I'm split on whether beginners should start with Python or JavaScript first

I met this guy at a coding meetup in Austin last month who swore that if he hadn't started with JavaScript, he'd have given up after week one. He said Python's syntax was too abstract for him and he needed to see buttons and browser output right away to stay motivated. But another friend tells me Python teaches you logic better and keeps you from picking up bad habits from JS's loose rules. Has anyone else dealt with this fork in the road and regretted going one way?

3 comments

3 Comments

colemiller3d ago

Ngl, Python syntax being "too abstract" doesn't really make sense since it's way closer to plain English than JavaScript.

beth_mitchell3d ago

Honestly I used to think Python was harder to read because of all the indentation rules. But @colemiller you kind of changed my mind on that. Compared to all those curly braces and semicolons in JavaScript, Python's just way more natural to look at. It really does feel closer to writing out what you actually want the computer to do.

dakotaknight3d ago

Yeah, the "closer to writing out what you actually want" thing really hits home. That's exactly how I feel when I'm in Python vs fighting with JS brackets. Makes the whole process way less frustrating.