Programming Languages

[Surfah]

If one wanted to learn a language which would you suggest would be a good one to start with and any good online sources?

[old_gregg]

have you been reading the lifehacker tutorials too?

[Indy Coug]

If one wanted to learn a language which would you suggest would be a good one to start with and any good online sources?

What kind of programming experience do you already have?

[beefytee]

You can get free Visual Studio Express stuff that is pretty good for beginners and for dabbling. You can use several languages with that (C++, C#, Visual Basic).

Java is free and has lots of online resources.

What are you wanting to do? Web based stuff? Standalone programs? Mobile Apps?

If you learn Java it is pretty easy to move to Android development....So I hear.

[Surfah]

have you been reading the lifehacker tutorials too?

LOL. Yes.

I love Lifehacker. One of the few blogs I visit daily.

[Non Sequitur]

If you're new to programming, Python is a good entry point. Perl is also pretty accessible. If you want to be marketable, you can't go wrong with Java.

[Surfah]

What kind of programming experience do you already have?

None really. I use a WYSIWYG for a website I maintain that is created in PHP. Ultimately I'd like to learn some of that so I don't have to call the webmaster for help.

[Uncle Ted]

If one wanted to learn a language which would you suggest would be a good one to start with and any good online sources?

The CS purist will most likely disagree with me but I would start will learning C before moving on to one of the C derivatives like C++, Objective C, or Java.

You may be able to find an online college course that teaches programming like...

http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111

Also, check iTunes U for podcasts of other college lectures.

[Surfah]

The CS purist will most likely disagree with me but I would start will learning C before moving on to one of the C derivatives like C++, Objective C, or Java.

You may be able to find an online college course that teaches programming like...

http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111

Also, check iTunes U for podcasts of other college lectures.

Sweet link. Thanks Ted.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The CS purist will most likely disagree with me but I would start will learning C before moving on to one of the C derivatives like C++, Objective C, or Java.

You may be able to find an online college course that teaches programming like...

http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111

Also, check iTunes U for podcasts of other college lectures.

Everyone should start with Kernighan and Ritchie.

[old_gregg]

Everyone should start with Kernighan and Ritchie.

if someone wanted an electronic copy (AFTER they purchased the text, of course), it can be found on demonoid among other sites. pm me for a link.

[Lost Student]

I took the intro to computer programming courses at Univ. of Washington a couple of years ago. They taught Java and I thought it was easy enough to pick up, so that would be my vote. Download jGrasp, buy an intro. to programming book, and start playing around. It can be a lot of fun.

Taking an online (or in-person) course would be really helpful, but it's not impossible to learn on your own.

[Paperback Writer]

The CS purist will most likely disagree with me but I would start will learning C before moving on to one of the C derivatives like C++, Objective C, or Java.

You may be able to find an online college course that teaches programming like...

http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111

Also, check iTunes U for podcasts of other college lectures.

Good recommendations. However, I'm not sure how beneficial C will be for learing C++ or .Net or other Microsoft languages since C is not an object oriented language. But I did have that background (C as well as several other languages) before moving to object oriented programming.

Might consider going directly into Java. That's what I would do but I'm working with Java applications every day. My spouse who works with Microsoft applications (C#, .Net) thinks otherwise.

Taking online courses is good advice as well as beginning program tutorial books. Years ago, I took community college classes to learn Java and some others but then found them a waste of $$$. Just find out what book a CC beginning programming course is using and buy it or something similar. And then go to online forms for additional information or to ask questions.

[Uncle Ted]

Good recommendations. However, I'm not sure how beneficial C will be for learing C++ or .Net or other Microsoft languages since C is not an object oriented language. But I did have that background (C as well as several other languages) before moving to object oriented programming.

You can do OOP in C... http://www.planetpdf.com/codecuts/pdfs/ooc.pdf

A good example of OOP in C is the MIT X Window system that is used on Linux, FreeBSD and other Unix's. I actually learned OOP by reading the source code of X many years ago.

I think starting out learning procedural programming makes a simple introduction to programming. A lot of high school and college introduction to programming classes now days throw kids right into Java and the industry has started to notice that new college graduates lack a lot of understanding about programming. Here is an interesting paper on this subject..

Computer Science Education: Where Are the Software Engineers of Tomorrow?

Abstract: Is is our view that Computer Science (CS) education is neglecting basic skills, in particular in the areas of programming and formal methods. We consider that the general adoption of Java as a first programming language is in part responsible for this decline. We examine briefly the set of programming skills that should be part of every software professional’s repertoire.

BTW, over at your kid's HS there is a computer science teacher (Baker) that starts off kids programming in C and then moves to C++/Java. He is one of the best CS teachers in the area, IMO.

[Surfah]

You can do OOP in C... http://www.planetpdf.com/codecuts/pdfs/ooc.pdf

A good example of OOP in C is the MIT X Window system that is used on Linux, FreeBSD and other Unix's. I actually learned OOP by reading the source code of X many years ago.

I think starting out learning procedural programming makes a simple introduction to programming. A lot of high school and college introduction to programming classes now days throw kids right into Java and the industry has started to notice that new college graduates lack a lot of understanding about programming. Here is an interesting paper on this subject..

Computer Science Education: Where Are the Software Engineers of Tomorrow?



BTW, over at your kid's HS there is a computer science teacher (Baker) that starts off kids programming in C and then moves to C++/Java. He is one of the best CS teachers in the area, IMO.

Consulting with another friend he suggested C as he said OOP can be confusing or difficult for programming noobs. He said C would be a good base to build on.