coding language

[PureZero]

hey im pretty new around that part of computers but would really wanna learn to use it. just to make helpfull small applications to make everything simpler.

So my question really is, what language is "easy" to learn to make small apps? maybe something with alot of guides etc

and if you got any tips on where to get guides, sites? shops? and so on that would be really helpfull, and appriciated to.

[metatron]

Visual Basic is very easy, but C++ will be more useful and isn’t hard to learn.

[film]

Visual Basic

[moonlit]

I've used Visual Basic for a good few years now and it's a great language for throwing things together quickly... on the downside though I've heard that learning such a relatively easy language makes it harder to progress to more powerful languages...

[PureZero]

thanks for replies so far, appriciated :)

so visual basic is the easyest, but then it may be harder to learn an more advanced language.

hmm maybe i should go for C++ then, since i want to learn more then just one. maybe something like perl after i know another first

[Guest]

I would suggest you learn something like dephi, its an easy langauge to learn and wont make it harder for you to learn something like c++, and after thaat i would suggest Java as it will introduce you to the world of OO and make learning c++ even easer. after that you should pretty much be able to pick up any langauge you want fearly easy.

[cooper]

Let me just second that motion.

When I was first tought programming in school, they tought us Turbo Pascal (ah, the good old days!) which sets you up quite nicely for what's to come (allows for structured programming and what not).

Delphi is basically OO Pascal. Plus the compiler is REDICULOUSLY fast compared to C and Java compilers, so you'll get some nice results quickly.

[boristsr]

i have to say i disagree with learning c++ first, and saying that learning something like visual basic will make it harder later down the line.

the thing with programming is, you need to understand how to break down a solution into steps that the computer will then process and come up with the correct solution. this is the ticket to all programming, once you have this mindset down, learning another language is extremely simple.

i personally started with visual basic, and then moved onto c++ without much hassle. i don't think it is smart to learn something like c++ first off because during the hard enough phase on learning to program you are then distracted by annoying low level things such as memory management.

i'd say go with a higher level language at first such as visual basic, python, c#, java or delphi (i haven't actually used this, but i have heard good things).

also, i wouldn't get too caught up in what language to use first, it's pretty much guaranteed that you will learn a lot more than 1 language ;)

[moonlit]

Yeah the basic ideas are pretty much the same... in any programming language the step you take are similar... Your program will take data in, store it somewhere, process it and spit out data.

[Hellmark]

VB is a good newbie language, but has horrible syntax at times, and allows for really sloppy coding. Personally, I would recommend REALbasic over Visual Basic. RB is cross platform, allows for commandline coding, and stresses a bit cleaner code at times. Plus, less major changes that require massive rewrites in code, unlike VB. Really, there are many many forms of BASIC that are good to play with. Gambas is good if you are a Linux user and do simple things. Blitzbasic (or rather, now its successor, Blitzmax) is good for making simple small games.

Other languages to start with would be Pascal, Python, and Ruby.

If you're wanting to start with a C relative, C# might be the way to go, since general concensus is that it is at times easier than C or C++. Plus with Mono instead of .NET, you get good crossplatform support. I'm with Boristsr though, C and its offshoots are not for newbs.

[Guest]

I would strongly advice staying away from a langauge that is OS dependent (vb) even though you might only be coding on one OS it still allows for your code to be easly ported to another OS. This is one of the main reasion why i would stay away from VB or C# or anything like that that microsoft has made.

[finkployd]

I'd stay away from VB.... yes it has it's perks, but if you're serious about coding you'll quickly outgrow the language and get frusterated with it.

If you want a serious language, I'd recommend Java. The object-oriented structure is pretty easy to pickup (given you have a talent with computers and thinking analytically), plus it'd be a lot easier to pickup C++ if you so desire down the road.

[pseudobreed]

boristsr has a very good point.

Programming is not about the language you choose. You first have to figure out how to solve problems and it really breaks down into being math equations.

When I started out, I never used to do it until I was forced to in college, but pseudocode works wonders. Essentially, once you figure out the problem the only thing you need to know after that is the syntax of the language you are going use.

I started out in BASIC, then VB and then learned C++ and Java in about a years time. Then I worked as a developer using VB for about three years.

VB = Rapid Application Development. It works to throw something together quickly however it is full of memory leaks and it does not clean up code well on it's own (However, you can write your own cleanup). Anything you learn in C++ can be thrown into VB using classes, modules, etc. I dont think people give VB enough credit. I use it primarily considering my clients are on windows 90% of the time and I have a huge collection of modules, classes, and dl libraries from over the years.

C++ = Maybe it's just me, but it takes me about twice as long to do something in C++ than VB and making a GUI is hella a pain. And, I can not think of thing that I strictly need to make in C++ that I can not in VB.

Java = Awesome at OOP. However, it's so freaking slow on windows. It's great that it's cross platform, but like I said, Im on windows.

PHP = Personally, I enjoy it the most. The only down fall is you need a web server (I use XAMPP). It's really easy to learn, it resembles C++ and Java a little bit more so it's not like learning another language all over again and it's fast. The best part I like about it is I can write an app and the client just needs a web browser to use it. It's not OS dependent. This way even people on their phones can get/post info.

All in all. Just jump into a language. If you feel it's a little awkward for your taste then try something else. When it comes down to it, you are going to code in what you feel comfortable in and what works for your style. Because you can pretty much solve any problem in any language if you are comfortable with it. If youre not comfortable with it, the chances are you are just going to forget about it anyways. Which is a good thing. Nothing like staring at some code knowing it's the correct syntax to only find out laters on it's the correct syntax for a difference language.

If I had to do it all over again, I would learn command line by heart first. Then you could start making scripts without a compiler and the learn the basics. Then step it up into VBScript or VB. You will find that most of what you learned in batch scripting will easily port into VBScript or VB. Then if you find that you are being held back, check out C#. Im just not fancy on a computer having to have a 23mb framework to run a 20kb file.

Oh, and get a good IDE. I almost lost it when I tried Borland Compiler.

[jollyrancher82]

C++ = Maybe it's just me, but it takes me about twice as long to do something in C++ than VB and making a GUI is hella a pain. And, I can not think of thing that I strictly need to make in C++ that I can not in VB.

An application with threading.

[Guest]

PHP = Personally, I enjoy it the most. The only down fall is you need a web server (I use XAMPP). It's really easy to learn, it resembles C++ and Java a little bit more so it's not like learning another language all over again and it's fast. The best part I like about it is I can write an app and the client just needs a web browser to use it. It's not OS dependent. This way even people on their phones can get/post info.

You dont need a web server for php, all you need is the interpreter, just like any other scripting langauge ;)

[Freakish]

A really easy langauge is Turing, it is very basic. I don't really use it anymore but Turing tought me the basics of programming.

[PoyBoy]

Python! Python!

Snakes!

[Mick]

I would say to drop Visual Basic like the bad habit it is.

It really gets you into a VB only mindset, and makes it harder to switch to a portable (or non MS) language.