Ask HN: What's the best web programming language?

[thatguycheese]

I want to start developing web pages but i'm not really sure where to start. I like the idea of PHP, but i've been reading it's a spaghetti language and there are better places to start. Can anyone give me advice? Where to start, where to go? Mostly focused on web development

[noodle]

there is no best language. they're all tools in a toolbox. you can smash a nail in with a screwdriver, but its easier to use a hammer.

the question is, what do you want to do? are you new to web development and want to learn a language? do you have experience with other languages? etc..

[ksvs]

there is no best language. they're all tools in a toolbox.

That's intellectual laziness masquerading as broad-mindedness. Obviously Ruby is going to be better for most web apps than Fortran.

[noodle]

thats being a bit hypercritical and decontexualizing, don't you think? obviously he doesn't want to use cobol on punch cards, either, but do i actually have to spell that out? fine, i'll do it just for you:

there is no best language for web development . the subset of languages being used for modern web development are all tools in a toolbox.

[thatguycheese]

I'm sorry, maybe I didn't make my question clear. I'm not really concerned with a "best" programming language. Perhaps just a place to start and where to go from there. I am familiar with HTML / CSS.

[noodle]

i know. again, it depends on your situation. are you familiar with C or a C-based language? or are you totally new to programming? you might find it easiest/quickest to work on PHP. if not, or if you want to learn a currently popular language, you might want to consider ruby or python.

[gcheong]

Have a look at: http://philip.greenspun.com/seia/

[thatguycheese]

Thanks! Read the intro and reviews on amazon. Looks decent, I'll continue reading.

[Jem]

Get to grips with HTML and CSS before you start worrying about anything else.