[SOLVED] major programing languages for a career?

AurosGamma · 2011-04-30 06:01:34

Hi there, i need your opinion about a doubt. I'm beginning the university and i want to begin the learning of my "professional" skills, i was thinking that maybe will be good for a curriculum know how to program on various languages, so i'll begin with three languages right now, this my list:

< C >
Good for linux related work i think. I don't know too much about C.

< C++ >
I know a little of C++, but just for "casual" programing...Good for games, most of actual games are programed with this language (i think) in cooperation with the major graphics libraries (Directx,OpenGL,...).

< Python >
Very popular, i don't know exactly why, but im curious with this language. Maybe you can provide some professional works applied to Python.

What do you think about this languages? Do you recommend me these ones?
Also, what other languages and books are recommended?

Thanks and Greetings!

Last edited by AurosGamma (2011-05-01 01:37:49)

chris-kun · 2011-04-30 07:54:54

clojure!

- Implemented on the JVM which means it can interpolate with existing java code extremely well and can also be used for things like android development. Java is pretty much the most popular language out there so if relevance within the industry is part of your list, this is it.
- A dialect of lisp, and all the awesomeness that comes with that.
- Very functionally-focused. I 'spose this is a tad subjective but I love functional languages, and it does wonders for concurrency, which is my next point.
- Very few languages offer such an easy concurrency system (for taking advantage of multiple processor cores.)

You can check out their site for more info and some quick googling will reveal some nifty blog posts like this.

Last edited by chris-kun (2011-04-30 07:56:33)

jenovanomusuko · 2011-04-30 08:38:51

I'd say get on one functional programming language and one imperative programming language for starters. If you have a good foundation in each category, you should be good to learn whatever other languages you need to know. As a programmer, the languages you learn now shouldn't have the power to define you for the rest of your life - you should be defined by your ability to adapt to new projects, languages, and environments with the ability to critically problem-solve regardless of these changes.

chris-kun has a point with Java, but I think you should learn C and C++ before you learn Java for several reasons:

1) It's easier to go from C/C++ to Java than it is go to from Java to C/C++
2) You'll learn more about the underlying machine. At my university we take assembly language and computer architecture, and the gap between C and the underlying machine is quite small compared to the gap provided by Java.
3) You can optimize C code far more strongly than you can optimize Java code.

LISP definitely dominates the functional world, but Haskell is pretty nifty - give it a look.

Always remember that the best style is no style, the best form is no form. Eventually what languages you know will be nothing compared to how you think.

karol · 2011-04-30 08:40:14

A ranking of popular languages http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/ … index.html

I have no idea what your career will be, so I can't recommend any. Games designer, db designer, system maintenance?

akb825 · 2011-04-30 09:56:19

It really depends on what you want to specialize in. Probably the three biggest languages in use are C, C++, and Java. C is used a lot for embedded and systems level programming. C++ is used more for large and high performance programs, such as simulations and games. Java is used in a lot in web development for the backend applications.

You shouldn't feel limited to these languages, and definitely feel free to explore others, as it is good to be flexible. You will find jobs that use other languages, but those three are the main heavyweights in the industry. Also, keep in mind that a lot of people will probably post their personal favorite language (like chris-kun suggesting Clojure), and while they might be worth looking into, you won't necessarily see them much in the workplace.

As for jenovanomusuko's comment, it's not necessarily the case that learning C and C++ first, then learning Java later, is easier than the other way around. You can also argue that learning the basics of programming is easier in Java, then when you move to C/C++ you can focus more on the details of memory management and what happens under the hood. If you start with C/C++ first, you'll have to worry about learning the basics of programming as well as memory management and some under the hood details all at once. However, one mistake that many Java programmers make when moving to C++ is they see that C++ is similar to Java and treat it as if it is Java. They just keep doing what they learned before, and since things seem to work just fine they don't even realize that they are writing very inefficient code and are leaking memory all over the place. In order to successfully transition from Java to C++, you have to make sure that you look at it as a new language instead of "like Java but with a few more things."

AurosGamma · 2011-04-30 15:36:38

Hey, thanks!
Reading your recommendations i think i'll begin with C and C++ (beacuse is the language that im learning right now), when i finish with these two i'll begin with Java or Clojure(I have to read about this one). About the code optimization in C++, i think i'm in advantage, beacuse, i really really like to have quality codes so i'm used to optimize my code.

I'll buy books, so for C++ i was thinking on this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Plus-5th-S … 055&sr=1-2
and this one:
http://www.amazon.com/C-Programming-Lan … 578&sr=1-1

What books do you recommend for C, Java and Clojure?

P.S. I really like games and i have developed some simple games, but i loved that, i think i'll be specialized on development and desing of games.

Last edited by AurosGamma (2011-04-30 15:39:45)

ewaller · 2011-04-30 16:00:35

This thread starting to wander towards Topics Going Nowhere. Programming book references have been covered ad nauseum. I'll not move it yet, but suggest this get wrapped up. As long as I'm here -- No one can consider themselves to be a C programmer without a personal copy of the canonical reference K&R ("The C Programming Language"; Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie)

AurosGamma · 2011-04-30 16:29:26

@ewaller Thanks for the book reference, i was looking for it long time ago!
About the post, i just wanted to discuss people opinion about major programing languages and their application(or relation) with a career.
You can close this post once you tell me whats is the "nauseum", i've google it but i find nothing.

Thanks for your help.
Greetings

ewaller · 2011-04-30 16:40:39

My bad: the spelling was wrong. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ad+nauseam I don't need to close it, the thread is fine. I just did not want to to become redundant with many other threads on C like languages

Leonid.I · 2011-04-30 17:10:44

And yet again everyone forgot about mighty FORTRAN.

akb825 · 2011-04-30 18:59:56

AurosGamma wrote:

P.S. I really like games and i have developed some simple games, but i loved that, i think i'll be specialized on development and desing of games.

Be very wary of the games industry. It has some variation by region, but at least here in the US a lot of game companies treat their employees like crap. They prey on the fact that a lot of young graduates are excited about getting into games, giving them a lot of developers that want to work for them. As the schedule on a game's development slips, and the scope of the game changes (producers saying "I want that!" halfway through development), they ask you to stay in late, then eventually have mandatory 12-16 hour days and weekends. For months. Once the game ships, they have massive layoffs.

I have a number of coworkers that used to work in the game industry, since the company I work for started out planned on being a game company before it moved in other directions and eventually was bought out. Most of those coworkers that started in the game industry have been layed off multiple times in the last 5 years, and in multiple cases the companies that they worked for went under at the whim of the publisher. The worst case was Rock Star San Diego's work on Red Dead Redemption. They had over a year of crunch where they were working 16 hours a day and Saturdays were mandatory. This caused multiple family breakups and stress-related health issues. Once the game shipped, even though it was massively successful they layed off a lot of their staff, including a number of senior staff. (they are more expensive to keep, after all...)

You may be able to find a game company that treats their employees better, or maybe is in a niche of the gaming industry that isn't so susceptible to the boom and bust cycle, but tread at your own risk. You might want to look into some alternatives that have some aspects that you like about games (such as simulations, for example) but doesn't carry the same risks.

chris-kun · 2011-04-30 21:19:50

although I recommended clojure and pointed out its interpolarity with java, I don't really recommend java itself.. it's a horrible language .

also for games, a neat little framework I use is http://love2d.org. really easy to use and get started with -^^-

as for clojure books, check here

Last edited by chris-kun (2011-04-30 21:25:21)

AurosGamma · 2011-05-01 01:37:19

@Leonid.I Fortran i think that is oriented to numeric algorithms and thinks like that, maybe if you do Calculators programs or complicated cientific software fortran is one of thr best.

@akb825 Your opinion is interesting...i've heard some histories like yours. I can look for alternatives, like programing my own games,maybe in the future... Games like Super Meat Boy and Angry birds are games developed by a small group (2-6 persons) and are very sucessful games.

@chris-kun Thanks for the book reference, i'll take a look at it.

I think this post has arrived to his end, maybe someone looking for some "professional" programing languages for a career can be useful.
Greetings.

lupusarcanus · 2011-05-01 01:46:26

I just bought K&R2 myself. It'll arrive on Tuesday. I'm very excited!

AurosGamma · 2011-05-01 02:00:09

lupusarcanus wrote:

I just bought K&R2 myself. It'll arrive on Tuesday. I'm very excited!

Great! What a coincidence, I was buying one on amazon hehe.
Greetings.

lupusarcanus · 2011-05-01 05:11:30

AurosGamma wrote:

lupusarcanus wrote:
I just bought K&R2 myself. It'll arrive on Tuesday. I'm very excited!
Great! What a coincidence, I was buying one on amazon hehe.
Greetings.

Hehehe. Good luck on your ventures!

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#1 2011-04-30 06:01:34

[SOLVED] major programing languages for a career?

#2 2011-04-30 07:54:54

Re: [SOLVED] major programing languages for a career?

#3 2011-04-30 08:38:51

Re: [SOLVED] major programing languages for a career?

#4 2011-04-30 08:40:14

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#5 2011-04-30 09:56:19

Re: [SOLVED] major programing languages for a career?

#6 2011-04-30 15:36:38

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#7 2011-04-30 16:00:35

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#8 2011-04-30 16:29:26

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#9 2011-04-30 16:40:39

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#10 2011-04-30 17:10:44

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#11 2011-04-30 18:59:56

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#12 2011-04-30 21:19:50

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#13 2011-05-01 01:37:19

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#14 2011-05-01 01:46:26

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