Which programing language?

[AimMe]

OK, i'm thinking of learning some programing language. And i don't have idea which of these: Perl, PHP, Python or C/C++. I know little about Perl and C++, but i can't do anything about that.
So, maybe you can give me language where you lack programmers... Or easiest one

I know only pascal since we learn it in school, but it is old and sux.

[Courgette]

Perl : good if you have to work with text files a lot. I've never learned it cause I don't like its clumsy syntax (IMHO) and I can do what perl do with other lang. Lots of quality modules available through CPAN.

Php : good for websites as most opensource web project are in Php. You can code object oriented code, but not necessarily. Lack packages before v5.3. Standard API a bit long to learn because of funny named functions. It is sometimes difficult to find good 3rd party library/classes you can rely on because of too much script kiddies using it and sharing crap all over the Internet

Python : easy to lean language although it has a somewhat different philosophy than more popular languages have. Past the 1st "heu, wtf..." it becomes pleasant to code with. Clever syntax makes code short but still comprehensible. Can do OOP or not. Lots of libraries available. It is easy to compile your scripts into an .exe which makes it a good candidate for project targeting window$ users who don't have more knowlegde than "double click to install"

C : a "must know" language if you want to build high performance programs. 40% of opensource programs are still written in C. You might have to fight with pointers while you can even ignore what pointers and memory is in most other popular languages. still knowing wtf is a pointer is a good thing to know even for other languages that abstract them.

C++ : wanna hack through ioQuake3 same as C but OOP.

Other cool languages and tools I like :
Lua, awk/gawk, bash (just for very small scripts or prepare to die), sed, grep

[natirips]

Other cool languages and tools I like :
Lua, awk/gawk, bash (just for very small scripts or prepare to die), sed, grep

You missed out lisp. Most modern languages lack some functionality that lisp had back in 60s.

[AimMe]

Perl : good if you have to work with text files a lot. I've never learned it cause I don't like its clumsy syntax (IMHO) and I can do what perl do with other lang. Lots of quality modules available through CPAN.

So i don't work with text files, so no perl.

Php : good for websites as most opensource web project are in Php. You can code object oriented code, but not necessarily. Lack packages before v5.3. Standard API a bit long to learn because of funny named functions. It is sometimes difficult to find good 3rd party library/classes you can rely on because of too much script kiddies using it and sharing crap all over the Internet

Hmm, i don't think i'm going to make websites a lot. I might learn part to understand it, but to programme in it, no.

Python : easy to lean language although it has a somewhat different philosophy than more popular languages have. Past the 1st "heu, wtf..." it becomes pleasant to code with. Clever syntax makes code short but still comprehensible. Can do OOP or not. Lots of libraries available. It is easy to compile your scripts into an .exe which makes it a good candidate for project targeting window$ users who don't have more knowlegde than "double click to install"

I could try.

C : a "must know" language if you want to build high performance programs. 40% of opensource programs are still written in C. You might have to fight with pointers while you can even ignore what pointers and memory is in most other popular languages. still knowing wtf is a pointer is a good thing to know even for other languages that abstract them.

C++ : wanna hack through ioQuake3 same as C but OOP.

I know some basic of C++, and i know what is pointer, or i think i know.

Other cool languages and tools I like :
Lua, awk/gawk, bash (just for very small scripts or prepare to die), sed, grep

Ok, i can make some starter in bash

[dmmh]

he also forgot Visual Basic :'(

[Deviant]

Javajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajava

[SvaRoX]

Cool
Hm seems there are 2 questions in your post, what is the best programming language to begin with and what is the most useful one for dswp community

If you really want to learn programming for further and serious use, I would really advise you to learn C. There are still lots of lines of C code running on earth (UrT engine ), you can improve your algorithm skills in structured programming without dealing with objects, understand quite low-level concepts (memory management, system calls...), be used to constraints like forced data types and rigorous programming, know about compiling, etc... Mastering C is a useful knowledge when you learn other programming languages afterward, especially when they are dirty like Perl or PHP. Then you may need to study OOP after C...

About lack of programmers on dswp, I guess C skills are no use here, as long as UrT is closed-source PHP is probably the most useful one because you could implement phpbb stuffs and new features on the website (and on other websites =). You probably need to learn some SQL when programming with PHP around phpbb. Python is useful for B3 plugins programming as you know, what is cool is that its forced indentation teach you how to become a 'readable' programmer =)

If you can't achieve to choose a language, code a random function to do it... oh wait, you first need to learn programming to do that

If you want to design your application with pen and paper before coding it, like students do during academic studies (when they are forced...) and people do in the real world (sometimes...), you also may want to learn UML or other modeling tools... (warning : use it at your own risks )

[Courgette]

If you really want to learn programming for further and serious use, I would really advise you to learn C. [...], be used to constraints like forced data types and rigorous programming

QTFT. C is the first true language I was taught (1st one was Pascal, but... you know). Then I've kept the habbit of being rigorous and methodical even with freestyle languages like PHP (so free than you can have a working program written like crap)

[AimMe]

Can i learn C++ or i must C? I knomw more C++ than C...

Code: Select all

#include "iostream"
using namespace std;

int main () {
   cout << "Which programing language should i use? n C (1) or C++ (2)? n";
   int a=0;   
   cin >> a;
   if (a==1) {cout << "I'll learn C. n";}
   else if (a==2) {cout << "I'll learn C++. n";}
   else {cout << "I'm confused. n";};
return 0;
}


I never write program on paper before i do it. First i think how should i write it, then i start writing (that's all fast) and then i'm removing mistakes (long) or i realize that my algorithm was wrong

[natirips]

Javajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajavajava

Java is for techosexual perverts who get turned on by seeing a devastated keyboard, or a burnt hard drive. It's syntax simply unreasonably long, full of unneeded words.

Code: Select all

public local something blah long short double int main(strange useless never-used String[] args){...}

he also forgot Visual Basic :'(

It's useful, but not overly cross-platform. I also liked QBASIC, but the same story. Very powerful and simple language, documented as none other, yet DOS-specific, thus almost useless nowdays.