GOod beginning language?

[Russ356]

I was wondering what a good beginning language would be?

(Programming of course :D )

[Sepero]

Java

http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-03-1996/jw-03-10minute.java.html
http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/new2java/

It may not be "The Easiest" language, but it is very easy. As an added bonus, it'll be 100 times easier to move into languages like C and C++. The reason is because the makers of Java have taken and re-used all the best parts from C, and leaving behind the more complex parts. Java programs can run on almost every architechture with-out recompiles or adjustments. (Their motto is "Write once, Run everywhere")

P.S.
Another cool tid-bit is that you can also make Applets, programs that can run inside of a web page! heheh

[trc]

i started with python and c, and then learned c++ and java at the same time. i found c/c++ a lot more easier to understand than java. different people, different preferences.

[lilrabbit129]

I personally started with C++. Then have learned Java, VHDL, systemC.. blah blah

I would recommend C++... i dunno why but i never really warmed up to java.


-Me

[tecknophreak]

C++, its more fun than C.

I like C++ better than JAVA because I found it a lot easier to learn as well.

Another factor in your decision would be what are you looking to program for?

[bandwidth_pig]

It's going to be a matter of what you grasp easiest in my opinion. I myself would not recommend either Java or C++ as a first langauge. Both are object oriented and can be confusing to a person just starting out. I would recommend C. C will give you the foundation to be all the better in C++. Java is very interesting, but never really lived up to it's full potential due to the fact that most Java programs run very slow. Again, it's a matter of personal taste. But C is a great place to start.

[ioslipstream]

Perl.

The O'Reilly book titled "Learning Perl" does such an awesome job of teaching the language and core programming concepts, that I always recommend it to beginner programmers. (Not to mention, the book itself is a very entertaining read).

Perl itself is very easy to learn (a month or less to learn, lifetime to master, etc), and once you can program in one language, it is fairly simple to move to another language.

[mage492]

I would say that it depends what you want to do. For simple things, C++ is really easy. For more complicated things, the language itself suddenly becomes much more difficult. It's not that you can't DO them, but it gets much tougher.

I would recommend either Basic (if you want a gentle learning curve) or PHP (a faster curve, but it can do several things more easily than Basic). The reason I mention PHP is that it is also very similar to C, but a lot of cool stuff is built right into the language (like accessing databases, dynamic web pages, etc.). It's designed to work well with html for doing server-side commands. It's not too complicated, either.

http://www.php.net/docs.php is a pretty good online manual. It also has a quick reference to all of the commands.

[dimitrylevin]

I recommend Java. Although it might be a llittle harder to understand at first, it will be well worth it. It is more commonly used than any other language, and most computer science programs in high schools and colleges are moving from c++ to java. The AP computer science high school class is also moving from c++ to java, which might be important to you since you are 14.

Also, Java programs will work on Windows and Linux without any modification or recompilation or anything.

[zdude255]

I would also reccommend learning Java.

My advice is to buy a book and learn from that as well as online tutorials.

Java's great because its got a largly documented, central API on http://java.sun.com

Though if you're interested in programming I would reccommend that after you start Java and learn some of the basic stuff, you also learn C++.

C++ has some more aspects such as memory and pointers.

Oh, but C is good too. In my opinion I like it better than C++ but I know many people will probably have different opinions about this.

Once you get to Object-Oriented programming, Java will be very powerful. Once you can read and make the most of the Java API you'll like it.

[irlandes]

Originally posted by mage492

I would recommend either Basic (if you want a gentle learning curve) or PHP (a faster curve, but it can do several things more easily than Basic). ...

Basic??? Is Basic available for linux? I Like it, and at the high-tech company I worked for 30+ years (we supplied, for example the com radios for the moon shots) it was used for test equipment interfacing.

The college professors told their students Basic was worthless, but that was because a. they aren't too smart. b. The early implementations were very small because of limited memory. Full implementations are pretty powerful and easy, almost intuitive, to program.

[scifire]

C/C++ and Perl
i don't recommend Java it is to slow (up to 10 times that c++)
because the excelent portability with the compiler/interprete way
the Java model is a little to hard to understand but if u have the experince with other langueges it is more easy
Java is most orieted to the Internet but standalone programs is writen on C/C++
i recommend Perl to do the jobs for internet is slower to but very very simple and powerfull
i have many friend that run Delphi and they are satified . they said that Delphi(Kylix) is simple and very flxible for everything the VCL and go interaction with databases and internet
ANY modern computer language is a good idea:)

[yrone]

I started off learning PERL and then started on Java for a few weeks then I discovered PHP! I love php and its VERY similar to PERL. I can do alot more with PERL at this point just because I am more familiar with it than PHP for the time being.
I would suggest if you like web design to start off with tha first as it seems more suited to doing cgi and database stuff than PERL is.

[zdude255]

Originally posted by scifire
C/C++ and Perl
i don't recommend Java it is to slow (up to 10 times that c++)
because the excelent portability with the compiler/interprete way
the Java model is a little to hard to understand but if u have the experince with other langueges it is more easy
Java is most orieted to the Internet but standalone programs is writen on C/C++
i recommend Perl to do the jobs for internet is slower to but very very simple and powerfull
i have many friend that run Delphi and they are satified . they said that Delphi(Kylix) is simple and very flxible for everything the VCL and go interaction with databases and internet
ANY modern computer language is a good idea:)

You obviously haven't done much Java.

1. Java is slow, however the person asking didn't ask for the fastest language. They asked for a good starter language.

2. Java isn't internet based at all. It was designed with the internet in mind, however there are many great desktop apps in Java.

[bwkaz]

And Java isn't even slow, as long as you use a relatively modern runtime.

The HotSpot VM, in particular, is what I'm talking about. JIT compilation to native assembly, and all that.

[garskoci]

To get familiar with programming, shell scripts might not be a bad idea. Since you're already familiar with Linux shell commands, this would be a way to build logic. Then once you have a good understanding of the concept of programming, then move on to C/C++, Perl, Java etc. It think that it's easier to build on something that you're familiar with. Just a thought.....

[inkedmn]

python. trust me.