First language to learn

toasty_ghosty · 2009-09-29 21:22:13

Wow. It seems there is no real answer to this question. I think I am going to stick with Python and go to Perl once I learn enough Python..

Thanks for all the help.

-Ghosty

Lexion · 2009-09-29 21:55:18

Try haskell and asm.

No really, python is a good starter language.

XFire · 2009-09-30 20:00:21

Lua. Sorted . I'm also experimenting with Scheme - there are a lot of keywords

scragar · 2009-09-30 20:17:36

I'd say go python to start you off, the demands on clean whitespace will teach you code manners in your code(If I see one more person posting code with loops, ifs and functions that go 25+ levels deep and no indenting I'm going to hunt them down and #@$%#[censored]#&^*#).

perls reliance on regExps and the fact that even simple code can be written 3,000,000 different ways with varying degrees of legibility(from

print shift while($#_);

through to something as logical as

foreach $foo ( @ARGV ){
  print $foo;
}

).

C++ and C are very powerful languages, but not recommended for beginners unless you've got someone who can look over anything you are unsure about before you run it, sometimes the code might appear to work for all the wrong reasons(because there's no memory protection if you can do some seriously strange things that can cause anything from random output to crashes), and because it's such a powerful language it's always nice to have a second set of eyes looking out for anything suspect before you run things you're unsure about.

Bash - if you're running linux you should learn it anyway, it's inefficient, but it's often the easiest way of accomplishing tasks that in other languages may take far more work.

smartboyathome · 2009-09-30 20:50:06

I've been experimenting with many languages, but Python has never "felt" right to me. I mean, it was well documented, but it was hard for me to learn. It's hard to explain, really.

I've gotten into PHP, though, as I do a lot of web stuff. I have also started using PHP for simple scripts which can't be done in bash, though, as I find the way PHP handles arrays to be excellent.

I am looking into learning a "real" programming language, though, and by real I mean a compiled, non-scripting language. But as of right now I haven't been successful at teaching myself them, and so am going to have to take a class to learn them (which isn't a bad idea, anyway).

techprophet · 2009-09-30 21:02:16

I would NOT recommend python first, but that's simply because I can't stand programming in it anymore. Bleh, whitespace got to me (\t or " "? idk)

I would go with C or Perl.

lman · 2009-09-30 21:04:46

Hi,

I'll try definitely python first. It's the most easy-to-learn language I came across. After you get really into it, it's a little bit harder, but still simpler then other languages. It's hard to write ugly code with python, but many times there is lot of "magic" involved
However I'll suggest you to start learning a web based language and a "lower level" language (preferably C) simultanously, too. It will definitely help you understand things better. And C in Unix world is basic knowledge, it's kinda compulsory...
But that's just my own opinion.

Last edited by lman (2009-10-01 06:49:50)

Ranguvar · 2009-09-30 21:13:59

I learned Java and C first (still learning the latter, don't care about learning the former more), together. Java for Comp. Sci. class in high school, and C on the side. I think that was a really good approach, as I got exposed to the very pedantic nature that Java tends to support, making me more focused on overall plan (and helped me get an idea of what object-oriented design looks like); mixed with the minimal Unix-like C and its requirement that you be familiar with nitty-gritty things like manual memory management.

In short, I think I managed to keep myself from becoming too coddled, while learning good design principles through Java Learning C has also made me more watchful for optimization potential in bits of code.

One of the best parts of this approach is that the two are syntactically quite similar, making the learning easier.

I'm now continuing the more-than-one-at-a-time approach, and learning x86 assembly as I learn Bash and more C Maybe that's too much, maybe it makes me inefficient, but it's also nice to be able to pick up learning another language whenever one gets old for a while.

Lich · 2009-10-01 05:10:22

techprophet wrote:

I would NOT recommend python first, but that's simply because I can't stand programming in it anymore. Bleh, whitespace got to me (\t or " "? idk)

That's a myth..simple ast that. With a properly configured .vimrc, python autoindents, and puts spaces instead of tabs everywhere you need it.

tlvb · 2009-10-01 12:24:58

To work in a *nix environment I would suggest learning:
- Python: good all around language, easy to read, supports oop in syntax but does not force it. Take this first, since it is easy to learn.
- C: the cornerstone of a nutricious breakfast. Generally speaking on computing platforms: If it is powerful enough to run anything above assembler, there will be a C compiler for it.
- Shell scripting: bash+sed+awk+cut+tr+sort and you will be able to glue the I/O of any cli application together.
Once proficient enough in these, in most cases you will be able to do what is needed to be done, then you can start to broaden your horizons:
Haskell, Forth, Befunge, Some lisp dialect, a RISC assembler language, Brainfuck

Anikom15 · 2009-10-04 00:02:58

Python.

If you want to be one of those functional programmers (no offense), Scheme.

fumbles · 2009-10-04 04:50:03

.

Last edited by fumbles (2020-09-26 11:36:26)

Xyne · 2009-10-06 13:54:32

Xyne wrote:

Eventually you should learn some C and even take a look at a functional language like Haskell. The latter will give you a very different perspective on programming.

Prikrutil wrote:

Why has nobody suggested a functional language to go with?
Erlang - http://erlang.org/
Clojure - http://clojure.org/
Scala - http://scala-lang.org/
Haskell - http://haskell.org/

*wonders if he's invisible*
*decides to test this by snatching tacos*
*wonders how long it will be before Ghost1227 comments on the double-pun in the previous statement*

Peasantoid · 2009-10-06 19:15:18

Common Lisp is fun to play around with.

Arch Linux

#26 2009-09-29 21:22:13

Re: First language to learn

#27 2009-09-29 21:55:18

Re: First language to learn

#28 2009-09-30 20:00:21

Re: First language to learn

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#35 2009-10-01 12:24:58

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#38 2009-10-06 13:54:32

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#39 2009-10-06 19:15:18

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