Software

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Revisions + Exploring Programming

0 helpful
4 replies

by the maverick phantom wanderer (formerly macoza, nodice, kp, etc.)

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

First the relatively unimportant statement(s):

I, after (somewhat) extensive self examination, have decided to evolve beyond that which I no longer consider worth maintaining. To show this to those who may not see or are unable to see, I have changed my name here to Nodice (No dice).

That being said, the relatively more important statement(s):

I am at the crossroads of my journey in programming. Should the wrong path be taken, it will lead to my ruin (i.e. the switch from programming to some other field like music). So, this is what wish to discuss with any who would like to engage in an discussion with me:

What do you believe is the best programming language to start with for a flegling programmer? [Or, if you are unable to choose a best language, name a few (besides C and Java- they are being taught, so I have to learn those) that are good choices.]

4 replies

by jiminpa

Pick one and stick with it until you know it. That's the advise I recieved and it seems to be pretty sound advise. If you keep bopping back and forth you will only get confused.

I am partial to VB myself.

by the maverick phantom wanderer (formerly macoza, nodice, kp, etc.)

More confusion is definitely the last thing I need in my life.

VB would have been the third language I would have tried to learn (after Java and C), but anger at several VB snobs caused me to shun VB as well.(The "we're better than you because we can program games on our TI-89 calculator that you can't afford, yet we ask you for help on things any moderately intelligent sixth grader can do without difficulty" thing really got on my nerves.)

by tony hopkinson

It's designed for amateurs to bash something together that looks professional.
Professionals can use it well, but that's putting the cart before the horse.

by tony hopkinson

English. or your native language if it happens to be different.

Write out the steps to make a cup of coffee.

Go in the kitchen, (ah you forgot that one didn't you. :p) and follow them.

Even with these hints there will steps you missed or assumptions that turned out not to be true.

Now make two cups of coffee, one after the other, two at the same time. Get the missus make one for each of you, both make one at the same time.

Now you've learnt how to program, just translate it into the target language.

I'd look at types of language,

procedural C, Pascal, Fortan
Unmanaged OO C++ (delphi ??)
Modern OO, Java, C#, VB.Net
Functional OCaml, F#
Dynamic Python, Ruby, Perl
Interpreted JavaScript, PHP...

get a feel for them.
C and Java is a reasonable mix.
C++ for unmanaged OO
Python or Ruby for Dynamically Typed
c#.net, mainly for the .net bit.

If you were starting from scratch, I would have gone from english to pascal and probably chucked a bit of the math in, then C#.
If you wanted to avoid .net, then english, C and then Java.

This discussion is closed to new replies.