Programming (C, C++, C#, Java, etc.)

[Red 81]

I've been interested in learning programming for a while, so I'm at the midst of finding where to start.

I thought I'd start here and ask the wurm community their opinions.

The main thing is, what language to learn?

The little i know is C++ is the major one, Java is fairly popular, C is old, C# is some spruced up version of C++ and is similir to java.

Where does one start?

Discuss, talk about other programming things, w/e.

(fyi, no need for any comments about the time, boredom, etc. of programming)

[Xallo 2,624]

Well, C++ is the most common language used in Windows, so I'd suggest looking into that. Wurm, on the other hand, uses Java, which is in itself pretty flexible, and does offer a wide variety of jobs. It's just mainly what kinds of things you want to code, and what kind of job your going to be looking into.

[Guest Salterguy]

Depends what you want to progam =)

For applications I would recommend C++ like anyone else

For web things use php

[Madt 1,178]

C++ is better than Java imo.

[Guest Oni]

Isn't C Sharp better then C++  ??? .

I'm a pretty hardcore nub at programming but thats what I heard at school.

[Ancient 0]

I'd actually recommend Java for a beginner. It's got a large standard library so its quite easy and it forces you into good OOP practice, and you don't have to mess around with pointers like in C++.

Isn't C Sharp better then C++  ??? .

I'm a pretty hardcore nub at programming but thats what I heard at school.

It's all opinion. Different languages are suited for different purposes.

[polan 5]

rawr couple day ago I would say blitz basic ^^ but now after couple day of learning of c++ can only say: if you have good book about c++ it's easy

[Red 81]

Ok for programming

For programming Applications C++ is recommended?

what about Games?

Applications I'd like to get into, and part of me always wants to program a game.

I read that Java and C# are a bit slower than C++.

But some people insisted the difference in speeds doesn't matter much.

[Ancient 0]

Ok for programming

For programming Applications C++ is recommended?

what about Games?

Applications I'd like to get into, and part of me always wants to program a game.

I read that Java and C# are a bit slower than C++.

But some people insisted the difference in speeds doesn't matter much.

I'd say speed isn't a problem. Java and C# are generally slower (as they run in a Virtual Machine), however, the VM can be clever and look at the code and optimise itself to run it, which something compiled to machine code can't.

Java has a pretty nice cross-platform GUI library called Swing you may want to look at. C++ has one called wxWidgets which I have had a look at but it didn't seem too work very well.

For games, there are some nice engines. I've seen some games written in Irrlicht, and it's pretty easy to learn for beginners. However, I've used Ogre3D which is a lot more powerful (in my opinion), but it is only a 3d library (so you'd need to choose a sound library too). It also comes with its own input library.

[Guest Serplat]

I, personally, choose Java.

C++ is good for low-level operations, such as if you were to create your own machine.  Java is more flexible and standard, it is pretty much the same across all platforms (with a few exceptions, mainly in the 3-D libraries, which still aren't that bad).

The speed difference in Java is much of an issue at all anymore.  As machines get more powerful, you'll notice less and less of a difference.

Java also has really good networking.

[dipse 231]

The speed difference between java programs and C++ is that java is faster in some places but slower in others than C++. But C++ is a really old language and as i know both i can say that Java is easier to learn. But there are even easier languages such as justbasic http://www.justbasic.com/.

[Guest Ephemeral]

Learn Python.

I'm telling you right now, there is NO better way to get into programming.

Python is quick, efficient and is one of the easiest languages to learn. It's a hybrid language and has applications in almost every mainstream language, meaning if you learn it and switch to another language later on you can still utilize your python knowledge through many of the ports available. Python is multiplatform and has a port for almost every opensource engine/library that counts and is capable of running just as fast as something like C++ with the right libraries installed (psyco, if you're interested).

If you like things a bit tougher, go for Java - while it's an utter ###### to learn and is one of the slower languages on the scene, it's naturally multiplatform and doesn't require any tricky conversions.

Whatever you do - don't learn a BASIC language. They're a good stepping stone, but ultimately you're wasting your time as they're mostly useless later on.

[Toni 0]

I learnt basic on my TI calculator

I dont regret it  :

[polan 5]

Ok for programming

For programming Applications C++ is recommended?

what about Games?

Applications I'd like to get into, and part of me always wants to program a game.

I read that Java and C# are a bit slower than C++.

But some people insisted the difference in speeds doesn't matter much.

[Guest Xeniphi]

I agree with what Ephemeral said about learning Python.

[Ancient 0]

Also python forces you to indent your code, I hate reading unindented code (and it makes debugging harder if you miss a curly brace as well lol).