The best programming language to learn
Everyone is learning to write software these days. That means every school, MOOC, and training site needs to embrace a first language for the young Padawans. Some places, like fusty Harvard, still cling to the 70’s era C, but many schools are oscillating between JavaScript, Python, and Java. One is buried in every browser, one is the clean choice of the social sciences, and one is the type-rich preference of more mathematically-minded folks.
Is one the best choice? Is one clearly better than the others? Or are they all equally likely to send a substantial number of students screaming into their pillows at night? Let’s examine the best reasons to learn Java, Python, or JavaScript.