Aspiring programmers often ask the question, “What language should I begin with.”

The first answer is: the first programming language you learn doesn’t matter much. Learn the principles. If you keep programming, you’ll learn more languages anyway.

But the question returns: “I still need to pick a language to begin learning the principles.”

This is where it gets messy. The recommendations come flooding in:

• C
• C++
• C#
• JavaScript
• Java
• Python

Each has its advantages.

Among these Python is a standout, for a few key reasons.

Why Python?

1. Python is fun.

Python is a relatively efficient language, requiring fewer lines of code to produce results.

2. Python is easy to set up.

Some languages, such as Java or C#, have much higher setup and maintenance overhead.

3. Python is not going away anytime soon.

In fact, Python has become the most frequently used teaching language at major universities.

4. Python is a tool of choice for doing some very big things.

For instance: YouTube, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Quora, Reddit, Dropbox, Civilization IV, and more. It’s also widely used for penetration testing, data analysis, scientific computing, and more.

5. Python jobs pay well, and python programmers are in high demand.

Yi-Jirr Chen has gathered a number of relevant statistics in an excellent article comparing benefits of several languages here.

Ready to get Started?

For all of the above reasons, I’ve elected to add Python to my own repertoire, and it’s what I’ll be using to teach Intro to Computer Programming in our Information Systems program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

If you’d like to learn more and get started, here are some resources, below.

For Further Reading

Python is Now the Most Popular Introductory Teaching Language at Top U.S. Universities – ACM.org

If I had to choose between learning Java and Python, what should I choose to learn first? – Quora?

What Programming Language Should a Beginner Learn in 2016? – CodeMentor

Which Programming Language Should I Learn First? – Lifehacker

Courses

Complete Python Bootcamp – Udemy

Learning Python for Data Analysis – Udemy

Python for Programmers – Udemy

Python at Cybrary

Apps for Learning

Learn Python by Sololearn – iOS App