Best Beginner Programming Languages?

[kwaggawerner]

Hey Guys,

I would like to find out, which is the easiest/most comprehensible, programming language for someone with no programming background, to sink their teeth into... The options are:

C++
Java
C#
VB.NET

If possible, can you also furnish a few major advantages, and disadvantages of chosen language.

Thanks a million!

 

[Moederloos]

Out of that selection, JAVA or C#

C++ is the most complex, and VB is the most un-complex (not necessarily a good thing)

 

[froot]

+1 on Java or C#.
C# is really not hard to start, as goes for Java. I find a lot of similarities between them.
C++ is complex, requires patience and a lot of practise. Pointers, anyone?
Not really familiar with VB .NET but C# > VB.NET

 

[kwaggawerner]

Thanks for the advice guys... It seems Java is the best "common ground"... I will wait for some more opinions before making an informed decision.

 

[Yucca]

Out of that selection, JAVA or C#

C++ is the most complex, and VB is the most un-complex (not necessarily a good thing)

not to nitpick but it is Java and not JAVA. thanks....

 

[Veroland]

Thanks for the advice guys... It seems Java is the best "common ground"... I will wait for some more opinions before making an informed decision.

It is a good starting point, but when you get comfortable with the syntax and logic looking JEE (Java Enterprise Edition) is a good idea if you decide not to switch to a .NET type application framework

 

[jonno_081]

Personally I'd say C++. Moederloos is right, VB is the easiest, but the problem is you can really learn some bad habits that way.

Why I like C++ is that its multi platform (Linux, MS, etc). So is Java, I just haven't used it, so I couldn't really recommend it.

I don't like C# (personal preference). The reason is that the "promise" of it being OS independent is not really true. Mono and C# are similar, but not the same. With C++, provided I write ANSI code, I can compile the same .cpp files for Linux and Windows. C# I also find to be slow. I know that there is this Just in time compiler, so in theory it should only be slow the first time its run, but I just found it to be slow all the time.

Anyway, having said all that, it really is up to personal preference. You can get compilers and tons of info / tutorials on all those languages for free (actually not sure about compilers for free on all of them, I'm just guessing), so what you might want to do is experiment a little with them. If you're going to look into VB (not .net), then take a look at my blog (follow link in my sig). I started a little chess game in VB years back, so the code is probably not terribly good, but you can download the source and muck around with it, good for a practical lesson...

John

PS, I don't know where my sig has disappeared to... the link is http://www.softsmart.co.za/blog

 

[Roo!]

Pity C isn't on the list, since it is the mother (literally) of all good languages. Based on the list I'd have to say C++ or Java.

Stay away from the MS languages to start with, you don't want a proprietary language and standards to be the foundation of your development career.

 

[greggpb]

It depends what you goals are...

for somone who want to be a computer programmer C# or c++..
But if you just looking to do small app's and automation and office type stuff to make you life easier.. I recommend vb.net really easy you can get up and running with little effort.. as for the bad habits if you take programming seriously and read up on methodolgies you will not learn them from VB.net (this is my opinion as a career I am a ANSI C++ and C# developer and have never programmed in VB.net seriously)

 

[Yucca]

Pity C isn't on the list, since it is the mother (literally) of all good languages. Based on the list I'd have to say C++ or Java.

Stay away from the MS languages to start with, you don't want a proprietary language and standards to be the foundation of your development career.

You may want to mention then that he should use OpenJDK as JSE has some proprietry API's in it too.

 

[Pegasus]

Hey Guys,

I would like to find out, which is the easiest/most comprehensible, programming language for someone with no programming background, to sink their teeth into... The options are:

C++
Java
C#
VB.NET

If possible, can you also furnish a few major advantages, and disadvantages of chosen language.

Thanks a million!

I'm looking for some vba tips at work on this site, http://www.java2s.com
There are some tutorials for all the languages you mention, have a try and see for yourself.

 

[Drake2007]

No one's mentioned Python :wtf:

 

[Sackboy]

JAVA is the fixed version of C++ tho!

lol

Personally I'd say C++. Moederloos is right, VB is the easiest, but the problem is you can really learn some bad habits that way.

Why I like C++ is that its multi platform (Linux, MS, etc). So is Java, I just haven't used it, so I couldn't really recommend it.

I don't like C# (personal preference). The reason is that the "promise" of it being OS independent is not really true. Mono and C# are similar, but not the same. With C++, provided I write ANSI code, I can compile the same .cpp files for Linux and Windows. C# I also find to be slow. I know that there is this Just in time compiler, so in theory it should only be slow the first time its run, but I just found it to be slow all the time.

Anyway, having said all that, it really is up to personal preference. You can get compilers and tons of info / tutorials on all those languages for free (actually not sure about compilers for free on all of them, I'm just guessing), so what you might want to do is experiment a little with them. If you're going to look into VB (not .net), then take a look at my blog (follow link in my sig). I started a little chess game in VB years back, so the code is probably not terribly good, but you can download the source and muck around with it, good for a practical lesson...

John

PS, I don't know where my sig has disappeared to... the link is http://www.softsmart.co.za/blog

 

[Isengard]

I've also started getting interested in programming, but I'm more interested in going the web development route, so I've started on HTML and CSS as my first basic languages then I plan to move on to PHP and MySQL. What I do from there depends on what more I'll need.

 

[dequadin]

No one's mentioned Python :wtf:

I wanted to but it wasn't on the list

 

[Yucca]

JAVA is the fixed version of C++ tho!

lol

Another person who gets it wrong. The only time it is JAVA and not Java id when yr setting the evironment path lol.

 

[gregmcc]

No one's mentioned Python :wtf:

Prefer perl

 

[kwaggawerner]

Thanks jonno_081 for your input, I will definitely look into that chess game...

 

[czc]

No one's mentioned Python :wtf:

I was under the impression that that was more of a scripting language.

 

[kwaggawerner]

It depends what you goals are...

for somone who want to be a computer programmer C# or c++..
But if you just looking to do small app's and automation and office type stuff to make you life easier.. I recommend vb.net really easy you can get up and running with little effort.. as for the bad habits if you take programming seriously and read up on methodolgies you will not learn them from VB.net (this is my opinion as a career I am a ANSI C++ and C# developer and have never programmed in VB.net seriously)

As of yet, I don't have any defined goals, I also have another two months to make up my mind, but I would like to "grab the bull by its horns" before I start my course, but i'm thinking learning a language, that is platform independent, will be a big advantage, but then again, being able to write apps that would through a web browser will also be awesome... so far, my only main criteria is that it should be relatively easy to understand.

Another person who gets it wrong. The only time it is JAVA and not Java id when yr setting the evironment path lol.

I've also started getting interested in programming, but I'm more interested in going the web development route, so I've started on HTML and CSS as my first basic languages then I plan to move on to PHP and MySQL. What I do from there depends on what more I'll need.

No one's mentioned Python :wtf:

Let me explain why the list is so limited, first of all, according to ITWeb, most of the languages in that list, are also "high demand", common languages, secondly, International Universities, as well as the UK government, only recognize languages from that list, for their National Qualifications/Degrees - I'm sure someone will debate that one with me, but for where I want to go, and the website I looked at, those were the options. I'm sure each language has it's own features that make it shine above the rest, but for now, those are the offers that are available to me, and that's why I would like to rather learn the easiest language on that list, and move on to the next module requirement, at the end of the day, I can always learn a second or a third language...
http://ww2.itweb.co.za/events/ictskills/2008/

Out of that selection, JAVA or C#

Thanks for your input, Moederloos, I will browse some books and tutorials and have a look at which one is the easiest to grasp.