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Ask HN: OK for someone w.little experience/skill, to start with Rust and Zig?

2 points by SaulJLH ↗ HN
I have some beginner<->intermediate knowledge/experience of js/html/css, and even less of python. Have only been actively (7hrs+ /wk) learning/applying this stuff for the last ~5mths, & am still (or yet to) learning many fundamentals!

However, I've been reading a LOT about Rust & Zig (& several others, but I must 'draw the line' -LOL!) on HN, and I'm very impressed/intrigued.

Would it be okay if I switched most of my focus to them, or would that be a "mistake"? It's more of a hobby all this stuff, but I do kind of want it to be a career longer-term.

I think I'll always come back to js/python & related anyway, as it's just so embedded in everything nowadays. But thinking more & more, that I would like that learning to be an offshoot/tie-in to my experiences/learnings via Rust & Zig.

Is this wrong-headed???

Thank-you.

4 comments

[ 112 ms ] story [ 928 ms ] thread
livinglist
doesn’t matter which language you start with, the theory applies to every programming languages out there.
SaulJLH
Was my thinking too, fundamentally; just curious to hear all the nuanced opinions/thoughts.

Thanks!

latexr
Hard disagree. The language you start with can mean the difference between loving programming or abandoning the field out of frustration. There’s a reason some languages are universally touted as more beginner-friendly than others.
mikewarot
Explore away, the direction doesn't matter as much as the things you learn along your path.

Fashions change in the world of software development / software engineering / programming / coding / hacking.

The only constant is change. You'd be surprised how often something you found interesting years or even decades ago comes in handy.