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Development Best programming language to start off with?

Discussion in 'Software' started by J05H11E, 31 Aug 2010.

  1. J05H11E

    J05H11E Fujitsu Technical Analyst

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    Evening guys,

    I am currently working as a technical analyst for Fujitsu UK.. so you could say that my technical knowledge is higher than average....

    What is the best programming language to start out with?????

    I was thinking maybe Java?

    /Discuss :)
     
  2. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    It depends what you want to achieve, surely.
     
  3. memeroot

    memeroot aged and experianced

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    best beginner language is pascal
    then if you want to arse about c# as you can do xbox games
    if you want to make cash fast pl-sql 100k in a week lol
    if you want to be a programmer c++
    if you want to be a geek assembler on a z80
    if you want to have a job - learn ******** - you'll go further and be less frustrated
     
  4. Akava

    Akava Lurking...

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    As Ph4lanx said it all depends what you want to do, but I would say Java is a good choice as it will give you a good set of skills.

    It will also allow you to pick up C# rather easily as they are fairly similar, which is used by XNA (Games) and ASP.Net (Websites) to name but a few.
     
  5. sb1991

    sb1991 What's a Dremel?

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    Python is a very good place to start, though it's not as commonly used as Java. I started with C... fairly tough, and C++ would be even worse - having to think about memory allocation and undefined behavior is a pain when you're getting to grips with the basics.
     
  6. goldstar0011

    goldstar0011 Multimodder

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    I started with pascal, was a great starter as gotto grips with the infrastructure without worrying about graphics.

    Might find my old pascal program to play with :D
     
  7. cian1500ww

    cian1500ww Drunken Irish Dude

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    Java's a good starter and is currently the only programming language I know, once you know it you can move on to C++ as they're quite similiar from what I've heard. Most programming courses start out with Java so I think that might be the best option. It's not an awflly useful language but it's a start !!
     
  8. BentAnat

    BentAnat Software Dev

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    VB.NET would also be an option I'd consider, AFTER learning somehting that's known for providing strong fundamentals... Like Pascal.
     
  9. Daedelus

    Daedelus What's a Dremel?

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    Every now and then, someone comes on here and asks what the best programming language is. You might as well come on here and ask "What's the best sports team". You are not going to get an objective answer.
     
  10. Elledan

    Elledan What's a Dremel?

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    I messed around with QB, Java, VB and others in the 90s before I got serious with C++. It's definitely the most comprehensive and versatile languages I have used. C# comes close, but it is limited to Windows and the .NET runtime so you'll never be able to use it for writing low-level stuff. Java is even more a toy language and only used because PHBs have been made to believe it's awesome.

    Another favourite language of mine is Ada, but that one is definitely not too kind to beginning programmers :)
     
  11. BentAnat

    BentAnat Software Dev

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    If multiplatform is key, than C or C++ should be your goal.
    If you're gonna be coding on Windows only, you might want to stick with the .NET stable. It works well, and is widely accepted.

    Note that C is not kind to beginners. I'd suggest Delphi or Pascal or even old Basic to start out with... they're easy to get to grips with, and get your mind into code-mode before you dive deeper into the rabbit hole and realise that Data Typing can pose challenges, Pointers can be from hell, and memory address space is a chapter that one could probably write a Phd about... :D

    good luck
     
  12. sp4nky

    sp4nky BF3: Aardfrith WoT: McGubbins

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    Basic is even less kind to beginners than C - at least with C you get some debugging tools.

    If you're working for Fujitsu, the first language I'd recommend is English, the second is the jargon language for whichever government department you're working for - not NHS, obviously - and I'd only start looking at programming languages once you've got those down pat.

    My personal favourite programming language was Prolog, btw, but I can't think it'd be useful.
     
  13. J05H11E

    J05H11E Fujitsu Technical Analyst

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    english? did I not say I worked for Fujitsu UK

    And "pat?"



    I think you should learn the jargon language for your employer SITA.. cos your talking crap
     
  14. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    Would that be Fujitsu UK's Official stance? :)

    As for 'down pat' it means 'understood perfectly'.

    I hope that your(sic) clear on that. :)
     
  15. yakyb

    yakyb i hate the person above me

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    100k, how?
     
  16. Francesce

    Francesce What's a Dremel?

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    c+ in my opinion and than further languages .
     
  17. Dae314

    Dae314 What's a Dremel?

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    A lot of classes will start students out in either Java or C++. In fact the high school computer science AP exam is entirely in Java. In my opinion though, the best language to start out on for a beginner would be python. The language is just so much closer to normal speech, and you don't need as much technical knowledge to start getting into semi-advanced topics of computer science with it. While good as an initial starting language, python is overshadowed by Java and C++ as you start getting into more object oriented programming though. Once you start seriously looking into advanced topics I'd recommend going to C++/Java.
     
  18. JazzXP

    JazzXP Eh! Steve

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    I'd say start with Java to learn concepts such as OO in a nice easy way, then move on to C++ and learn about memory management.
     
  19. Elledan

    Elledan What's a Dremel?

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    Java isn't even OO by many definitions. Learning Java right away is like learning VB: they're both utterly useless in the real world. I did start with Java and VB (5) in the 90s and I never used any part of it when I started learning C++ later on. VB and Java are for managers :)
     
  20. BentAnat

    BentAnat Software Dev

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    VB.NET is actually OO, Elledan. as much as C# is.
    OO is a bit less natural in VB.NET than in C#, though...
     

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