Which Language to Learn First

[Arch]

Personally, I learned html from scratch back in a high school web design course, and then started dabbling in the other languages a bit after, working my way as I needed new information.

Obviously it varies by specific needs, but in general, which languages tend to be the most needed now? Or maybe which ones are more widely used and are more beneficial to know to begin with now?

 

[Blue]

Right now you should be concentrating on CSS and PHP, in my opinion.

 

[Lesli]

It depends on what you're trying to do.

If I were in your position, I'd concentrate on shoring up HTML knowledge, with emphasis on cross-browser and accessibility. Combine that with CSS, since you'll need CSS if you want to move/stay away from having to rely exclusively on tables for layout.

Then, if you want to concentrate on front-end design work, go for JavaScript/DHTML/Ajax. You could learn JavaScript basics, then hone your skills at finding and customizing DHTML scripts that do what you want them to. There are enough snippet libraries and code sites out there that it's possible to add lots of nice, useful effects to your site without having to write the code from scratch. (Just watch out for cross-browser compabitility and interaction problems between scripts.)

If you want to concentrate on back-end development, learn PHP and the basics of *SQL. If you learn better by doing, try to find books or courses that are hands-on or that have you build an application to learn the skills. Again, there are the usual script archives you can plumb to find some PHP to backwards-engineer. Just make sure to learn from solid, securely-written scripts to pick up good habits.

That's what I've done, in which order, and why. Your mileage may vary, especially if you want to concentrate on back-end programming rather than front-end/JS/Ajax.

 

[vpster]

I like perl, however I think that PHP is a little easier to learn.

 

[xzbackup]

html, css, php, some sql, and javascript will allow you to accomplish about anything you dream of. i doubt that the previously mentioned languages are going to be obsolete in any part of the near future...

 

[PoliticalM]

HTML, then CSS to go with it. Once those two are top notch, I'd move on to PHP/MySQL (I love 'em). I've basically stopped there, now I'm developing some web-apps etc, as well as a billing system for my host (sig). After that I'm not sure what to learn, I looked at JS but hate it, so I just use jQuery + Plugins for anything. For now, I'm just increasing my PHP/MySQL skillage

 

[VTGal]

As someone above mentioned, it depends on what it is that you want to do exactly. In general, you should learn as much about HTML as you can and then work on CSS and then PHP.

 

[hosting-advisor]

you may start with html -> css -> php
or if you are really new in html you should start with word and save as a web page

 

[webcs]

Personally, I learned html from scratch back in a high school web design course, and then started dabbling in the other languages a bit after, working my way as I needed new information.

Obviously it varies by specific needs, but in general, which languages tend to be the most needed now? Or maybe which ones are more widely used and are more beneficial to know to begin with now?

The most commonly requested are:

PHP (learn that first)
Mysql
ASP (if you are going to use windows)
Perl is an older language but is ery useful and most all the other languages are based on it.

I would also learn how to alter javascript, dont have to realy learn that language though, just tweak it.

 

[nutty professor]

ahem. Php with CSS are handy enough to create neat stuffs, but javascript usage is definitely good

 

[acnephonestyle]

i would use php and mysql for back end development. But if you canclarify what you want to do it will be a lot more better

 

[HostingITrust]

For static websites HTML should be good enough. Try learning CSS and the use of Javascript. That should be fine. When you are doing very good you can hire programmers in any language you want or decide to pursue.

 

[JKookServ]

CSS
php
sql
and photoshop?

 

[fortbox]

It depends on what you're trying to do, but personally it's good to learn CSS and php.

 

[fortbox]

It depends, but I think php, CSS and photoshop are the best ones to learn right now.

 

[warrenslist.com]

It really depends on your purpose. HTML is more portable and "universal". It's easier for web crawler to navigate your site. However, if you really need to build a dynamic website such as this forum, you'll need to have scripting languages such as php and perl. I like php, because it is easy to learn, and can do the same job other script languages do.

 

[brobee]

I started learning .asp years ago but it looks like .php is the main one now. I would learn .php and mysql along with css.

webassist just announced they are not going to be working on .asp classic anymore and just concentrating on php/mysql. (I got an email recently from them about this)