Discuss First programming language in the Other Programming Languages forum on Dev Shed. First programming language A place for discussing programming languages not covered in specific forums such as Assembler, COBOL, etc. - you get the idea.
Posts: 5,817
Time spent in forums: 3 Months 4 Days 12 h 16 m 39 sec
Reputation Power: 3460
You left off a few. Nothing major. Only all of the C family languages, Java, etc.
Doesn't matter though, the answer is Discrete Math for a firm foundation in logic and whichever language peaks your interest or can be applied to a problem you're likley to encounter.
__________________
Dear God. What is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring.
Posts: 14,938
Time spent in forums: 6 Months 2 Weeks 2 Days 13 m 33 sec
Reputation Power: 8490
I think there's 1,000,001 similar threads/polls here on "best (beginner) language" either in the lounge or in beginner programming, which is where this probably belongs too. I'll let another mod move it if they agree though.
Everyone has a different answer, none of them actually wrong. My answer is it doesn't really matter so long as you are learning proper programming precepts. Some classroom instruction will help in that aspect.
In order I taught myself: BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN, Assembler on the original IBM PC before I got to college and had taken RPG-II at a votec school. College basically tossed in cursory Lisp and ADA, C and rehashed those same languages. But classes like Data Structures taught me a lot on that level. Along with logic and use of standards and convention and the concepts of syntax and program flow. Everything else I learned pertinent to any language or system has of course long become obsolete. Half of it was obsolete when they were still teaching it. It's a field of continuous learning. If you don't like studying it, you won't enjoy it as a career.
Posts: 260
Time spent in forums: 4 Days 14 h 7 m 54 sec
Reputation Power: 19
Well, I think that BASIC, Pascal and FORTRAN are outdated languages and should not be learned, even though they are still used. (I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but that's my opinion) I would go with something easy like Python/Ruby/Perl and then go with C/C++.
Posts: 5,817
Time spent in forums: 3 Months 4 Days 12 h 16 m 39 sec
Reputation Power: 3460
Ha. You don't know many Meterologists or Math majors in general do you?
But other than that you're right. The average beginning programmer should start with something that's likley to be used in the average application development situation. Which could be anything: c family, java, vb, python, perl, ruby, html/css, javascript, vbscript, asp, php, etc.
Note: I just started learning python this morning. I gotta tell you. Not really any easier than when I first started learning c about 10 years ago. Not hard mind you. Just not any easier.
Posts: 1,936
Time spent in forums: 1 Month 1 Week 2 h 12 m 42 sec
Reputation Power: 1312
Quote:
Originally Posted by KillerRabbit
Well, I think that BASIC, Pascal and FORTRAN are outdated languages and should not be learned, even though they are still used. (I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but that's my opinion) I would go with something easy like Python/Ruby/Perl and then go with C/C++.
Actually, I think I agree that people shouldn't learn FORTRAN unless they specifically need it. I didn't find it to be a very interesting or..."enlightening" language. Unless it's raw performance you're after, C is better in essentially every way (and you can get very good performance with C, anyway).
Speaking of which, I think C is one of the best "first languages" due to its transparency and straightforwardness. It's good to start near the ground. I'm kind of sad that my alma mater has dropped C in favor of Java for its general introductory computer science course, but at least they still teach C in the next course.
Posts: 596
Time spent in forums: 2 Days 3 h 56 m 23 sec
Reputation Power: 22
It should be a multi-paradigm language and learning it should involve several idioms (functional, imperative, OO) - otherwise, IMO, people are left with their brain moulded to one particular style and find it much harder to start thinking in another.
Posts: 2,107
Time spent in forums: 1 Month 1 Week 1 Day 3 h 57 m 31 sec
Reputation Power: 1485
First language? Dunno if I want to admit to that! ...It was a BASIC interpreter, running on a machine elsewhere for which we had to write a coding sheet out to submit the code for running and wait a week for the results ... Real bummer if you had a typo!
Then it was an internal language called IRIS (Inland Revenue Interrogation System) - no, I ain't kidding! Followed swiftly by the version of BASIC on a friend's Sinclair ZX80, and thence to BNBC BASIC on my own BBC micro, with a smattering of 6502 ASM chucked in (after a while!).
All downhill from there!
Posts: 165
Time spent in forums: 1 Day 5 h 59 m 35 sec
Reputation Power: 17
I started out with python, but gave that up cuz I never found out how to compile my prog to an .exe, always had to run them in the interpreter . But I guess thats okay too since I was only 13 at the time. Then like 3-4 years after I gave up programming I picked up pascal then c++. Aaanyway, i think pascal is cool to start with although I know many wont agree with me
Posts: 5,538
Time spent in forums: 1 Month 3 Weeks 1 Day 19 h 30 m 28 sec
Reputation Power: 1050
Quote:
Originally Posted by lingon
I started out with python, but gave that up cuz I never found out how to compile my prog to an .exe, always had to run them in the interpreter . But I guess thats okay too since I was only 13 at the time. Then like 3-4 years after I gave up programming I picked up pascal then c++. Aaanyway, i think pascal is cool to start with although I know many wont agree with me
There's a bigass sticky in the python forum with the word `py2exe` in it you may find interesting