What do you recommend first?

[deadly-app]

well the comm college im going to offers VB mostly, but im thinking of undertaking learning a few on my own...

C++ a good one to learn? and is it hard?

[techniq]

Depends on what you want to start doing. I like c++/php's syntax over VB/asp, but alot is personal preference. If you want to start programming with a GUI, VB is pretty much the best place to start. I haven't coded anything in VB since I had a class though. While its quick to make an app, especially with a GUI, there are alot of parts, especially when starting out, that you just learn "I need these 2 extra for this function/etc because thats just how it is)". This is also the case for ASP (I still can't setup a DB connection without referencing previous code I've written. C++/php on the other hand uses alot of extra characters, including that all lines must end in a semicolon (;) and alot of squigly brackets {} to separate code (which I much prefer as it makes reading easier.

IMO, it never hurts to at least take 1 VB class to know what the dark side feels like, but I would definately jump into C++ afterwards.

Sorry if this was hard to read through, just wrote off the top of my head as things came.

[deadly-app]

nah it makes perfect sense, thanks a lot for imput. I think ill take vb at the college and learn c++ over the summer or start now :)

[siq]

actually it's good to know how vb works. i have that class right now and honestly it's pretty easy. there are very few similarities between vb and c++ but whatever you choose it's still programming.

[Beemer]

I tend to agree with techniq here, VB is a good starting point especially for a GUI. I tend to think that its not as powerfull as C++, there are a few things you have to work around and a lot of fluff. Still a good place to start for the basics of programming.

[deadly-app]

well that was my general thought, that vb was a decent starting point for getting into programming :)

so im going to go grab my friends VB installer and a teaching book :D

[playafly187]

whatever you do, avoid Java like the plague... very hard :(

[XPTB]

i'm a n00b when it comes to programming but im taking it in college also. Taking VB right now and it is cake to learn. I get to jump into C++ next semester then on to Java.

I think it's best to start in VB if your a n00b programmer, just lets you get a feel for code without it being too complicated

[playafly187]

agreed. i took 2 courses of VB in high school, although that was several years ago

[Caj Darkmoon]

whatever you do, avoid Java like the plague... very hard :(

Which is, of course, why my college uses it as the base programming language. :( Add that to the crap Prof I got stuck with and it's fun.

From all I've heard C++ is the way to go. VB is easy, Java is junk.

[silenze]

Java is bloated and slow.

[KryoNexus]

Java is bloated and slow.

No, just the Java Virtual Machine. Java itself isn't that bad, especially if it's coded effeciently. I agree though, that I probably wouldn't build full applications with it.

[silenze]

Java is bloated and slow.

No, just the Java Virtual Machine. Java itself isn't that bad, especially if it's coded effeciently. I agree though, that I probably wouldn't build full applications with it.

Yes, java is bloated, period, I've used it a lot on multiple platforms over the years and it's slow....

[Liable]

i am 14 and i already know VB and C, and i enjoy programming in both.
i am hoping that they will give me a headstart on my future, it i do decide to work with computers.

i learned c first, and i like it alot, i find it more challenging, and less user friendly, and harder to make complete apps, but boy did it help me in learning Vb.

if i was you i would get a "sams teach yourself visual basic 6 in 21 days" just to get ahead of the rest of your class for when you start.
i reccommend learning C (a text base language) also, after you learn VB and C you should try VB .net, and c++

Chris

[achilles]

I took CRS (Computer Related Studies) in high school and we had to learn C++ man it was terrible (bad teacher, no basics just do it type class, poor book) In College though I'm taking a Course on VB.net and it seems pretty simple (of course now I have a good teacher, a good book, and he taught us the basics.) but like the other guys said it's personal choice, if you've got the cash go pick up some books on both languages and giver a shot.

[Caj Darkmoon]

Now in my second semester of Java, I'm still not a big fan of it, even with a good prof. I'm looking forward to getting out of it and into C++. You've got to love colleges living behind the times... I have to take a class on COBOL, and at some point I'll have to learn Assembler. Don't know what assembler is? It's the stinking cave paintings of coding.

[playafly187]

hahah

yeah, i am not in my third semester of java. it is a lot better this semester, since the teacher is great. we takes a different approach, as we work on one big program throughout the semester instead of like 10 smaller assignments. he tries to model the real world and how it would be if we were on a programming team, developing software for another company or person. so far it has not been too java-intensive, but more business-like, which i really enjoy.

[Caj Darkmoon]

hahah

yeah, i am not in my third semester of java. it is a lot better this semester, since the teacher is great. we takes a different approach, as we work on one big program throughout the semester instead of like 10 smaller assignments. he tries to model the real world and how it would be if we were on a programming team, developing software for another company or person. so far it has not been too java-intensive, but more business-like, which i really enjoy.

I enjoy that enough that I'm likely switching my major from CS to Information Systems. :)

[thereverendeg]

Java really isnt that 'bloated and slow'. The thing about Java is that there is never any issue of portability, so as far as cross-platform development, it is boss. Of course there are a great many C compilers available for virtually any system you're working with... like C, Java is extremely versatile. Unlike C, Java is not a complete programming language. However, also unlike C, java maintains a lot more self-containment and useability (really just stemming from increased program complexity in C/+/++).

Anywho.... I started with BASIC back in the day. It literally is a programming language for Beginners (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) to learn basic programming concepts. It's also very outdated and if you were to use it at all nowadays, I would reccomend QBasic. The syntax is similar to a lot of what you will do in VB. VB sucks. That's really all I have to say about that. I don't like it. But it has its uses...

The thing about this discussion and how many semesters of what people have taken is that every college is so different that it could be true that at one of your colleges a single semester covers more than three semesters at anothers' college. I know at RIT where I go we move pretty quickly. They have mostly phased out C++ for Java in Computer Science but they still use it in Computer Engineering. They really focus on the mindset of a programmer - that one would seek independent learning in C and VB even if one wasn't taking classes for it.

Java also isn't hard. It's the easiest language I've worked with, maybe with the exception of LOGO. If you can write C code, you can write Java in your sleep. Of course, I also have an addiction to emacs, which gets me some flack with the 'new school' of programmers. If you don't know what emacs is, disregard this entire conversation until you have downloaded a version of it hahaha. Keyboard shortcuts kick ass in a text editor designed to function fully as an operating system as well. Ahhhhh unix...so versatile...

Yes well anyhow I reccomend for the BEGINNER (absolute beginner hasn't touched programming with a ten foot pole) to start with something like HTML, just to get the idea of syntax. Next, either Python or Java. Note that there is a big difference between Java and Javascript (a lot of folks think its the same well let me tell you its not, Javascript is HELL). For those who haven't heard of it, Python is a quite powerfull and simply wonderful Open-source language that combines a lot of features and syntax of both C++ and Java. Some other easy beginner languages include variations on C like NQC, IC, etc... If you search for things like 'class assignment java cs1' on google, you can usually find links into many college computer science classes which you can use to learn whatever you like as though you attended the college of your choice. The lab assignments are really good at some colleges - the best way to learn any kind of programming is to just do it.

word.

[eipuiz]

I have tried a few basic web languages before. Started on VB the other day in class found it quite easy other than my ingnore istructions jump the gun and regret it soon lol. Didnt help thou that we had a teacher relieving that tried to turn the computer on using the fuking restart button.