this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2026
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Heyy, I'm learning programming and trying to choose a focus, I saw you can make web/backend w node, desktop (bloatware but discord uses it so if it works it works), games (not AAA and not optimized for performance but it shouldn't matter for indie too much) Is there anything that compares? I wanna focus on one thing instead of spreading myself over a ton of languages, I do feel js is interesting for this, but I'm just starting out, so looking to hear some thoughts of people more familiar with programming.

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[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 days ago

Most popular languages have relevant libraries to help you build what you're trying to build, but that doesn't mean a language is particularly good at doing such a diverse list of things. JavaScript is, bluntly, a crutch with so many different tools to bring it to a variety of different ecosystems, but fundamentally you're still probably writing web stuff with it (unless you're using something like NodeGui).

As a student your top priority is to learn the fundamentals. Learning a specific language is secondary (and once you've learned a couple, new ones are easier to pick up). If you are just looking for a single language to start with, I'd choose something typed and compiled which will help you build an understanding of what is actually going on more than JS's magical black box of working until it doesn't. Languages like C#, C++, Go, and Rust fit this bill. Of those, I'd personally choose C# if you're looking for one language to do web stuff, gaming, mobile, and desktop applications.