aron_h

ok i know this is kind of a stupid question, as i've heard it really depends on what you want to do, but i just want to know what programming language i SHOULD learn. the reason why i'm posting this in this forum is that all the forums about programming are devoted to specific languages, and i want an unbiased opinion. (preferably several)

currently i'm studying a book on C++, but since i've started, i've been getting a lot of opinions from people saying i should learn something else.

i get lines such as

"C++ is old and out of date"
" .Net is the way things are going, you should learn that"
" C# is the way to go, it's easier"

so what i want to know is...

1. what is the dominant language in commercial applications?
2. what language is the general criteria of employers?
3. what is the most powerful, efficient language?


ease of use and learning curve are not an object in my decision. I'm devoted to develop a firm grasp, no matter what it takes. basically what it boils down to is that i want to know what language is best to be able to develop/modify commercial applications, and to be taken seriously as a programmer.

Nebula

Oh MY GoD. Please search the forum.

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aron_h

oops i'm sorry, i guess i disrupted the waves upon waves of new threads that are just piling in.

from now on i promise i won't ask about anything that has been mentioned already. i forgot that activity is frowned upon in community forums.

Booooze

Just a note. Each langauge is different and used for different things. Figure out which area you want to go into, then research and choose the most applicable language.

Infinite Recursion

Obvisiouly, the person that told you this... is either young or not in the business. C++ definitely has an old age, but that also implies stability in the language. Which equates to a lot of software being written in C++, all of which has to be maintained, in C++, in order to be cost effective.

I agree with this to an extent. The .NET Framework has not been ported to Linux completely... sure there is the Mono Project, but it has a ways to go to be considered complete.

The level of difficulty of a language is all relative. I personally like C# for fast GUI development, it can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be.

Depending on which branch of the industry you are looking at... this could range from C, C++, C#, Java, Python, or even Cobol.

All employers of different, regardless of what answer you are looking for, in some instances it would be wrong. Look at some of the job offers in your community paper or monster.com. Often, C++ and Java are required.

Matter of personal opinion, all languages have their pros and cons list. Personally, I think C++ is the most powerful, but I am also biased.

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"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

aron_h

well... right now i don't really know what branch of the industry i want to get into. i'm still sort of a clean slate just picking up C++ at the moment, and i know i'm going to learn Java, too.

i know this is going to be a typical answer, but i would honestly love to get into game programming. it's probably the same thing as a kid saying they want to be an astronaut when they grow up, though. honestly i'm open to any faction of the industry, really, as long as it involves having a problem, figuring it out, writing an algorithm, and putting it into code.

thank you for the excellent answer though, i'll look into what languages are partial to what parts of the industry.

aron_h

i guess the best question i can ask is "what is the best language i can learn to keep my horizons broad and have a general ability to enter various factions of the industry?"

Infinite Recursion

Better question indeed. I would suggest C++/C# for application development and PHP for web development. Other will suggest Java, which is very similiar to the above. Once you know one language, its basically just a matter of figuring out the syntax before you can code in other languages.

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"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

DaWei

Please take time to read the forum's rules/FAQ. It'll give you an idea of the community so you don't go around farting in church. You might want to make particular note of why it says it's better to SEARCH FIRST (hint: we get this question lebenty-zillion times a week). That alone makes it a 'stupid' question. Probably wouldn't hurt to read the "How to Post..." thread, just for grins.

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nnxion

It's not that, but some questions are being asked over and over and over again. Sometimes people get tired of that, you can probably imagine why.

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