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16 Aug 12
Originally posted by Agergim looking for as much advice about i.t. as i can get. so what languages would you suggest learning to a beginner and why?
Fair enough...what in your opinion makes it so awful if you don't mind me asking? not trying to sound like a linux fanboi but (using Ubuntu) I can't remember the amount of times I've discovered things I can do in the shell that make me think "wow...that's pretty damned cool!"
im doing an i.t. degree and im torn about what path to take through the degree. im a long distance learner so i do get much time to get advice off teachers. my problem is i dont really understand the differences between computer languages or where to go to get advice.
17 Aug 12
4 edits
Originally posted by stellspalfieI haven't really looked at all the languages as my background is in maths - that said I started out in C++ and even with a hint of bias I'd say it's a bloody good candidate for a first programming language to learn (can get nasty at times though). I'm now starting to looking at perl and php (because I like the regular expression power that the former has (though not the "there is more than one way to do it" idiom), and for the latter it seems to be what many employers are after). Also had a look at lisp as well (might not land you a job but I've had a play with it and it's pretty damned cool - I really want to spend some serious time with it, haskell too)
im looking for as much advice about i.t. as i can get. so what languages would you suggest learning to a beginner and why?
im doing an i.t. degree and im torn about what path to take through the degree. im a long distance learner so i do get much time to get advice off teachers. my problem is i dont really understand the differences between computer languages or where to go to get advice.
But yeah, my vote goes with C++ (or C# or even just C) - especially given that it's right up there (arguably at the top) when it comes to efficiency and power. Take note though that there are regulars on this forum who have more insight than me when it comes to programming.
As for differences, I'm not too qualified to discuss this given my experience so far. A couple of comparisons I can make is simply lisp vs pretty much any other language not a descendant of lisp (you'd be better just to try it to see what I mean). Also a comparison between C++ and Perl is that C++ is strongly typed (i.e. there's not much opportunity for mixing and matching objects of different types like, say, an float and a string) whilst Perl isn't (an float would be cast to a string or vica versa as context demands - hell in Perl you can have an float on the LHS of = and an array of floats on the RHS and your program will still compile and run!)
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17 Aug 12
Originally posted by Agergdumb it down dude!!! ive literally started studying i.t. and have done almost no programming, just a bit of what i would call basic (from the 80's) although its repackaged with a modern graphic interface. ive kinda done started the course on a whim and lack a background knowledge of the subject.
I haven't really looked at all the languages as my background is in maths - that said I started out in C++ and even with a hint of bias I'd say it's a bloody good candidate for a first programming language to learn (can get nasty at times though). I'm now starting to looking at perl and php (because I like the regular expression power that the former has (thou ...[text shortened]... orks predominantly on lists (one thing that attracts me is that code is also data!)
what are the real term applications of the languages. this maybe a stupid question, but do games run on one language or do the run on various languages for the different aspects of their programming.
my coarse options seem to offer lots of java modules, why is this? am i right in thinking java is good for basic web based graphic based games? and why not use more powerful languages for instead of java? is it because java is easier to learn??
sorry for all the question!
17 Aug 12
2 edits
Originally posted by stellspalfieI can say with some confidence that many games are written either in C or C++ (I suspect more are written in C though) the reason for this is that C (and its descendant C++) put you near enough as close to the actual physical memory available to you as possible. If you want to eke out as much performance as you can from a procedure you usually can't go far wrong by looking at C++ first. There's nothing stopping you from creating a game in any language really apart from the number of hoops you'd have to jump through to produce anything "game-like"
dumb it down dude!!! ive literally started studying i.t. and have done almost no programming, just a bit of what i would call basic (from the 80's) although its repackaged with a modern graphic interface. ive kinda done started the course on a whim and lack a background knowledge of the subject.
what are the real term applications of the languages. t ...[text shortened]... ges for instead of java? is it because java is easier to learn??
sorry for all the question!
As for java I've never used it (I believe it reads pretty similarly to C) but apart from its usage in web based programming I have nothing to offer.
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17 Aug 12
"but use reason and logic to determine what is most likely correct."
I agree but suppose folks still disagree. Does that make one Christian more Christian than the other? I don't think it does. For instance the Greek (Eastern)and Latin (Western) branches of Christianity basically split over wether the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son or from the Father through the Son. Hardly seems like it is worth fighting over but it was a big deal over 1600 years ago.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by AgergThis is all well and good, but you mentioned C++ should be one's first programming language.
I can say with some confidence that many games are written either in C or C++ (I suspect more are written in C though) the reason for this is that C (and its descendant C++) put you near enough as close to the actual physical memory available to you as possible. If you want to eke out as much performance as you can from a procedure you usually can't go far wro ...[text shortened]... y apart from the number of hoops you'd have to jump through to produce anything "game-like"
I learned Basic, and then moved through the ancient Fortran and Cobol up to Pascal in school, but even so, I had a problem making the leap to C++ when the time came. I still don't grok it very well. Perhaps if I had gone straight to C++, being an OOL, without the baggage of older systems, maybe I would have done better.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by SwissGambitwill you be commissioning the project then? i charge $55/hr. but first, for $1200, i'll begin analysis on cost and time projections. you'll probably need to hire a dozen or so other programmers if you want it done within 2 years.
So what are you waiting for? Off you go.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by stellspalfiejava is an interpreted language (like basic, but precompiled into byte-code) and runs without recompilation on any platform that has a java interpreter, which is pretty much every platform in the market today.
dumb it down dude!!! ive literally started studying i.t. and have done almost no programming, just a bit of what i would call basic (from the 80's) although its repackaged with a modern graphic interface. ive kinda done started the course on a whim and lack a background knowledge of the subject.
what are the real term applications of the languages. t ...[text shortened]... ges for instead of java? is it because java is easier to learn??
sorry for all the question!
the advantage is that you don't have to worry about native operating system nuances. a program written in java on windows 7 will work as is on a mac or linux or one of newer systems like android.
the disadvantage is that it's an interpreted (as in slow) language. so you won't be writing 3d games with it. for for any practical office/business application and light games, it works quiet well.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by Agergit's just a damn mess. there is no standard platform for anything, you have everyone going every which way and in the early days (when i was forced to use it for certain projects) trying to get anything to work required intimate knowledge of the system.
Fair enough...what in your opinion makes it so awful if you don't mind me asking? not trying to sound like a linux fanboi but (using Ubuntu) I can't remember the amount of times I've discovered things I can do in the shell that make me think "wow...that's pretty damned cool!"
it's a bit saner these days, ubuntu is probably the best choice to go with. they seem to have their act together.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by VoidSpiritBy which time we will all be on Windows 8 or 9 or some flavour of linux and will not be wanting your over priced outdated OS. We will also have double the RAM and processing power we have now.
will you be commissioning the project then? i charge $55/hr. but first, for $1200, i'll begin analysis on cost and time projections. you'll probably need to hire a dozen or so other programmers if you want it done within 2 years.
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by stellspalfieGames tend to use the 'low level' languages such as C, and C++ for performance, and business uses higher level object oriented languages such as Java, Visual basic C##, etc for ease of use.
what are the real term applications of the languages.
What you should learn depend on a number of factors. Teaching courses tend to start with a language that is either easy to learn, or teaches core concepts effectively. At a minimum these days that should be an object oriented language. (C##, Java, Visual Basic etc).
What comes next depends on what industry you want to go into, and what the demand is for particular skills.
Keep in mind thought that once you know one language, learning another is not that difficult. In fact, learning the tools takes longer than learning the language.
I develop web based business applications and although I use Java about half the work is actually HTML or technologies that generate HTML (Facelets in my case).
17 Aug 12
Originally posted by VoidSpiritI'll need some example of your previous work before I fork out any cash.
will you be commissioning the project then? i charge $55/hr. but first, for $1200, i'll begin analysis on cost and time projections. you'll probably need to hire a dozen or so other programmers if you want it done within 2 years.
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17 Aug 12
thanks for the info and advice peoples of the webz, most helpful. im thinking i might take the design and i.t. route rather than the code monkey route (although ill have to come back to it at some point). i enjoy the logic challenges of programming but it also drives me nuts!! and thats just dealing with basic boolean commands and variables.