Best language for a person that knows a bit of programming?

VOT Productions · 2011-10-28 11:12:56

Hello guys, I'm moving fast. I know how to do bash scripts, vi, etc.
Now, I would like to know what should be the best language for a person that knows VB .NET good.
Now I know VB .NET is a easy language. The reason I'm moving away is the letters "M$"
And plus, VB .NET is only for Windows. What about you Arch Linux folks? What about Mac?
Suggestions?

Last edited by VOT Productions (2011-10-28 11:15:26)

ratcheer · 2011-10-28 12:01:28

I like Ruby, most Linux users seem to prefer Python. Both are object oriented.

For a "straight" (i.e., non-OO) language, you can do a hell of a lot of stuff with Perl, though it seems to have fallen out of favor.

Tim

trontonic · 2011-10-28 12:08:11

What kind of applications do you wish to make? If you wish to create a GUI and put some code behind the buttons, there are several alternatives.
You could try Gambas (VB-like), Lazarus (Delphi-like), QtCreator (C++ and Qt, with GUI-designer), Glade+PyGTK (Python and Gtk, with GUI-designer) or Netbeans (Java, with GUI-designer) and see what you like, for example.
I left out MonoDevelop on purpose. It's not that MonoDevelop isn't a good IDE, but I think you should get the taste of something more Linuxy if you're used to VB .NET.

VOT Productions · 2011-10-28 12:12:09

Mono always crashes on me anyway.
Java: Slow, and you have to install 100MB/200MB worth of packages on every machine you want to install your application.
Gambas: Far too VB6 like.
GUI designers are being too buggy, crashy, etc.
Anyway, I guess there is like 20+ languages left for me to choose.

Last edited by VOT Productions (2011-10-28 12:26:42)

peterb · 2011-10-28 12:27:18

I also vote for Ruby. It's an incredibly beautiful Language. Plus there is a very cool book available for learning it:
'Why's (Poignant) Guide To Ruby'. It's contains lots of comics, wicked humor and it's freely available online or as PDF.

Personally I also like Scheme, especially the Racket Environment. But it's not exactly mainstream. There's also a great book available:
'Structure and implementation of computer programs'. It's also freely available and teaches a lot more than just a programming language.

I'd probably go with Ruby first.

Oh, if you need a good GUI Designer also consider Qt. There is also a Python binding available in case you don't want to use C++.

Last edited by peterb (2011-10-28 12:32:30)

trontonic · 2011-10-28 12:28:52

It all depends on what kind of application you wish to make. For some applications, Java is really fast, as it can optimize code while it's running. For some applications, installing 100MB is nothing.
GUI designers in general are not "too buggy, crashy, etc", some of them are great and can get a job done quicker.

If you select language X just because "it's a good language" or "it's produces fast and small executables", and not because "it's perfect for making application Y", you're doing it wrong.

That goes for assembly and Haskell too.

Last edited by trontonic (2011-10-28 12:32:57)

VOT Productions · 2011-10-28 12:33:21

Hello World?
peterb: I tried Ruby a couple of weeks ago when I had Ubuntu. I'm going to try again.

Last edited by VOT Productions (2011-10-28 12:34:27)

trontonic · 2011-10-28 12:46:00

#!/bin/sh
echo Hello World

Awebb · 2011-10-28 13:47:16

I'm now being an unfriendly, arrogant and ignorant person, one who will only be loved by it's own mother, but if you still take your VB skills as a reference, then I doubt you maxed out your bash skills to the point where you really require another language.

*pokerface*

Mr.Elendig · 2011-10-29 11:59:08

python: fast enough (and when it isn't, cython ftw) portable, fast to code, nice selection of libs.

austin.rbn · 2011-10-29 14:24:42

These days, I think Python is the ideal choice for someone looking for a powerful, general-purpose programming language that fits well with the Linux environment. Ruby is probably also a good choice, but I've never used it. It might be a long and hard battle to unlearn some of the bad habits that VB .NET may have taught you, though. Seriously, I think everyone should learn Python... it's become such a huge language in the open-source world, I find an endless supply of uses for it, and it's much more powerful than bash.

Last edited by austin.rbn (2011-10-29 14:25:35)

Basu · 2011-10-29 17:02:49

I think Python or Ruby are your best bets. For people (re)starting out, they're pretty similar languages and once you know one it's not too hard to pick up the other. However, you should take a moment to think about what kind of programming you want to do. If you're interesting in learning more computer-science-y things Python would be a good place to start. You might also want to consider dabbling in simple web programming with JavaScript, though that's probably not the route to take if you want to learn programming in general.

axel668 · 2011-10-29 20:44:11

Depends on what you want to do ... using python myself for coding little tools for my personal use, but really could not imagine to code complex, professional software with it. There is Java, of course, but if you say that you dislike MS, I'm not sure that moving on to Oracle would be an improvement ...
That leaves C++, which has the reputation of being difficult, but really is not, if you observe some simple rules AND use a decent framework (coding C++/QT is not considerably harder than coding C#/.NET). Besides it will teach you a lot about object orientation and memory management.

Last edited by axel668 (2011-10-29 20:44:49)

iode1 · 2011-10-29 20:51:38

Python is great for beginners into Intermediate. If you consider yourself advance you may want to try some Java programming using data structures. Obviously the demand for production coding is still C++ and .Net. Html 5 is the approaching release, there are already a variety of reference materials available if you are interested in web programming (who isn't ). I wouldn't recommend starting here but I have been meeting people who are professional C# developers.

What tasks are you applying the language towards?

alip2890 · 2011-10-29 22:37:27

I'd say Vala is worth a look. First of all of course, because most here say Python But what I really like about Vala:

You have many C Libs at hand: GTK+, Glib, Cairo, SDL... See http://valadoc.org/ for a list
No need of external bindings for a lib, only a vapi file is needed
The syntax is very easy, especially for Java and C# developers
The Vala compiler compiles source-to-source, thus users don't need vala necessarily
You'll have efficient applications because valac compiles from vala to c to machine code (calling gcc)

/dev/zero · 2011-10-29 23:32:46

Harmful software

Go for the oldies but goodies: C and Awk.

And remember:
"There is more Unix-nature in one line of shell script than there is in ten thousand lines of C."
- From The Rootless Root

panosk · 2011-10-30 08:12:32

I suggest you start with Python and a nice IDE that will help you. I use Eclipse with PyDev and it really is a very productive environment. Then you can make a little step and use PyQt to create nice GUI applications. Then you can probably use your PyQt code as prototype to start learning Qt/C++ :-).

alip2890 · 2011-10-30 08:17:30

I can only disagree with most of the things in that table GNU Software in generally is very convenient to use and well documented, GPL and CC licenses are a great acquisition and Jabber/XMPP also, because it runs as a free competitor against proprietary services, such as ICQ. Programming language and editor is a matter of choice.

panosk · 2011-10-30 09:13:30

alip2890 wrote:

I can only disagree with most of the things in that table GNU Software in generally is very convenient to use and well documented, GPL and CC licenses are a great acquisition and Jabber/XMPP also, because it runs as a free competitor against proprietary services, such as ICQ. Programming language and editor is a matter of choice.

Well, allow me to slightly disagree with the last part of this statement. Most experienced coders say that language and editor doesn't matter, but IMHO it matters a lot for people that are learning. When you already are a capable coder in Java, C++, Python, etc, then, sure, you can choose the one you prefer/like/think is more appropriate for the task, and start coding. Of course, in the end one can learn any language they like, but learning C++ using a text editor will probably take too long while learning Python using an full-featured IDE will probably take a couple of months.

/dev/zero · 2011-10-30 12:48:27

I can only disagree with most of the things in that table :-) GNU Software in generally is very convenient to use and well documented, GPL and CC licenses are a great acquisition and Jabber/XMPP also, because it runs as a free competitor against proprietary services, such as ICQ. Programming language and editor is a matter of choice.

This is getting off topic. I only included the table to provide a reference on why I might recommend C and awk over higher level languages.

If you disagree with the content of the table, you may wish to start a new thread about it in an appropriate part of the forum. Even if I don't get time to personally respond, I suspect it would be something many people around here would find interesting.

Of course, in the end one can learn any language they like, but learning C++ using a text editor will probably take too long while learning Python using an full-featured IDE will probably take a couple of months.

It depends on how you measure "too long", and it depends on the intent. If you want to belt out bloated, crappy code in a hurry to make your employer happy, then certainly using Python in an IDE might be the way to go. I myself write bloated, crappy VBA for just this purpose :-) But I don't think this is what the OP is asking for.

The enhanced understanding and control that comes from learning C or C++ and using vim or emacs is well worth the extra learning time, in my opinion.

Nisstyre56 · 2011-10-30 13:12:33

If you would like a challenge, then you might be interested in learning some Haskell.

There are two very good free books available.

http://learnyouahaskell.com/
http://book.realworldhaskell.org/

panosk · 2011-10-30 18:23:41

It depends on how you measure "too long", and it depends on the intent. If you want to belt out bloated, crappy code in a hurry to make your employer happy, then certainly using Python in an IDE might be the way to go. I myself write bloated, crappy VBA for just this purpose :-) But I don't think this is what the OP is asking for.
The enhanced understanding and control that comes from learning C or C++ and using vim or emacs is well worth the extra learning time, in my opinion.

Since in such questions everyone gives an answer based on his experience (and knowledge of course:-)), my context of "too long" means working incredible hours (on the pc, but nothing directly related to programming), having a family, no pro-coders colleagues or friends, and stealing hours from sleep to learn something extra. If the OP can devote 2 or 3 hours per day for as long as it is needed, and/or has programming help around him then sure C or C++ will offer him more. Also, as you probably know much better than me, crappy code can be written in any language, and it's not a Python/IDE or VBA feature:-).

ewaller · 2011-10-31 00:06:44

Brain F***

ewaller ducks and runs

bernarcher · 2011-10-31 08:02:27

ewaller wrote:

Brain F***

Quite a challenge! Once you've mastered reading such sources nothing else on earth can happen to you.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-10-28 11:12:56

Best language for a person that knows a bit of programming?

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