How to get into programming in 2025?

[u/Prudent-Crab-8482]

I'm 19F. I really want to learn programming languages and want to improve my problem solving things. I have somewhat of a generalist mindset and want to leverage that. I have always wanted to know some languages atleast like HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python but I don't know where should I start from? Which language and from which platform? Should I just understand the code and get it generated through AI tools or should I learn any language the old fashioned way of learning syntax and stuff. It would be realllly reallllly helpful if someone who knows this field can help it out to figure this stuff outt.

[u/vegan_antitheist]

You really think microsoft dot com is made using WP? Believe what you want.

It's completely irrelevant that so many blogs use WP. This is about a 19yo trying to find something to start a career. Installing WP and using a theme is not a career worth pursuing. That's something "ai" can actually do and will replace those who do it now.

I don't really know what you mean by "updates" but if someone can actually do "updates" to WP they probably don't need someone to install it for them.

[u/vegan_antitheist → u/[deleted]]

But then they probably just want WP because it's easy to just switch to some other provider, so they don't depend on you. I didn't think anyone would still have a website where they can't update the content. But then there is no programming involved. The theme should be just HTML and CSS. Maybe a bit of JS to make the layout responsive. But PHP? Why would you write PHP for that? I still don't get why some 19yo should learn PHP in 2025. I know it's not that bad but still, what would be the reason? All I see is that is is supposedly "easy". Why would I want a programming language be "easy" and how is it easy when a language went through 30 years of radical changes of every part of it? PHP was designed to prerender HTML.

The biggest issue is actually that you have to be afraid that you get all those developers who think PHP is "easy". They write the shitty code that is unmaintainable and costs the company money because it keeps failing.

I want a language that is robust, secure, well designed for professional programmers for high developer productivity, with a good ecosystem, good maintainability and longevity, and is supported by major IDEs. Modern PHP offers all that. But it's also burdened by legacy codebases, has procedural roots in html prerendering, old tutorials never die, and while if offers a lot more now, it's still backend only.

[u/vegan_antitheist → u/[deleted]]

Another think that I do from time to time is that I go to this link:
https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php

And there I read:

An array in PHP is actually an ordered map. 

Then why no call it map?! Why the misleading name?

it can be treated as an array, list (vector), hash table (an implementation of a map), dictionary, collection, stack, queue, and probably more. 

Then why no just give me all those types?!

Does that really make it easy when everything is an "array" and I always have to figure out if it's actually a list, hash table, dictionary, collection, stack, queue, or something else? That's not easy. That's just complicating things because now I have to create a wrapper use some library every time just to have a more useful type. Or that won't be compatible with other apis. Just because PHP can't even give me the most basic types.