So, you decided you want to do software development, now what?
One of the biggest questions beginners ask is “What programming language should I learn?” If you had asked me that question a few years ago I would have replied “That depends on what you want to build, but if you have no idea at all, then try Java.”
Honestly, I would only recommend Java because it was the very first language I learned to program in and for a brief period of time in my career, I was a hardcore Java fan-boy. Now that I have dwelled in different languages I truly understand there is always the right tool for the right job. For example, Java would be the last language I’d suggest for iOS development, mainly because you can’t use it. I mean, maybe eventually someone will create a framework to do so, but that's out of the scope of this post. However, if someone were to ask me now what language would I recommend to start with, I would say "It doesn't really matter". Why? Because what you need to do is focus on the fundamentals of computer programming. If you do that, then you can pick up any popular language fairly quickly. This is actually a good topic for a future blog post but, if you must know what language I would recommend today, I would say C# is a great option.
I like C# because you really can do almost anything with it. Want to build websites? .NET is a great framework to do so. Add a little Blazor and you got SPA’s with the back-end and front-end written in C#. No need to do everything in JavaScript or Node.js. Want to do mobile development? Xamarin is an awesome tool to build cross-platform mobile apps. Gaming is your thing? Unity uses C# to write their games. Very famous titles such as Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run were built using Unity. So what are you waiting for? Below are some great resources to start learning, including Mosh Hamedani’s great series of video courses.
C# Basics for Beginners: Learn C# Fundamentals by Coding
C# Intermediate: Classes, Interfaces and OOP
Learn to Code by Making Games - Complete C# Unity Developer
Full disclosure, I am NOT affiliated with any of these parties. I do not get a cut if you buy into the courses. I truly and honestly believe these are great and affordable courses that I have taken myself. Now, I know some of you like to hate on Microsoft because they have a bad rep of being the Apple of software development, and honestly up until .Net Core, I wouldn't blame you. However, they are really making huge investments in making their framework open source and cross platform and I can say they are making a good job at it. Plus, in my opinion, Visual Studio is one of the most complete IDEs in the industry. Pair it up with Jetbrains Resharper and you have an awesome C# ecosystem! Now, stop being so reluctant, get out of your comfort zone, learn yourself some C# and go build something amazing!😊