Wanting to start code

[FliX]

I wanted to start to learn code and was wondering a couple of things, firstly , which language I should start to learn and secondly, what the best way to do that is

Any help is greatly appreciated

[ReesZRB]

Java, actually learning it. Example: Modding Minecraft(Java)

[EpicAdom]

I wanted to start to learn code and was wondering a couple of things, firstly , which language I should start to learn and secondly, what the best way to do that is

Any help is greatly appreciated

I would recommend Python. The language forces you to format your code properly. You can learn the basics of it at codecademy.com

[Andrew_C]

I would avoid Visual Basic if you can. It'll lul you in with a false sense of security.

 

Do something fun and interesting. Arduino won't teach you any good habits but it'll sure keep you entertained, it's based on C/C++. I guess we really should be asking, why do you want to learn? Does it really matter what language?

[FliX]

I would recommend Python. The language forces you to format your code properly. You can learn the basics of it at codecademy.com

Thanks, I'll definitely check it out

[FliX]

I would avoid Visual Basic if you can. It'll lul you in with a false sense of security.

 

Do something fun and interesting. Arduino won't teach you any good habits but it'll sure keep you entertained, it's based on C/C++. I guess we really should be asking, why do you want to learn? Does it really matter what language?

I dont really care what language but I want to be able to do fun things with it, as previously said, Minecraft wouldnt be too bad because I could mod the game.

[Andrew_C]

-snip-

 

Cool Java is a good language to learn, can also get into Android development later on.

[Guest]

Start with c# its one of the easiest.

[FliX]

Start with c# its one of the easiest.

Are there any sources you would recommend learning from?

[Nineshadow]

Knowing a programming language and knowing programming are different things.

[FliX]

Knowing a programming language and knowing programming are different things.

And this is why i need help...

[Sauron]

I'd honestly recommend starting from c. It's not the easiest or most intuitive, however it gives you a deeper understanding of how coding works than higher level languages. Once you know c you can learn most other languages pretty easily.

[Guest]

Are there any sources you would recommend learning from?

Not really, I just recommend C# because its the foundation to most C based languages, you can learn the others with minimal to no effort  

Unity a good amount of tutorials https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/scripting If you want to install the engine you get all you need to run C# in the engine itself. If you want to you can try your hand at developing a game as well!

[Nineshadow]

And this is why i need help...

If you want to learn programming as a whole , with its concepts , paradigms , etc. , you should start with C/C++. In the beginning the difference between C and C++ won't really matter, so there's no reason to recommend one over another in that aspect. However, once you learn the imperative way of doing this , you'll probably move onto object oriented programming , where you should really use C++. Also , working with strings is much easier in C++ , but you'll want to know how to handle cstrings(char arrays) as well.

[Sauron]

Not really, I just recommend C# because its the foundation to most C based languages, you can learn the others with minimal to no effort  

Unity a good amount of tutorials https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/scripting If you want to install the engine you get all you need to run C# in the engine itself. If you want to you can try your hand at developing a game as well!

 

c# is actually one of the highest level c derivatives, starting from that may lead to a lot of bad habits - and it's not the foundation to much of anything really

[Macko939]

You could get a super cheap arduino set off ebay and play around with C. 

 

A lot of different programming languages have a similar syntax to C so you'll find it easy to move onto different languages like C++ or C#.

 

Playing with arduino is really satisfying  

[Azgoth 2]

Python is what I always recommend, largely because it's pretty easy to learn, extremely versatile (you can do almost anything in Python, though it really shouldn't be used for some things, e.g. where you need really high-performance code). You can pretty quickly start getting a lot of bang for your buck with Python. (Important downsides: it's less commonly used for program development than other languages like Java or C++, and because it's an interpreted language rather than a compiled one, it will execute code more slowly than a lot of compiles languages). Python also forces you to use proper indentation of your code, which makes it very readable, and is just good practice in any language.

If you want to mod Minecraft, then like people have said, go for Java. Java is one of, if not the, most popular and widely-used languages out there, and is what all Android apps are written in, so you'll have a somewhat easy transition if you ever want to get into that. Like Python, Java is massiveley versatile, but will generally run quite a bit faster once you compile the code. But it's a bit harder to learn, and lots of people have...opinions about how good the language is as a whole. (A lot of people really dislike how wordy/verbose it is, among other things)

If you're thinking more about general software development stuff, there's also C++. Super widely used--right behind or neck-and-neck with Java by most measures--and rather lower-level than Java or Python. It'll probably be better for getting a good hang of core programming concepts and such, but might have a steeper learning curve.

If you're interested in web development, Python is one of the big hitters in that field, but Ruby is probably a little more dominant. It's similar to Python in a lot of ways--very high-level, interpreted, very readable code, etc. But it's not used as widely as Python outside of web stuff, even though it has just as much flexibility and versatility.

My recommendation is Python if you just want to do general programming more than anything else, and Java is you mostly want to mod Minecraft.

[Tekniqe]

This is just my own opinion obviously, but just pick any standard language for whatever reason (wanting to mod minecraft, do xyz, etc) and just learn it. Do codeacademy or other free online resources like w3schools. Learning say, Java, is different than learning to program. I think once you get in the mentality of programming it really doesn't matter what language you're in. Your google-fu will improve also. It's basically saying, I want to accomplish xyz, how do I do that in language _____. Once you know how to do it in one, you can learn it in another with trivial effort.

[xiej]

I'd honestly recommend starting from c. It's not the easiest or most intuitive, however it gives you a deeper understanding of how coding works than higher level languages. Once you know c you can learn most other languages pretty easily.

C isn't as object oriented as C++, and it might be hard to adjust.

[Sauron]

C isn't as object oriented as C++, and it might be hard to adjust.

 

C++ only adds abstraction layers to C. The basic logic is pretty much identical. As for objects, it's easier to learn them later than get used to them and have problems when they can't be used.

[xiej]

C++ only adds abstraction layers to C. The basic logic is pretty much identical. As for objects, it's easier to learn them later than get used to them and have problems when they can't be used.

When can objects not be used?

I just meant that C++ isn't much more complicated than C to learn.

[Sauron]

When can objects not be used?

I just meant that C++ isn't much more complicated than C to learn.

 

It's bad habit to use them when they're unnecessary - it creates "bad" code and makes the program heavier than it needs to be. Besides because of performance concerns there are plenty of situations where you'd want to use pure C.

 

It's not harder to learn than C, in fact it's probably easier, but starting with C++ puts the programmer in the wrong mindset.

[xiej]

It's bad habit to use them when they're unnecessary - it creates "bad" code and makes the program heavier than it needs to be. Besides because of performance concerns there are plenty of situations where you'd want to use pure C.

 

It's not harder to learn than C, in fact it's probably easier, but starting with C++ puts the programmer in the wrong mindset.

True, but optimized code in C++ can be almost as fast as C code.

[Sauron]

True, but optimized code in C++ can be almost as fast as C code.

 

but that optimization gets rid of all the time you spared by writing it in C++ in the first place ^^

[xiej]

but that optimization gets rid of all the time you spared by writing it in C++ in the first place ^^

Is

decimal Decimal = sqrt(2);

slower in C++ than C?