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I'm thinking about learning how to program.
Renegade:
I might be a bit biased, but C# is just so nice to work with.
The syntax is very clean and simple. There isn't a lot of freaky stuff like in Perl.
I think it's a good choice because it's highly productive over a very large range of things.
Also, there is a HUGE amount of code and support for it out there.
http://www.codeproject.com/ -- Great site.
Worrying about memory issues is really not a productive use of your time. C/C++/Objective-C are simply slow that way. Now, there are things where you really need pointers, but not usually. Managed code is simply a wonderful thing.
Later on, you can look at Mono. You WILL miss Visual Studio though. Make no mistake, Visual Studio is the Death Star, and many other IDEs seem like rocks and sticks in comparison.
MonoDevelop is pretty good though. It's not VS, but it works well enough. Don't start there though. It's not the massive productivity tool that VS is.
The Mono team is very good and they really think through a lot of things in Mono, so it's definitely something to get into once you are more comfortable. Don't start with it though.
I prefer strongly-typed languages though, so I would shy away from languages like Python. Both have ups and downs. I just find strong typing is nice to work with.
But at the end of the day, I think the most important thing is the IDE. A nice IDE will help you get things done no matter the language.
.NET, to me, seems like the right way to approach things. It's faster, easier, and more productive. And you can choose any language you want just about. Don't count on having Erlang# though or Lisp#. But you can do functional programming with F# if you like.
There are 2 basic popular IDE types: the VS style ones, and the Eclipse style ones. The Borland, or whatever they're called now, IDEs are like VS. Xcode is sort of like Eclipse.
I'd recommend having a look at Eclipse at some point. You might like the way the UI builder is separate.
Have fun~! Programming is a pure joy!
MilesAhead:
My point being, if you're going to absorb C style syntax, classes, inheritance etc.. you might as well pick up some C at your leisure since there's a compiler for everything.
I do agree C++ as a first language is a bit much. But if you've been doing C# for 6 months, it might not seem so daunting. But anyway, I don't want to get into the "what's the best first programming language" thread. It was done a few months back. :)
btw I like C#. When I tried the Borland Java based products, I was a bit frustrated. When I did C# I had the advantage of already programming in C and C++. Just made it less to learn. When doing anything .NET I use C#. Chances are the thing you are trying to do has already been done in the framework someplace if you can dig out the docs and figure 'em out. vc++ I do win32 stand-alone .exe. Just for grings I did a one button Forms app. What a mess!! Only a machine would write code like that!! Ewwww!! :(
superboyac:
I've learned to take mouser's advice pretty seriously over the years because it's not often that he just comes out and offers it. So I'll have to take a look at python. I remember when I was trying to figure out how to make my website, I was about to go with Drupal and mouser said a little something about it that really set me straight.
But, the reason why I want to do .net and c# is because my buddy here at work uses it and he's a great programmer. So I can always harass him with questions and it's very convenient. Also, I have programmed before so I'm comfortable with the idea of it. But I've never done real programming before. I'm only doing this to see if maybe it's something I can pick up and put to good use with all my ideas. Then maybe I won't have to be so critical of all the software out there that I'm always complaining about. Maybe it will make me a more positive person! ;D Seriously, though, I've always been a closet programmer.
mouser:
There are long threads on the forum about how to get started programming, and what the best language to code in is.
The point I always try to make is that the hardest thing about learning how to program is staying motivated and sticking to it. The particular language you choose is not that important, so if there is something about a particular language that motivates you or grabs your interest (a book, a friend, that cute girl in class who thinks programmer's are hot, whatever), then go with that. And if you hit a road block with one language, try another till you find one that speaks to you. Personally i've always found that stumbling across the right book is the most important thing in terms of motivating me.
MilesAhead:
I've learned to take mouser's advice pretty seriously over the years because it's not often that he just comes out and offers it. So I'll have to take a look at python. I remember when I was trying to figure out how to make my website, I was about to go with Drupal and mouser said a little something about it that really set me straight.
But, the reason why I want to do .net and c# is because my buddy here at work uses it and he's a great programmer. So I can always harass him with questions and it's very convenient. Also, I have programmed before so I'm comfortable with the idea of it. But I've never done real programming before. I'm only doing this to see if maybe it's something I can pick up and put to good use with all my ideas. Then maybe I won't have to be so critical of all the software out there that I'm always complaining about. Maybe it will make me a more positive person! ;D Seriously, though, I've always been a closet programmer.
-superboyac (October 26, 2010, 03:20 PM)
--- End quote ---
Having someone's brain to pick is a big plus. I started out with gwBasic but I knew someone into Turbo Pascal so I got that compiler next. Different people react differently to different syntax so one person's experience is not directly transferable. I liked the concepts in SmallTalk but I had a hard time wrapping my head around the syntax. Often when I do other OOP languages though, I recognize where they got the concept. It's just easier to use a different syntax sometimes.
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