It is possible to learn two programming languages at the same time, and in some cases, it can be recommended, such as is the case with HTML and CSS. HTML and CSS work hand in hand and learning them at once could make your coding journey easier.
I recently started my coding journey (January 2022) and asked myself, “Can I learn two programming languages simultaneously?”It didn’t take me long to stumble across the answer, a resounding yes, by the way.
You can, and in some instances should learn two programming languages simultaneously. When considering what languages to learn together the biggest consideration should be syntax. If they are similar, like HTML and CSS then you should learn two programming languages at the same time.
Table Of Contents
- Can you learn multiple programming languages at once
- Learn two programming languages at once
- How HTML and CSS work together
- What to be careful of when learning HTML and CSS together
- Conclusion
Can you learn multiple programming languages at once
Yes, you can learn two programming languages simultaneously, but depending on which languages you are pairing together, this may make your learning process take longer.
You would probably learn two programming languages just as quickly if you started with one, finished it and then moved on to your second language than learning them together. It would likely take longer as each language has its syntax, and learning different syntaxes together could create confusion, specifically as a beginner.
The exception to the above is when two languages go hand in hand.
Learn two programming languages at once
Find out my thoughts in the rest of the article Should you learn 2 languages at the same time by clicking here.
Top comments (13)
This article feels intentionally misleading and is self-contradictory. You speak about programming languages, yet use HTML and CSS as examples. Sure, not everyone knows the difference, but in your full post on another site you even say you know they aren't programming languages.
The syntax of HTML and CSS is completely different and they do very different things. But they are still great to learn alongside each other because they have very different purposes, and ones that complement each other.
The problem of learning 2 programming languages at the same time, mainly for beginners, comes when they do the same things in different ways. If anything, I would guess that this is amplified if they are similar because it will be much easier to mix them up. Python and Ruby looks quite similar and I'm guessing will be easy to mix up. For Python and C you could probably keep them separated more, but they still share some fundamentals.
Unless you have a need to learn two programming languages at once (e.g., for classes in university or at a new job) then you should avoid it. You will probably be better off focusing on one at a time.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment. I hear what you are saying that it is probably best to learn one at a time. And to a certain extent I agree with this based on my journey so far.
Where I think learning two comes in handy is specifically with HTML and CSS becasue HTML itself is a pretty boring language to learn as a beginner, every coding tutorial is about the basic document structure and adding a few headings. But when you add CSS to this, you can see where you can actually go with HTML, which I found mroe inspiring.
I also found that once I started learning CSS I went back to learn more about HTML, so even though I didnt start both languiages at the same time (which I wouldnt recommend) you can learn two at the same time, by bhroadening your depth in one while learning the other.
A specific example in my coding journey was that I had no idea waht sematic HTML was when i just learnt HTML, I foudn out about that while learning CSS in going back to HTML.
Hope that makes sense. I really find your comments very valuable. I am new to coding and sharing my journey and your comments will help me write better, so thank you!
Exactly.
I'm afraid that It will mislead new developers.
He should tidy up and fix his article.
Thanks for adding this, I was about to write something similar.
I think it depends on the coding syntax you learn. HTML + CSS go great together, and the syntax is different and limited enough to not be confusing.
However, if you tried JS and Python at the exact same time I think it would be tough -- I learned them a couple months apart and even though I didn't learn them simultaneously, I was always tripping over
try...catchvstry..except.That being said, I think picking 2 languages, say Rust and JS, and learning how to write something like a REST API in them is a great way to learn in your first year, because it leads you to universalizing concepts outside the particulars of a language.
Thank you so much for this comment about REST APIS, i really found that very helpful!
I think this is great. Sharing as you learn is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of what you're learning. I hope you're ready for the "HTML is not a programming language" lot. I don't know why people get so worked up about that. Keep learning and have fun!
Thank you for the support. Dont worry i have gotten that comment a lot. I do get it and I know the title isnt technically correct, but the article wasn't really written with qualified devs in mind, its really aimed at a beginner and more to share my experience that learning something like HTML, can give you the confidence you need to take the next step.
I really appreciate your comment and your support, thank you so much!
You should think about writing your articles from a beginners perspective, the articles appear a lot like, that there would already be a lot of experience.
The author's profile states that they started learning to code in Jan 2022! I think it's impressive that they are choosing to write about their journey and that they are thinking this deeply about it. Keep it up, Bronwen!
Thank you so much, and yes my Bio is accurate :-) Honestly starting a blog and writting about topics has forced me to learn more about a topic which has been really helpful in my journey. The blog also makes sure I keep pushing forward, even though I learn slower becasue of writing everything I think the benefits outweight the cost.
Thank you very much for your support and your kind word, I really appreciate it!
I am a beginner, I started learning to code in Jan 2022 after startig and failing the 100days of code type challenges many times. Honestly writing these articles is what keeps me learning, hopefully they will help someone else once day. They also help me learn a concept in more detail, as I need to write about it :-)
Please feel fre to share any thoughts on my writing style that you think could help, I would love to hear it :-)
HTML and CSS aren't programming languages tbh.
From my experience there is nothing wrong with learning/working on 2 or more programming languages except that you mix up concepts/functions/syntax sometimes.
Cheers🥂!