The HTML + CSS Twitter conspiracy.

A tread

A lot of people out there recommend starting with HTML and CSS to aspiring developers.

They suggest this combination is a stepping stone for you to reach your goals.

That's nonsense.

(2 / 9)

There's absolutely nothing wrong with HTML and CSS.

But they aren't necessarily the foundation that you need when starting out.

Yes, they are simple to learn compared to a fully-fledged programming language, but they are also very different.

(3 / 9)

If you are looking forward to being a web developer, by all means, start with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

(And you can stop reading this thread now.)

If you aren't focused on the web and want to become a more general developer, HTML and CSS will not get you closer.

(4 / 9)

Recommending HTML and CSS to someone starting out is like recommending them to learn Word.

Both are useful. Neither will make what's coming simpler.

(5 / 9)

Instead, I'd recommend people to start with a programming language: Python, JavaScript, Java, C#, etc.

These languages have something in common that HTML and CSS don't: You'll learn the necessary programming fundamentals that will later translate between languages.

(6 / 9)

Here are some of the things that you need:

* Conditionals
* Loops
* String manipulation
* Functions
* Variables
* Lists, Maps, and other data structures
* Recursion
* OOP

You'll get most of these across programming languages —almost none of them in HTML and CSS.

(7 / 9)

I'll repeat it just in case I wasn't clear before:

HTML and CSS are great, useful, and you need them to be a web developer.

But they aren't a requirement —or even a proper introduction— to general programming. You could even argue they are a detour.

(8 / 9)

If you want to get started right away and don't know what you want to do, start with HTML and CSS: the learning curve is manageable, and you'll see results fast.

If you have other ambitions, pick up a programming language and start there.

(9 / 9)