programming for dummies

sunnysingh

sunnysingh

sunnysingh

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22 Jan 2008
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hi all

as i got some time on my hands i want to learn a programming language.
at university i learn visual basic but i diddnt learn nothing!!!!!!!!!!!, and got frustrted.

so i need some ideas of which program languages i can learn for a complete dummie!!!!!!!!!!!

which programming language willl be ideal for me to start in, remember i want to start from the beginning and work my way up

thanks in advanced.
 
c# is quite a nice language to learn and if you plan on getting a job in it/computing c# is one of the main languages used in todays modern world
 
I would suggest either learning C++ or C and a modern Garbage collecting OO language (C# / Java). This way you get the best of both worlds, some knowledge of OO and memory management.

If you go for a development role you cant be guaranteed it will require just the language you know well and having experience with the principles of other languages look good on your CV.
 
Java and C# is a good place to start. Easy to pick up and can be used to make a lot of stuff. Also SQL is nice and easy as well but that is database language.
 
Personally, I wouldn't start with C or any derivative as a new starter, i found the learning curve of pascal and vb more forgiving. Looking back the verbosity and simple structure of these two languages made it much easier for me to grasp the fundamental concepts.
 
Something like php is a good introduction. You can start with 'easy' (old style) procedural programming, and once comfortable with that, you can move onto OO style php (classes and objects). The benefit is you are working in comfortable surroundings whilst learning a coding style that is very similar to c#... which will then very easily allow you to transport to a language that is a true compiled language.
 
Some variant of Pascal is best. There's a reason most academic institutions use it to teach programming. Once you've got that down then some variant of C or Java will makes more sense.

Don't get me started on Visual Basic. It's a hideous car crash of a "language". You want to learn BASIC? - go buy a BBC Micro off eBay.
 
MagicBoy said:
Some variant of Pascal is best. There's a reason most academic institutions use it to teach programming. Once you've got that down then some variant of C or Java will makes more sense.

Don't get me started on Visual Basic. It's a hideous car crash of a "language". You want to learn BASIC? - go buy a BBC Micro off eBay.
Click to expand...

Is visual basic really that bad? i have found it okay, probably because its the only language i know. My college doesnt use any other language now.
 
VB is poorly typed and you can get away with a lot of habits that wouldn't be allowed in a strongly typed language such as Pascal or C.

I've not looked at VB recently, but earlier versions produced P-code which was compiled when it was run which had two major problems :
1) Slow
2) Dependancy on DLLs being installed to the system
 
qwerty321 said:
Is visual basic really that bad? i have found it okay, probably because its the only language i know. My college doesnt use any other language now.
Click to expand...

Visual Basic (at least the versions based on the .NET framework) isn't bad at all.
VB6 isn't a nice language though, and there are a lot of crap programs made in VB by people who used to knock up quick GUIs in the old versions and are now using VB.NET without any real understanding of object oriented programming.

EDIT:
MagicBoy said:
VB is poorly typed and you can get away with a lot of habits that wouldn't be allowed in a strongly typed language such as Pascal or C.

I've not looked at VB recently, but earlier versions produced P-code which was compiled when it was run which had two major problems :
1) Slow
2) Dependancy on DLLs being installed to the system
Click to expand...

It sounds as you haven't really looked at VB since the pre .NET days.
VB.NET has an option for strict typing, though unfortunately it isn't enabled by default.

As for the speed, all .NET languages compile to a common intermediate language, which is then JIT compiled when executed so is quicker than the old versions.
There are dependencies on the .NET framework, but they're not VB specific and apply to any .NET language.
 
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VB doesn't really fit into the model of progressive programming, it won't really take you forward in trying to switch to something more advanced (powerful) at a later date
 
Haircut said:
Visual Basic (at least the versions based on the .NET framework) isn't bad at all.
VB6 isn't a nice language though, and there are a lot of crap programs made in VB by people who used to knock up quick GUIs in the old versions and are now using VB.NET without any real understanding of object oriented programming.
Click to expand...

Yep. Couldn't agree more.

VB is a great tool for knocking up a proof of concept GUI and that's about it.

I've got a Citrix farm at work that can't be migrated off Windows 2000 because they've got a business critical app that someone knocked up in VB years ago and never got properly implemented.
 
I would say python or Vb.net, if you just want to learn the fundamentals and build things that you can see and mess about with quickly. Once you've learned some of it then you could go onto one of the more finicky languages without too many problems. Most of the languages are fundamently the same, they just differ in the details and the amount of hassle they give you.
 
What do you want to do with your programming language?

C/C++ or C# is a good place to start.

If you find it too difficult to grasp you can always take a look at VB.

If you're more interested in web programming PHP is a good place to start and if you're feeling more adventurous python and ruby are worth moving onto.

There's nothing wrong with learning multiple languages either. For example, prototyping windows applications in VB is usually a lot faster than in C++/C#
 
c/c++ as an introduction to programming is not the way to go imo. I suspect most people would never even exceed the capabilities of c#
 
Personally i find the o'reilly's line of programming books to be very thorough, and well written. I would start there - pick your choice of language and happy programming!
 
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