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Darkhack · Feb 27th, 2006, 9:29 PM

The first thing to do would be to pick a certain programming language. I would recommend you do your own research before deciding which one to choose, because if you ask other people, it will only start a flame war, as people have their own opinions. I can make some offers though that would be a good start for you to look further into. Java and C# are both very similar and would be good for general purpose applications. I hear a lot about Python, although I know nothing about it, so hopefully someone else can shine some light on it. PHP is a good choice if you are interested in web development. PHP or other similar langauges (ASP, and a bunch of others that I know nothing about) allow you to create dynamic webpages. These forums are programming in PHP infact. PHP makes it possible for me to hit the submit button and have my text show up instantly on a website which would be impossible with normal HTML.

C or C++ are similar languages which are probebly the most popular and well known languages to date. C which has been around longer is a little more complex and lacks OOP (object oriented programming) which is a method or ideology of how programming should be done which is present in C++. OOP uses "classes" in order to organize code. Meaning a language must support OOP in order for someone to use it. C++ does support classes and at one time in its early development was even called "C with classes". C++ allows you to use anything from C but NOT vice-versa. These languages are a little more complicated but nothing that you couldn't learn even as a first language. The real question comes in as to whether you learn C or C++ first. A lot of people say you should learn C before C++ others say that it isn't nessisary and that it may be better to learn C++ first. My personal stance, is that if you are a beginner and are looking for a first language, then C++ would be most preferable as you can learn OOP which will be a very big advantage if you decide to learn another language later on.

To summorize... Java or C# are my two top choices for a beginner, and also looking into Python would be good but I can't recommend it off hand because of my lack of expierence. PHP for web development. C++ if you want to go for a very popular and powerful language and are willing to put a little bit more effort in. Finding C++ documentation is a little more difficult as there isn't really a standard place to find it like there is with Java and C#.

I'm sure there are other languages which would be good as well. The others can fill you in on those if you aren't interested in what I have mentioned. Doing your own research through Google (or whatever) would be better than taking opinions from people who might put too much of their own bias into their post. I do admit, I have a slight bias to C# and PHP as those are my best known languages and to Java as well since I have many friends that program in Java, but with good reason.

Feb 27th, 2006, 9:29 PM	#3
Darkhack Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Kansas City Posts: 105 Rep Power: 3	The first thing to do would be to pick a certain programming language. I would recommend you do your own research before deciding which one to choose, because if you ask other people, it will only start a flame war, as people have their own opinions. I can make some offers though that would be a good start for you to look further into. Java and C# are both very similar and would be good for general purpose applications. I hear a lot about Python, although I know nothing about it, so hopefully someone else can shine some light on it. PHP is a good choice if you are interested in web development. PHP or other similar langauges (ASP, and a bunch of others that I know nothing about) allow you to create dynamic webpages. These forums are programming in PHP infact. PHP makes it possible for me to hit the submit button and have my text show up instantly on a website which would be impossible with normal HTML. C or C++ are similar languages which are probebly the most popular and well known languages to date. C which has been around longer is a little more complex and lacks OOP (object oriented programming) which is a method or ideology of how programming should be done which is present in C++. OOP uses "classes" in order to organize code. Meaning a language must support OOP in order for someone to use it. C++ does support classes and at one time in its early development was even called "C with classes". C++ allows you to use anything from C but NOT vice-versa. These languages are a little more complicated but nothing that you couldn't learn even as a first language. The real question comes in as to whether you learn C or C++ first. A lot of people say you should learn C before C++ others say that it isn't nessisary and that it may be better to learn C++ first. My personal stance, is that if you are a beginner and are looking for a first language, then C++ would be most preferable as you can learn OOP which will be a very big advantage if you decide to learn another language later on. To summorize... Java or C# are my two top choices for a beginner, and also looking into Python would be good but I can't recommend it off hand because of my lack of expierence. PHP for web development. C++ if you want to go for a very popular and powerful language and are willing to put a little bit more effort in. Finding C++ documentation is a little more difficult as there isn't really a standard place to find it like there is with Java and C#. I'm sure there are other languages which would be good as well. The others can fill you in on those if you aren't interested in what I have mentioned. Doing your own research through Google (or whatever) would be better than taking opinions from people who might put too much of their own bias into their post. I do admit, I have a slight bias to C# and PHP as those are my best known languages and to Java as well since I have many friends that program in Java, but with good reason.