Python or?

[boadicea]

I was wondering if the same principle of thumb applies to penetration testing as it does to language learning in general for a beginner.

Here is a nice article ive read covering the different languages and their uses in pen testing:http://www.picateshackz.com/2015/03/programming-languages-for-hackers-and.html

For a first language in general, i dont want to learn something i wont use or like in the application of security for pen testing.of course im sure a general handful of course have their place.

Considering:

Ruby/Python for now.

*I have some nice material for both but more for ruby atm.

Was wondering from those with expertise or experience as it applies to their work

[digininja]

It doesn't matter what language you learn, most can be applied to testing in some way. It's never a good idea to ask other people what language to learn as people will always come up with why their favourite is the best.

Python and Ruby are the most common at the moment but other scripting languages such as bash, perl and go are also useful. Compiled languages also have their place depending on what you are doing.

The act of learning a language is the important thing, once you've learnt the first, learning the second is often much easier.

So my advice, if you have friends who can help, go with what they know as you'll get better support. If not then pick one out of a hat.

If you want to be told what to learn then learn Ruby.

[newbi3]

If you want to be told what to learn then learn Ruby.

I would argue for Python but like digininja said people will say to learn their favorite or preferred language.

[cooper]

Learn programming in $LANGUAGE, not $LANGUAGE programming.

And to find your $LANGUAGE, find the one that you're most comfortable with. That's more of a personal thing, like finding out your favourite fruit.

[boadicea]

Thank you all for your replies! yes i agree try what you like, and learn a language. which will help me learn how to learn a language for the future!

Ive decided to just go on code academy and start with python and work my way through their course. I have learn python the hard way 3rd edition, violent python, infiniteskills learn python programming videos for later.

would it be alright to try a few different languages after i complete them on individually on code academy?

like say the python course takes me a few weeks instead of diving in fully to a book or guide go directly to ruby and try that?

thanks for the help you guys :)

[digininja]

I would argue for Python but like digininja said people will say to learn their favorite or preferred language.

I wouldn't argue for ruby, it is just less characters to type than Python.

And in answer to the question, of course you can play with multiple languages but be careful getting them mixed up. I mainly do ruby and find it hard switching to Python as it is so similar.

[boadicea]

I wouldn't argue for ruby, it is just less characters to type than Python.

And in answer to the question, of course you can play with multiple languages but be careful getting them mixed up. I mainly do ruby and find it hard switching to Python as it is so similar.

thank you!! yes of course i just want to trial one i find most comfortable.. after code academy i will pick one and stick with it for awhile..i heard to really challenge yourself and get the the most out of it try for 1 year minimum.

Appreciate the feedback

[digininja]

Depends what you do in that year, if you write a script a day then you'll be a natural in it, if you write 1 script then you'll be rubbish.

When people ask about learning Linux I suggest deleting windows completely and just using Linux, you very quickly get the hang of it if using your machine every day. For development, if you look at everything you do and come up with ways to automate our improve then you should get good fairly quickly.

I wouldn't tie yourself to only one language and completely ignore others, each has its own quirks and will have things it does better or has better libraries for. Learn the concepts then pick the right language for the job.

[boadicea]

Depends what you do in that year, if you write a script a day then you'll be a natural in it, if you write 1 script then you'll be rubbish.

When people ask about learning Linux I suggest deleting windows completely and just using Linux, you very quickly get the hang of it if using your machine every day. For development, if you look at everything you do and come up with ways to automate our improve then you should get good fairly quickly.

I wouldn't tie yourself to only one language and completely ignore others, each has its own quirks and will have things it does better or has better libraries for. Learn the concepts then pick the right language for the job.

great answer! thank you for the input

[haicen]

I like python. It is easy to learn, especially for a beginner. With that said, a lot of the websites claiming to teach programming don't teach you how to think logically about things, which is really the whole point. C, C++, and Java are great languages to learn, but I find python to be easy to read and the syntax is pretty easy to follow. Makes things much easier to read through and debug. I have used codeacademy, but I found it to be more like cookbook learning. Then again, I started with C++ and have kinda been going in reverse order.