Best language?

[Craftsman_2222]

What are the most useful languages for games on the PC and Apps on an IPhone? Also where would I be able to learn it for free (or quite cheap at least)? 

[vanished]

C++, and similar things like Objective C, C#, etc

[vorticalbox]

I would suggest c# this gives you access to xarmin that can use c# and compile to android/ios. It also allows you to use unity to create 2D and 3D games and allows you to code of universal apps.

 

the platform isn't finished but microsoft plan for UWP is one code all devices meaning the same code will run on windows pc, tablets, phones and xbox.

 

 

[trag1c]

7 minutes ago, Craftsman_2222 said:

What are the most useful languages for games on the PC and Apps on an IPhone? Also where would I be able to learn it for free (or quite cheap at least)? 

This is the wrong question to ask. A programming language is a tool and nothing more, you need to select the most appropriate tool for the job as you wouldn't want to cut a piece of lumber with a hammer. With that said you need to evaluate what you need in your application, if you need very fine grained control then you may want a language such as C++ for its low level access and pointer arithmetic but if you want to simply get something out there you may want to use something with a potentially faster iteration time such as C# or Java. It could also be a mix of languages, your core program could be done in something like C++ with a C# UI. There is also preference and experience as well. I would personally choose C++ for most projects as I have years of experience with it.

[Toxicable]

The most popular language in the world right now by a huge amount is JavaScript. I personally very much like C# which would be more inline for what you a language for

[Nuluvius]

1 hour ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

C++, and similar things like Objective C, C#, etc

Swift.

[vanished]

Just now, Nuluvius said:

Swift.

Yeah I guess they're really going whole hog on that switch 

[Gachr]

For games? It all depends on what engine you'll use, the engine will compile the games to target platforms for you. The most beginner-friendly engine is Unity, which uses C# or modified JavaScript for its code.

[Dat Guy]

C++ is a high-performance language.

 

C# is not.

 

Performance is rather important for games.

 

Easy choice.

[fizzlesticks]

24 minutes ago, Dat Guy said:

C# is not.

C# is very high performance. Not as high as C or C++ of course but still plenty fast enough for games.

[Dat Guy]

Once the .net framework is started, probably yes. But no one has time for that.

[Clechay]

C++ or C#, there is no better one or worse, they are different 

[straight_stewie]

If your goal is android only and also pc/linux/mac then probably Java (good luck self teaching though). If your target platforms are PC, android, and iOS, a .NET language will probably be your best option (particularly C# with xamarin). C# definitely has some really good resources behind it. Microsoft seems to actively want people to use it, and therefore has things like Microsoft Virtual Academy as well as plenty of developers (especially web developers) who use it professionally. If you want to build pc games you would do good to learn a language like C or C++. IMO, any of the modern managed languages or any of the C languages would make excellent choices for a good first language. Your choice should be based 50% on your end goals, and 50% on what resources are available to you to learn the language and paradigm (learning the paradigm is perhaps more important than learning the language itself). 

@Dat Guy If you ever install a game on steam and it says "installing .NET framework 4.xx.x" it's because they are using .NET c++ through the CLR... C++ is better than C# for AAA games because you get to manually allocate and deallocate memory, reducing the overhead of automated garbage collection. C++ is also better for parallel programming. That said, the game still runs inside the Common Language Runtime (all .NET languages are compiled to Common Intermediate Language and then the Common Language Runtime interprets and executes the CIL)... The tradeoff is program complexity: When you have to manually manage memory you have to do things like build memory maps and other things during the design process.

[VulsaviiK]

On 28/05/2016 at 5:46 PM, Ryan_Vickers said:

Yeah I guess they're really going whole hog on that switch 

And developers are happier for it, if a recent survey from Stack Overflow is anything to go by