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I'm not a programmer - my biggest issue with all the tutorials that I've seen for Python, Ruby and even js on codeademy.com is that none of them actually teach

I'm not a programmer - my biggest issue with all the tutorials that I've seen for Python, Ruby and even js on codeademy.com is that none of them actually teach you how to do things within a web environment. I realize that this is meant to be an "intro to CS" class and not a web dev class, but a product can teach me how to create a simple web app that connects to a popular API, retrieves data and displays the data on a web page is the product that will get my money.

jeffreymcmanus 15y ago
For JavaScript that's a mostly valid point since 99.9% of all JavaScript is executed in the browser. When we teach basic JavaScript we include a week on accessing the DOM because we know that's where people are going to go with the language. For Python and Ruby, it's best to have a handle on the languages first before throwing in Web stuff. That's the case for two reasons: first, particularly with Python, the web might not be the student's ultimate objective. But more importantly, you want to start in manageable chunks and throwing in web stuff can muddle things early on.
- aidenn0 15y ago
  And this is why PHP is used for web-dev. The "Hello, World" webapp in PHP is trivial to anybody who has ever done any html markup, and is usually the first example. That makes it a gateway like this: 1) Do some HTML to make a webpage 2) I want to add <something dynamic> 3) Oh, I just ad <?PHP ... ?> to my page, that was easy 4) I want to do <something harder>, oh, cut and paste 5) Now I need to tweak this... Which is part of why PHP is so popular, especially among people with more of a web background and less of a programming background. I agree that it's better to have a handle on the langage first, then throwing in web stuff, but if you take that tact, many people will instead use the language that starts with Web stuff, then adds in programming.

jeffreymcmanus 15y ago

For JavaScript that's a mostly valid point since 99.9% of all JavaScript is executed in the browser. When we teach basic JavaScript we include a week on accessing the DOM because we know that's where people are going to go with the language. For Python and Ruby, it's best to have a handle on the languages first before throwing in Web stuff. That's the case for two reasons: first, particularly with Python, the web might not be the student's ultimate objective. But more importantly, you want to start in manageable chunks and throwing in web stuff can muddle things early on.

aidenn0 15y ago
And this is why PHP is used for web-dev. The "Hello, World" webapp in PHP is trivial to anybody who has ever done any html markup, and is usually the first example. That makes it a gateway like this: 1) Do some HTML to make a webpage 2) I want to add <something dynamic> 3) Oh, I just ad <?PHP ... ?> to my page, that was easy 4) I want to do <something harder>, oh, cut and paste 5) Now I need to tweak this... Which is part of why PHP is so popular, especially among people with more of a web background and less of a programming background. I agree that it's better to have a handle on the langage first, then throwing in web stuff, but if you take that tact, many people will instead use the language that starts with Web stuff, then adds in programming.