{"id":9189,"date":"2019-06-21T16:35:51","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T20:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=9189"},"modified":"2020-12-13T23:16:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T04:16:07","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-before-choosing-your-first-programming-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-you-need-to-know-before-choosing-your-first-programming-language","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know Before Choosing Your First Programming Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking to get into the tech space, and more specifically development or engineering, you will have to learn a programming language. In fact, you\u2019ll have to learn <\/span>at least<\/span><\/i> one language very well, and be expected to know multiple languages and systems, and to transition between them regularly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a step back, you will fundamentally need to have an understanding of how computers work, and learning a programming language is the most immediate way to develop a strong grasp of computing environments. <\/span><\/p>\n

With a dizzying array of programming languages, though, getting started can seem a bit overwhelming. Here are some tips on how to choose your first programming language. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Programming Language?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A programming language is a system of symbols and words with syntactical rules that can be used to control the resources of a computer \u2013 namely the CPU, memory, and inputs\/outputs such as a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Computers are electrical devices that are controlled by electrical signals in the form of low\/high voltages, which are known as 0 and 1. A computer, therefore, understands a series of signals made up of 0s and 1s, or binary.<\/span><\/p>\n

For humans, writing in binary is very difficult, so having human-like languages that can be translated down to these 0’s and 1’s makes controlling computers much easier. However, there is no one universal programming language and all programming languages are eventually translated down to 0s and 1s.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Similarly, in the human world, there is not one human language. There are many families of human languages \u2013 some with obvious relationships and evolutions, while others are completely separate and unrelated. All humans have similar experiences in life and numerous languages have all evolved different ways of expressing those experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many computer languages share fundamental concepts, just like human languages do, even though syntactically, they can look different. Some programming languages are very domain specific \u2013 for example, some can be used to control a specific electrical device \u2013 while others are so general that they can be used on virtually any computer or device and can solve any problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Programming languages that are closer to a problem domain, and more human-like and abstract, are called “high-level” programming languages. Languages that are more computer-like in their syntax and terminology are considered “low-level” programming languages.<\/span><\/p>\n

High-Level vs Low-Level Programming Languages <\/span><\/h2>\n

All programming languages are based around some fundamental paradigm or a set of paradigms, that form the conceptual approach to using that programming language \u2013 and there are<\/span> numerous programming paradigms<\/span><\/a>. This affects the expressiveness of a language, and how easy it is to solve various problems. Some common programming paradigms include:<\/span><\/p>\n