM.
353.12 -> So, if you are someone who can not stay motivated
for a long period of time and gets easily
357.36 -> confused, learning Javascript is not a good
choice for you.
360.65 -> But if you don’t want to go through these
algorithmic style interviews, learning Javascript
364.71 -> and all these other technologies might be
the best choice for you.
367.419 -> I believe that there are other better alternatives
to most of the languages that we covered today.
371.28 -> I personally recommend 3 paths to go from
zero to a full time developer.
375.36 -> These 3 paths along with all the free resources
you will need at every step are available
379.43 -> in this video that I made a few months ago.
381.9 -> My name is Sahil and I will see you in the
next one.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkzPdgdxWBY