If you are a total beginner then start learning JavaScript and python. Your focus in 2024 should be building projects and learning to code.
This list for intermediate and bit experienced programmers, Okay now let’s jump straight into discussion.
Also you don’t have to learn everything, just pick what interests you or what you love to do.
Filling Knowledge Gap
A very important task always in your career would be to fill your knowledge gap. For example, If you are a very good full stack developer but you didn’t know how to deploy your application, then you should learn how to do that.
Now after this you learn tools like docker Kubernetes to increase performance of your application.
This will vary from field to field, If you hacker then probably you didn’t have knowledge about buffer overflow, then this should be your target.
Learning a new fancy framework and technology is good but filling your knowledge gap is very crucial for your career.
Rust
In StackOverFlow’s Survey of 2023 Rust is the most Admired programming language to learn. Rust is becoming popular day by day at a high rate, Because of its features and ability to solve modern problems. Most of the typescript and JavaScript developers are learning rust and some have shifted to rust.
It’s a big sign of rust’s dominance. Not only this, Rust has made a spot in Linux kernel. It’s been used in JS libraries. One example is, Developers have started using tauri, A library of rust which helps you build desktop applications which is replacing electrons.
Now why people are using Tauri, The reason it’s simple — You can still use react for development and the build that is made with rust are less ram consuming, A big problem of electron apps were they used to consume a lot of RAM. Now this problem is solved by rust.
Rust should be in your learning list in 2023.
Resource to learn Rust
- Rust Book — No tutorial is as good as rust’s documentation and book provided by it’s Developers
- Rustling Github — It contains small exercises to get you used to reading and writing Rust code.
Golang
Go has been a good competitor to Rust, In StackOverFlow’s Survey of 2023 Go has beaten rust with a difference of 0.19% in popularity.
Go has been used to develop some of the best applications like docker, kubernetes, terraform, cockroachDB, etc. Go is made for handley high performance applications which has millions of concurrent users.
As its developed by Google, It has been portrayed as a replacement to C/C++ by some stupid influencer, But in reality Go and C/C++ are different with their pros and cons.
Resources to learn Golang
- Go Tour — As rust’s documentation is best, So as Golang’s Documentation is also best to learn.
PHP
Don’t judge PHP by the memes on the internet, I used to think that PHP is a boring language or not a powerful language, I was totally wrong. Because I decided to learn it.
While learning PHP I discovered that, It really made understanding some topics of the web very clear. It really has google support for hashing functions, You didn’t have to install external libraries.
I wasn’t fully able to finish learning PHP this year but I will surely complete it in 2024.
Resources to learn PHP
- PHP Tutorial — W3Schools has covered most important topics in PHP.
WebRTC
I have got this recommendation from my seniors, After lockdown video calling applications are still very popular to date. A video or audio conferencing feature on your application will look great in your resume.
It will also ease your ability to scale the application with this kind of feature which increases audience retention. This is something practical and interesting to learn.
Resources to learn WebRTC
- WebRTC — Tutorial video by Traversy Media, I would have loved to share a reading guide, But for this I had to recommend a video.
Frontend Libraries (React, Next, Angular and Vue)
Next thing you can learn is to develop reactive frontend with frontend libraries like React, Next, Angular and Vue.
To be honest, I know React and Next, So this year I will learn Angular to explore Angular’s ecosystem. Is it really worth switching from React? And Vue for building fast UI, Vue claims it’s really good for startups. So I would really Like to try it.
Now if you are really a beginner with frontend framework then start with React because it will give you a basic understanding of how frontend UI works.
Now when it comes to frontend framework, Official documentation is best learn because they changes rapidly with new versions, A tutorial made today will be outrated within few months.
Machine Learning
Now with the AI boom, You can’t really ignore machine learning. At Least you have to learn how models are trained.
What are some simple techniques and algorithms to train an AI? You don’t have to develop the next ChatGPT. Having knowledge of ML will surely give you an edge in your career.
I had learned a bit of ML when I started programming, I didn’t have to learn complex mathematics and function, I just had to use the Python + Scikit Learn library, A bit of logic, And boom I was able to train models.
This knowledge helped me throughout my college and while developing full stack applications.
Resources to learn ML
- The Hundred-page Machine Learning Book by Andriy Burkov
Blockchain
As we experienced the AI boom, We also experienced the Blockchain boom. Blockchain is now not mainstream but that doesn’t mean it is dead. Slowly the metaverse is improving and developers are working on it.
And with rust coming into the game, blockchain is becoming more secure. I like to say with Machine learning if you are not interested don’t learn it, But shouldn’t completely ignore it. Learn a bit of basics about smart contracts and how blockchain works.
Maybe you will develop interest in it, And you end up making some crazy blockchain application.
Resources to learn Blockchain
- FreeCodeCamp — This was the tutorial from where I learned blockchain, Instructor Patrick Collins has introduce smart contracts and solidity in very intuitive way
Conclusion
With these Emerging technologies you have to be ready to learn complex things and adapt with them. Ignoring new technologies will just make you a mediocre programmer.
Share your thoughts in the comment section about what thing you are going to learn in 2024. Also if you linked the article give a thumbs, It really motivates me.
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