TechRepublic , an online community of IT professionals, recently asked developers to rank the easiest-to-learn coding languages. The overwhelming response: HTML. However, if you're just beginning your coding journey, this response is deceiving. There is a key difference between coding languages that is helpful to know: If you want to present data, you need to use a markup language . Examples: HTML, XML, Markdown If you want to mediate data between programs , such as connecting a database and a web server, or if you want to transform data , such as performing calculations, you need to use a programming language . Examples: Python, JavaScript, Ruby While markup languages like HTML provide an entry-point into coding, developers often remark that they do not truly experience the power of code until they master a programming language . And among programming languages included in TechRepublic 's survey, Python ranks as the easiest to learn. Python, designed with an ...