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How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

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Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#21

Post by sliverstorm »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #11

I completely agree that the most important thing is to have a concrete objective that you really want to achieve that you are moving towards. However, I disagree that every language is equally hard. There are three challenges in learning programming: syntax, logic, and resource management. Those can be optimized for beginners: Syntax: A syntax that is more natural and less symbolic will be easier to learn. There is a…

On the flip side, it really makes little sense to learn a language that is useless for what you want to do. If what you really want to do is program a microcontroller, it is my opinion that PHP or Python would be a very poor choice in first languages.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#22

Post by sliverstorm »

macco wrote: post #13

To make it easier for a newbie: Choose Python if you want to learn programming for yourself - lean, lots of bindings for C-Frameworks, not much surprises and a big community.

(Presuming you want to learn programming for it's own sake, rather than work towards some specific goal that requires code)

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#23

Post by scythe »

I'm going to break the rules here and answer two languages.

First, you should learn one of the easy dynamic languages. This means Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Lua, Clojure. I think Ruby is a good choice because it has a lot of cool concepts built in to the core language that the others lack, and so it can be a foundation for learning many different styles of programming -- it does this, in my opinion, better than Python, and has a nicer syntax than Perl. _why's poignant guide to ruby is a bit outdated but still a pretty awesome and cool introduction.

http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/

Second, and this might come as a shock, some form of basic assembler. I recommend LC-3 assembler. And the main reason here is that a decent understanding of the memory model is going to help you a lot when it comes to dealing with pointers, complex data structures, or anything, really. You'll probably never write a program longer than 100 lines in LC-3, but the short things you do write will give you a deeper understanding of your code everywhere else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LC-3

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072467509/student_vie...

There may actually be a newer "learning assembler"-styled language out there, but I am not aware of it. LC-3 is showing its age, but it was great when I learned to program, and I learned as much programming for three months in LC-3 as two years prior in Java.

That said, you should definitely familiarize yourself with control structures prior to jumping into assembler or you could break your brain.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#24

Post by panschk13 »

eduardosasso wrote: post #16

Probably some people would kill me for that answer but i would say you should learn PHP. PHP is simple, good documentation and great community. Facebook is built on top of PHP so as Drupal and Wordpress. But the main point about my recommendation is that PHP is installed everywhere, you don't have to spend much time configuring and doing sysadmin stuff to make it work.

I started with Qbasic and did my first more ambitious projects in PHP. I agree that it is really easy to get started, but the horrible security holes I created are the downside;-)

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#25

Post by flexd »

My first language was QBasic i think, been through VB since then but i can't remember anything. I then began learning C/C++ which i still understand to this day but i keep a book close. Since then mostly Python and Ruby but really only Ruby since 2007 or so. I feel i have good understanding of code now at 22, still without CS education. I helped my friend with Java problems his second year in CS without having used Java past hello world, i know there are holes in my knowledge based on lack of experience but i feel i can read most languages without much trouble now. I think the main objective of learning to code should be to learn how to think as a programmer, learn how to understand code and really most importantly learn how to search the web.

Once you can master understanding programming syntax regardless of language, how to write good code and how to solve problems then you are well on your way to becoming a good developer.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#26

Post by jefe78 »

sliverstorm wrote: post #21
SoftwareMaven wrote: post #11

I completely agree that the most important thing is to have a concrete objective that you really want to achieve that you are moving towards. However, I disagree that every language is equally hard. There are three challenges in learning programming: syntax, logic, and resource management. Those can be optimized for beginners: Syntax: A syntax that is more natural and less symbolic will be easier to learn. There is a…

On the flip side, it really makes little sense to learn a language that is useless for what you want to do. If what you really want to do is program a microcontroller, it is my opinion that PHP or Python would be a very poor choice in first languages.

I agree that programming a micro-controller would make python a poor choice. That aside, I think its a great language.

I don't use it for months at a time. I proceed to forget everything. Shortly after, a need arises so I pick it back up. A week later, I'm a pro again.

The error output is what make it so amazing.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#27

Post by jefe78 »

eduardosasso wrote: post #16

Probably some people would kill me for that answer but i would say you should learn PHP. PHP is simple, good documentation and great community. Facebook is built on top of PHP so as Drupal and Wordpress. But the main point about my recommendation is that PHP is installed everywhere, you don't have to spend much time configuring and doing sysadmin stuff to make it work.

So is Python!

I don't feel that a newbie should be learning a web language as his first. It just seems like an unintuitive learning process to me.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#28

Post by dhs »

nightshowerer wrote: post #6
terinjokes wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I feel your pain (and cringe on your behalf), I will say that many winners of NASCAR races started in last place.

I shudder to think of all programming languages being involved in an elaborate NASCAR race.

If programming languages were cars... http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~mvanier/hacking/rants/cars.html

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#29

Post by macco »

sliverstorm wrote: post #22
macco wrote: post #13

To make it easier for a newbie: Choose Python if you want to learn programming for yourself - lean, lots of bindings for C-Frameworks, not much surprises and a big community.

(Presuming you want to learn programming for it's own sake , rather than work towards some specific goal that requires code)

Absolutely true. If you have a certain task to do (programming a wordpress plugin, etc.) - the programming language chooses itself :) If you don't know yet, Python would be my best bet.

Re: How should I get started with programming? Which language should I learn first?

#30

Post by dougk7 »

I started with Delphi in High school but moved to Python. In retrospect, starting with Delphi was a good thing, but using it for more than a year was a very bad thing! Now I'm into PHP, Java, C++ and other weird languages in addition to Python which is still my favorite
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