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Ask HN: Learning Web Development, where should I start?

6 points by thatsnotme ↗ HN
I recently came across this article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=123903 and this was posted almost 7 years ago.Most people here suggest Perl/Ruby/Python.

I have recently started to learn MEAN stack, and I don't know if I am on the right track.

What is the best combination of frameworks/languages that you can use for webD, as of today?

9 comments

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a3n
Among Perl, Ruby, Python and Javascript, which one do you like to program in? Choose that one.
mjhea0
I would personally start with Python. It's easy to learn and super practical. You can use it in software development, statistics, scientific computation, dev ops, and, of course, web development.

Once you learn Python, it's much easier to learn JavaScript and/or Ruby.

Note: I am co-founder of Real Python (https://realpython.com), which teaches the Python syntax and web development through real world examples.

I also teach at a full-stack JavaScript bootcamp - http://www.refactoru.com/ - and am a mentor through https://www.thinkful.com/ in Angular, Node, and Python.

Feel free to reach out with more questions - michael at realpython dot com.

Cheers!

P.S. - Curious about Python vs. Ruby? https://github.com/mjhea0/python-ruby

mkaziz
Thanks for posting that github link; it was really informative and well-written. Props to you, sir.
haidrali
i would suggest to start with html/css and JavaScript
rreyes1979
Either PHP or Python for the server side. HTML5 + CSS + Javascript (jQuery + KnockoutJS are my favorites there) for the client side.
jordsmi
Nothing is the overall "best". It all depends on what you need to build, and what you enjoy working with.
matt_s
Learn the basics: HTML, CSS and client-side JavaScript without any frameworks, libraries or code generators.

Then do the same for the server-side, learn the basics of HTTP GET, POST (and others) with a language, no frameworks or libraries. I'm not saying write a web server from scratch but just learn the basics of how a browser communicates with a server. Pick Python, Perl or Ruby. Perl is where I learned this with CGI scripts, which nobody will admit to using these days likely.

Once you understand the basics of how a server sends content and how a browser renders it then start looking at frameworks, libraries, etc.

There are too many "camps" around what essentially are tools and it's better to know how things work at the basic level. You will then pick up new (to you) frameworks, libs, etc. pretty quickly.