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A good programming language for starters?

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Ismael92

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Post Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:06 pm

A good programming language for starters?

For a while I've been interested in programming, and I've learnt most of the things I know about it reading things on the internet. However, since this is my last year at high school and I'll be going to university next year, I thought that it was time to take a programming course to finally get a degree and officially get into the world of programming. There are courses starting next month and in March next year, and I was considering starting next month, but the thing is that I don't know what programming language to start with.

I have a friend who told me that Visual Basic was great because of it's simplicity, and then I could move to other language. But the thing is that I can't make up my mind because I'm interested in all existing programming languages, especially PHP and Java. So I thought that I could come here and as you guys and gals, since I know that the EGB is full of geeks :3

Considering that I don't know much about programming, what programming language should I start studying?
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ByteSlinger

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Post Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:55 pm

Re: A good programming language for starters?

Learning a programming language is very similar to learning a foreign language - but the language you choose depends on where you want to visit.

These days, most object-oriented programming languages not only look similar, they also integrate fairly well. Java, PHP and PERL have similar roots derived from C and C++; Visual Basic and VBNET are derivitives of "old-school" BASIC with heavy modifications to make it event-driven.

I would recommend learning Java and Java Script first. Why? Because it is a good mix of object-oriented programming and modular development , and Java itself is platform-independent, meaning that you can generally run your program on any operating system (Apple, Windows, Linux, etc) and any browser (Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc). There are some minor exceptions, but generally a well-written piece of Java code is truly portable. Also, you can load the Java runtime modules (for free from SUN) on your PC and see them in action.

I personally program in a dozen or so different languages, but I've been doing this longer than you've been alive (30+ years of programming). Although Visual Basic is probably a littler simpler to learn, it is a mish-mosh of old and new - and only runs on Microsoft platforms. That's why I suggest Java - not too hard to learn, it'll run just about anywhere - and it's globally supported.

But, that's just my opinion. Hope it helps!
:D
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EagleRock

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Post Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:42 pm

Re: A good programming language for starters?

Byte's pretty much the residential expert here, so I'll defect to her recommendations.

However, I used to program quite a lot, but my lovely teachers in college kinda sucked that out of me. I used to program heavily in C++, which is a powerful language, but not very intuitive for the newcomer. The language does little to assist the programmer. Java, like Byte said, is a good language that is universal (works on all OSes) and is relatively powerful. Perl, if you're a UNIX geek like me, is super-powerful as a scripting language. Very good for system administration tasks, but it has its other benefits. Perl, however, is a language that takes a special person to love it. In other words, if you're not already insane, Perl will drive you to it. :D

So, best thing is to pick what it is you want to do. Java, like Byte said, is a good swiss-army-knife of PL's, and is a great place to start. However, if you are big on web development, PHP is a great language for that as well. PHP is also very friendly with mySQL, an open-source database. You'll often hear of something called "LAMP" stacks when talking about web servers, which refers to a certain web-server build that is heavily used: Linux, Apache Web Server, mySQL, and PHP.

If you find these two languages a bit more complicated, though, Python is another good language to look into. Python is very newbie-friendly, and can train you up in certain concepts before you jump languages and start getting comfortable with thinking in pseudocode and not getting hung up on syntax.
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Ismael92

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Post Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:16 pm

Re: A good programming language for starters?

Thanks a lot for your replies, your opinions are very valuable to me!

ByteSlinger wrote:Learning a programming language is very similar to learning a foreign language - but the language you choose depends on where you want to visit.


Yes, I know that even if some languages have some similarities, the one you must use depends on what you're trying to achieve. But then again I don't know what I'll do in the future so I'm looking forward to learning about any programming language :)

ByteSlinger wrote:These days, most object-oriented programming languages not only look similar, they also integrate fairly well. Java, PHP and PERL have similar roots derived from C and C++; Visual Basic and VBNET are derivitives of "old-school" BASIC with heavy modifications to make it event-driven.


I thought that Visual Basic and Visual Basic .NET were the same thing... I guess I was wrong :/

ByteSlinger wrote:hat's why I suggest Java - not too hard to learn, it'll run just about anywhere - and it's globally supported.


Nice, I'm starting to like Java even more :D

ByteSlinger wrote:But, that's just my opinion. Hope it helps!
:D


Of course it does. Thanks!

EagleRock wrote:I used to program heavily in C++, which is a powerful language, but not very intuitive for the newcomer. The language does little to assist the programmer.


Then I guess I won't be studying C++, lol

EagleRock wrote:Perl, if you're a UNIX geek like me, is super-powerful as a scripting language. Very good for system administration tasks, but it has its other benefits. Perl, however, is a language that takes a special person to love it. In other words, if you're not already insane, Perl will drive you to it. :D


Why do you say that it takes a special person to love it?

EagleRock wrote:If you find these two languages a bit more complicated, though, Python is another good language to look into. Python is very newbie-friendly, and can train you up in certain concepts before you jump languages and start getting comfortable with thinking in pseudocode and not getting hung up on syntax.


I'll keep that in mind :)

Thanks again to both of you!
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EagleRock

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Post Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:21 am

Re: A good programming language for starters?

Ismael92 wrote:
EagleRock wrote:Perl, if you're a UNIX geek like me, is super-powerful as a scripting language. Very good for system administration tasks, but it has its other benefits. Perl, however, is a language that takes a special person to love it. In other words, if you're not already insane, Perl will drive you to it. :D


Why do you say that it takes a special person to love it?

Well, Perl is notorious for being lax on how you use its syntax...it's very easy to develop Perl code that is ridiculously difficult to understand.

For example, take a look at this tidbit of obfuscated Perl code:

  Code:
@P=split//,".URRUU\c8R";@d=split//,"\nrekcah xinU / lreP rehtona tsuJ";sub p{
@p{"r$p","u$p"}=(P,P);pipe"r$p","u$p";++$p;($q*=2)+=$f=!fork;map{$P=$P[$f|ord
($p{$_})&6];$p{$_}=/ ^$P/ix?$P:close$_}keys%p}p;p;p;p;p;map{$p{$_}=~/^[P.]/&&
close$_}%p;wait until$?;map{/^r/&&<$_>}%p;$_=$d[$q];sleep rand(2)if/\S/;print


Now, obviously, this bit of code is specifically made to be impossible to read, but you get the idea. Perl is the kind of language that you could be hacking away at some algorithm, then you go back to it 6 months later trying to review it and say "who the hell wrote this crap?"

Btw, if you wanted more info about that bit of code I pasted, check here.
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aldlv

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Post Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:34 am

Re: A good programming language for starters?

ER and BS know way more than me...
so, i will just point a few things out

i have learned C# at the university, and i am intereted right now on RUby and Phyton...
you can learn a lot with the ones they told you, but you also have to consider what kind of things do you want to program... what do you want to do with that?

anyway, in my opinion, i like the Object-oriented programming, i think they are less abstract, than the "old School" ones
but at the end, you can learn with everything

Hey!, my first experiences in "learning a programing language" was with Action Script ;)
- Comandante Supremo aldlv -

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Byte rules!!! thanx for such an awesome sig!!!
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ByteSlinger

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Post Tue Jul 27, 2010 11:10 am

Re: A good programming language for starters?

I think the best way to approach this isn't to ask "what language do I learn?", but rather, "what do I want to get involved with first?" Do you want to try your hand at website programming, or animation, or stand-alone applications, like games or utilities? Work backwards from what you find interesting - it is much easier to learn any computer language if you know that you're learning it to do something you like to do.

Now, something else to consider - and only YOU can answer this question: Not everyone is cut out to be a real programmer. It is more than just learning a language - it is a way of life where someone can tell you what they want, and your mind sees the answer in code. It is more than just a learned skill - it's a mental ability. I have seen many intelligent people slog through programming courses, and barely pass them, happy never to see another line of code again. I have seen other smart people try programming, and really hit the books hard - but it just doesn't sink in, and becomes too much work just to manage the language. Just because you can't get the knack of programming doesn't mean you're not smart. I enjoy programming in multiple languages on multiple platforms - but I suck at history and go glassy-eyed when someone tries to explain accounting principles to me.

I am fortunate in that I discovered programming in 10th grade (I was 14 at that time) and realized it was my calling. My first three languages were Dartmouth BASIC, Lexicon Fortran and IBM Assembler (machine code) - All self taught within that first year. In 11th grade, I officially signed up for my first programming course, and by midyear was the ad-hoc teaching assistant. Without boring you with more details, I just continued to learn more and more - it was my talent and to this day, still something I love to do.

I hope you can feel the same way, and that programming is more than just a job - that it is a passion and an extension of your creativity. :D
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