Why Java?
If you decide that you want learn a new programming language, the natural next question is “which one?” As you might have guessed from this header this will be tutorial of the Java programming language.
Java remains a very popular programming language. Java is ranked #2 by the PopularitY of Programming Language Index, only recently being overtaken from the #1 spot by Python.
The fact that Java is such a widely used programming language means:
- Documentation of Java will be more mature.
- There is a wider network of tools and plugins that integrate well with Java. Contrast the Maven dependency system, which has widespread use in Java, with the numerous issues plaguing the JavaScript ecosystem (which, despite the name, is an entirely different programming language.)
- Java remains well used by large corporations. Java is an excellent choice if you plan to transition to a job in software development
Ultimately the choice of what programming language(s) you would like to learn depends on what you want to do. If you would like to go into scripting then you might want to consider something like Python. If you would like to go to into web development you will inevitably need to learn Javascript.
Java is an “Object Oriented Programming” language. In my opinion this makes it a good choice for an aspiring programmer’s first language, as it will lay down a good foundation for programming fundamentals.