Which language should I learn?

Discussion in 'Computer Science & Culture' started by Sock puppet path, Jan 5, 2012.

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  1. Sock puppet path GRRRRRRRRRRRR Valued Senior Member

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    I am wanting to expand my horizons in the programming direction and am wondering where I should start, html5, PHP, python, java, C++??

    Where I am on this:
    My experience level is limited to tinkering with AS2 in Flash (enough to create websites without many bells and whistles) and som exercises in C++.

    What I want to do:
    Improve my ability to create and control websites, possibly create apps, Gain an understanding of programming.

    What would you recommend as a good starting point, is one of the above quicker to get up and running with? Was considering getting in depth with AS3 but have heard that it is heading the way of the dinosaur in favour of html5
     
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  3. quadraphonics Bloodthirsty Barbarian Valued Senior Member

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    Given what you want to do, I'd stick to the web-oriented languages (html, javascript, php, etc.). C/C++ are great languages, but aren't really that relevant for web creation/control stuff and so you'd get a lot less out of them for your effort.
     
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  5. Chipz Banned Banned

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    Rather than learn just a language, you might find it useful to learn a platform such as Zend or DJANGO. I personally like the latter. Platforms require you to learn a language such as PHP or Python, but you will see more progress which is important for beginners.
     
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  7. superstring01 Moderator

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    I'm learning C/C++. It's the foundation language for most others. Learn it, and it's pretty much down hill from there.

    ~String
     
  8. Chipz Banned Banned

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    What's your approach? Reading anyone's book which has been of particular help?
     
  9. steampunk Registered Senior Member

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    For web developement best bet is html, css and then javascript. Learn in that order. If you want to do some web storage you might need to add some sql under your belt, but there are html5 may provide some solutions. php couldn't hurt, espcially if you want to be independently employed. jquery is a javascript library in which I hate, but it can make your websites the best ever.

    If you want something that booming where there is a need for developers, objective-c is what you'll need to know to program for Mac hardware, ipod, ipad, etc. Objective-c is my second to fav language compared to python.

    Python is a really cool language if you want your websites to run scripts server side. Python is hugmonguos and you can do so much with it.
     
  10. Blue_UK Drifting Mind Valued Senior Member

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    Hi,

    I work as a professional software engineer. Web skills are very important, but don't let that influence you too much. In my opinion Javascript and php are not good languages to start with if you want a solid understanding, because you won't learn much about memory management and other things that generally aren't done with these languages.

    If you work primarily on Windows I would seriously recommend a .NET language such as C# (or, if you must, VB.NET). These languages are extremely powerful and allow you to work with pretty much any MS technology (Windows Forms, WPF, SQL Server, Windows Phone 7, Silverlight etc). If sticking to Windows doesn't sound like a good idea to you, then definitely consider Java which works on everything, is extremely popular and is similar to C#.

    Once you've learnt one programming language, others because trivial to learn (with the exception of specialist languages obviously). A total beginner may with to start with the C programming language, just writing console apps.

    edit: +1 on python - very handy language to know
     
  11. Sock puppet path GRRRRRRRRRRRR Valued Senior Member

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    Thanks for the replies and info very informative and helpful.
     
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