What is the best coding language to learn first for a beginner looking to (eventually) build modern web apps like facebook, twitter, etc?

If you want to go the Microsoft route: Download Visual Web Developer 2008, its free. Make sure you install the AJAX kit as well, part of the package. Then, go to the starter page asp.net/community/projects/ .

It has all the stuff you need to create pages like a blog site, personal site, business site, etc... good stuff. Make sure you check out the gallery. Get the SQL Express for a backend to play with, also free.

You'll be up and running tonight in a few hours.

As a "first" language specifically for programming for the web, I'd recommend PHP. It's fairly easy to learn, comes with great online documentation (docs.php.net), and will let you build fairly sophisticated interactive web applications. If you're going to want to get serious, you're going to need some AJAX under your belt, which means learning XML and Javascript as well.

For anything game-like, you probably also want to learn Flash, as that seems to be the new defacto standard for a lot of interactive built-in games on the web. I think you can teach yourself any or all of those languages. For PHP, go to the website I linked.

For AJAX, start with w3schools.com and go from there. For Flash... sorry, you're going to have to start Googling, as I haven't gotten around to it yet. With PHP, you could build yourself a respectable looking website inside of a week if you were really working on it, and building as you learn.

Respectable, but not releasable. But certainly enough to prove to yourself that you can do it, and to gain the appropriate knowledge of where the next steps are.

I would recommend Python or Ruby as well. Both of them are used extensively on the web and as a beginner they are excellent for learning the basics of programming and you can continue with them for a long time. They don't focus on syntax heavily so they are clean and easy to read.

Both are gaining huge popularity in web development over Java and PHP. You will still need to learn Javascript (not to be confused with Java as they are completely different), CSS, and HTML. These are essential to the web but are fairly easily picked up while Python and Ruby are good for the backend development that generate the content you display through the previously mentioned languages.

If you choose Microsoft route: Download Visual Studio, learn C# but this is just to begin coding anything. To develop web applications you will need HTML, CSS, Javascript in any case. All modern web applications use ajax frameworks.

I would recommend JQuery in combination with MVC. Get basic knowledge in everything listed above than deepen your knowledge to moderate and advanced level in all these disciplines. By that time you will see what you need more.

Study simple examples, close them, reproduce by yourself. Read solid books (chose according to your level) you might need to read several books for each discipline as you knowledge progresses. Code, code, code every day.

Start with simplest useless things, several lines. But code a lot. For each chapter you read write at least several tiny pieces of code yourself.As you get comfortable code bigger stuff.

Read more and code. If you can get formal college education that might help too. But this will not save you from coding and reading books.

Use samples from internet to jumpstart in new discipline. The real knowledge you will get only when you get a position in a company and start doing something real by yourself and get advices form colleagues who possess the expertise. Good luck.

Python and Ruby would be my picks. Lots of documentation for both and both very easy to learn. I'd lean towards Python as it also teaches good formatting!

I think Python is like the most easy language to start programming, and I would recommend starting with this book "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, Learning with Python". Really good and goes from the very basic of the language to more deep things of it. I have the pdf if you want it.

Now, when you get used to the language just move to Django for web development.

Interesting responses. I would have said HTML first. It's like the basics of web languages.

Then move on to CSS and then pHp The progression makes it easy to learn the next stage.

I will also weigh in on the side of Python, with the caveat that you shouldn't get too hung up on choosing a language. Certainly there are some (major) differences between each language's syntax, approach, and philosophy -- but most modern programming languages follow similar conventions. If you learn one language fairly well, you'll be able to jump into other languages and at least understand what's going on.It's not as though you need to start from scratch each time you pick up a new language.

I would highly recommend this (free) beginning Python tutorial from MagnusLie Hetland, which starts with the basics and gives you some interesting beginner-level problems to work on. You can tear through it in just a couple of hours, get your feet wet, and see if Python is right for you before you buy any books or lesson. If you're interested in learning more about programming in general, the "How to Become a Hacker" guide is great manifesto on all things programming.

In plain English it explains what you need to learn (and more importantly, where to start) if you're really serious about becoming a wizard programmer.

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