 |
 |
On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 9:46 AM, Ross Singer<[log in to unmask]> wrote: > On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 8:54 AM, Jon Gorman<[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> As far as >> languages, I'd probably lean towards ruby or python for starters or >> maybe Java. Then move into php after you have a grasp of good >> programming practice. You'll also figure out more what you like to >> work on. > > Given the plaintive tone of the original post, I disagree with this > advice. Development is almost solely based on confidence and > experience (with the latter affecting the former and vice-versa). > "Good code" is secondary. > > I would almost certainly say start out with a procedural scripting > language (or at least a procedural approach) that is more common and > Googleable (PHP immediately comes to mind). [snipped some more good points for brevity ;) ] Good point. One of my main thoughts was that ruby and python are both "hot" languages right now and there might be a lot of tutorials and tolerance out there now for the "hello world" type of approaches. I also considered for suggesting perl, but was afraid of being stoned ;). PHP is popular and a pretty common entry language and it does have a nice feedback loop as you pointed out. One concern would be that to get a handle on the web app related stuff you'll need a web server + php. That's been getting easier and easier to set up though. Jon ps As long as we're throwing out books, I like the first few chapters of Fowler's Refactoring. It can give a good feeling how Object Orientated programming lends itself towards restructuring.