which programming language is the best to start with?

[alhildreth]

I think there are many ways to look at the answer. For someone who needs to get up to speed quickly and pump out a piece of software that does something quickly, I thing a 'Basic' language works well. It is similar to English and gives power to the newbie developers without him/her having to spend many hours of time learning the syntax.

From the other end of the spectrum would be some type of Assembly language. It can teach someone a lot and give insight into how the compiler translates to machine language. Especially, when they have errors in the code that they need to fix. But this is not for the weak at heart. It can take many hours to become proficient.

Somewhere in-between is where I began -- with FORTRAN-77. It was far enough from English that you felt like you were learning something most other people thought was gibberish. But it was not as difficult as my next class (IBM System 370 Assembly Language.)

I still program in FORTRAN when a contract comes up, but have learned most languages follow the same type of rules. I think the hard ones taught me the how and why. The newer one I use (like PowerBuilder, ASP .NET, C#, and T-SQL) give me the convenience of a more powerful Development Environment combined with nice built-in functions of the libraries (like the .NET framework.)

Just my opinion...

[Kelso]

I think that ruby is really nice because it is just a nice, high-level language. I LOVE irb and RubyGems, as well as Rails

[slaver89]

I vote java. It is an easy program to start with, because once you learn the basics in java all other programming languages seem easier to learn, and java gives nice tutorials takes about 2 months to learn the basics by yourself. C however is not so great never liked it because thats the one i started with before java, to me C seemed boring to start off with and it took too long to create an app, java is just fun quick and easy, but, it is basically up to you, just pick a program that seems easy and fun and master the basics.....

[AverageJoe]

I definitely think that thank that assembly is the best language to start with. (: JK, I would go with python as a first language, then to C,C++, or Java. Then take a step into assembly. Assembly is the hardest language I've run across so far, but it's also the most useful language I've run across so far.

[rct]

I would start in VB.net because it is very much like english, they are no shorterning of words like c# (interger not int)

[teh silly]

Personally, I think QBASIC is a good place to start, because it's easy and it gives you the idea of variables, loops, etc. without all the extra stuff (and it gives you the really old computer feel ).

 

After that, C++ is pretty easy to pick up. You already have the basics. You could do C instead, I think that would actually be harder for new programmers.

 

From the other end of the spectrum would be some type of Assembly language. It can teach someone a lot and give insight into how the compiler translates to machine language. Especially, when they have errors in the code that they need to fix. But this is not for the weak at heart. It can take many hours to become proficient.

 

...and learn somewhere at least how to write assembly, if not how to translate it into machine code. Knowing what goes on under the hood intrinsically helps you program better.

[nooc]

My opinion is that a language based on BASIC is the best suited language to start with if you're a complete beginner.

It is very simple to understand compare to other languages. As soon as you master BASIC, it's time to switch languages.

I recommend anyone to to know as many languages as possible. When you've learned some languages that are in some

way different from each other, you'll have no problem learning any new language.

...and learn somewhere at least how to write assembly, if not how to translate it into machine code. Knowing what goes on under the hood intrinsically helps you program better.

These days it's much harder to do any optimizing of the code by knowing assembly. The compilers are quite advanced today. You never know how they'll assemble your code.

 

[ilovekhym]

for me the very good language to start is C because its the very basic language that if you understand the programming logic in it. it is very easy to understand java, .net and other languages .v,,

[Evil Monkey]

I suggest a scripting language first like javascript, and then php. After you know those two c++ will become much easier.

I'm not good at C++ I just know the basic stuff, like conditionals, loops, operations, etc. easy stuff. But I started with javascript and it makes it easier to understand, soon i will learn php, then get more into C++. But if you do decide to learn javascript google "learn javascript" and the first link takes u to a Awsome site! something with schools in the link. I don't want to give you the link, because I don't want to advertise, just seach and you'll find it.

 

But you must know hml, but you probably do already because your on a web-hosting forum

[malcomhfc]

My advice is to start out on html like i did then move onto learning php and learning sql while doing php too is always good.

Then after learning html and php ever other language to learn is so much easier. i would learn python or fusion

[foxxyD]

Back in the day (a.k.a. fourth grade), I started making games with QBASIC. It's not very functional nowadays outside of its own little niche community, but it's perfect for learning the principles of programming. I write hundreds of lines of code per day now, usually in three different languages at the same time.

 

One thing about programming is, regardless of the language used, the basic principles are the same. You have variables, functions, and conditionals - just different ways of representing them.

 

Well, unless you're talking about Assembly.

[teh silly]

...and learn somewhere at least how to write assembly, if not how to translate it into machine code. Knowing what goes on under the hood intrinsically helps you program better.

These days it's much harder to do any optimizing of the code by knowing assembly. The compilers are quite advanced today. You never know how they'll assemble your code.

You're absolutely correct: compilers do an amazing job optimizing code these days. Very few programmers have the natural talent to even think about trying to do better than the compiler (but it would be a very long, tedious job).

 

Anyway, the point is not be going around writing assembly all the time (that would be silly; only a few people have an actual job where they write assembly). The idea is that if you just know how to write assembly, you will write better C++ or whatever.

[phoexer]

I'd go for C

then C++ or Java

 

I think there's more wiggle room if you start with C. Sure its harder but when you get it down you literaly can move on to anywhere else.

Beside if you are starting off you probably are also learning the basics of hardware and software, C's low levelnessness <if there is such a word> fits into the bigger picture more easily than other languages.

 

But then again i've always loved tinkering with the finer points of anything and everything. I've crashed my computer so many times i've lost count.

 

[JcX]

Programming branches out like an old tree..

Where I think C/C++ is the root of the tree.

Will suggest start from C/C++, then Java which is the trunk of the tree.

 

If you go for web development, try PHP+MySQL

Of course, personally, I love Flash AS (originated Java)

[awesomegamer]

Just a side-note. Most programmers hate to hear another say they can program HTML