Ahmed Hassan
- Software Developer at HCL Technologies
Should I start with Django or JavaScript?
Starting with javascript is important, it shows you the basics of object oriented programming and how a DOM can interact with HTML to edit the frontend. This principle is necessary in Django, however by using python, there is a large amount of key principles left out. Learning how types operate and why data locations should be managed by the programmer is an essential skill, but easily managed by python, for this reason, I would start with Javascript to understand how to change the front end, and then “migrate” these skills into Django only once you have learned the key OOP principles
John Peter
I will disagree with Rishabh on this one, it’s only when I started with JavaScript did I truly come to appreciate the design decisions that are made in any programming language.
JavaScript taught me a whole lot of semantic concepts. Be it the prototypal school of inheritance, or functional programming concepts like closures, functions as first class citizens, higher order functions.
Yes, JavaScript did have a bad reputation a while back, but let bygones be bygones. Investing sometime – emphasis on the fact that you need to invest time in learning the language, the design decisions and especially it’s good parts will enrich your repertoire.
Today JavaScript is pervasive, node.js in the server, EcmaScript 5.1 in the browser, databases all were powered by this language. So, the investment is well worth the gains.
Barry Carter
If your interests indeed lie in front-end development, JavaScript would be a better option for you since, well, it is the language of the front-end of the web, so to speak.
Django (which is a framework, not a language) would be something to learn in order to create a back-end. So, you could even combine the two, building some application powered by a Django back-end and a JavaScript(-heavy) front end.