Halp. Beginner.

Paranoid Kami · October 30, 2017

Barnacules uploaded a new codegasm video and he's going to teach how to make a phone game and probably some more stuff. I'm going to try and follow along since I'm interested in programming and need somewhere to start. What I'm not sure of is what language to learn. He says C# or Java, but I also know there's C++, so not sure which is better for me. I'm probably just going to be doing this as a hobby, but I want to know which language I can use for phone apps and small programs on PC. Also, whichever language has less weird ass notations. I took a class at college many years ago and remember being turned off by said notations.

heimdali · October 30, 2017

Do you want to learn a particular language or do you want to learn programming? And what are "weird ass notations"?

Nacimota · October 30, 2017

I think you'd have an easier time picking up C#/Java over C++. Java is the language of choice for Android app development as far as I understand it but C# also works well on both Android and iOS if you use Xamarin. If you decide to get started with game development you'll probably end up using Unity in which case your choice is basically C# or Javascript, although the vast majority of Unity developers (around 80%) use C# and that is what you will find most tutorials and documentation use.

So yes, my advice would be to go for C#. It's a relatively modern language that is widely supported and has a large community around it. You can dive right in to Unity tutorials or whatever if that's what you're interested in, but if you want to get a proper footing in the language (which I recommend) it's probably better to start with something like this:

C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners - Microsoft Virtual Academy

Or if you prefer something more text based:

.NET and C# In-Browser Tutorial

C# Guide - Microsoft Docs