Learning how to Program?

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What is the best way to learn? and what is the best langauge to learn first?

[BB mods's]

MIcroshaft (kidding) Microsoft VB 6.0 u can download it from microsoft for free and it will walk u through the process of building .exe app's.

[eshbach]

as far as learning outside of the clasroom, i've found the best books to be the "nutshell" series.

I'd reccommend buying both Java in a Nutshell and C++ in a Nutshell.

Read them concurrently and also start developing small applications of your own, implementing everything you've learned at least once per chapter.

These days it is very important to deeply understand object-oriented design... not just to be familiar with it. VB6 (or similar languages) will give you a small tatse of what being Object Oriented is like. While such languages are easy to use and can make functional programs, you will always be limited. If you start with a language that is truly OO in nature (i mean java here), you can gain a better conceptual grasp on modern coding and that will help you with less object-oriented, but more powerful languages (like C++).

I used to be an advocate of learning C before C++ (since that's how i did it and it worked well for me), but i think learning java and C++ together is do-able and you probably won't really need to know C (unless you're an electrical engineer or something along those lines).

[saratoga]

VB6 (or similar languages) will give you a small tatse of what being Object Oriented is like.

Given that VB6 is not object oriented in the traditional sense (though it has objects), I wouldn't recommend it if you want to learn OO programming :) VB.NET would be a better choice though.

Anyway if you want to learn, you should probably start off with Java. The software and IDEs are free, and since virtually all CS programs use Java, theres tons of free tutorials, code, etc out there. Furthermore as a modern OO language, you will have an easy time transistioning to many other languages once you have the basics (c#, ruby, c++). As a bonus, since its basically a superset of c's syntax, you'll have an easier time with c based languages (c, perl, etc).

I do disagree with the choice of c++ though. It has all sorts of baggage from c that is not relevent to learning programming. Nothing against c++, its a cool language, but its needlessly complicated for a beginner, and theres nothing it offers that cleaner, more modern languages don't have.

[slider99]

I used to program for a small coding company, and there we prefered the Nuthsell series by O'reilly. If you're looking for an "easy" start, go with VB6.0. If you want to learn a very versatile language and go for the big fish right on, then I'd suggest either C/C++ or Java (depending on your needs...for direct hardware access you don't want to use Java though). C# could also be interesting, if you're interested in .NET and Microsoft's solutions. For plain web programming, HTML is easiest (ofc), but for more serious projects (utilizing dbs etc.) you might want to learn ASP(.NET) or PHP + (My)SQL or some other db language, as well as Java if you're into applets. It all depends on what you're interested in, I'd recommend some object-oriented programming though, since that's quite standard today, however if you're a hacker go study (T)ASM.

[bh2k]

I don't do alot of software development, but as far as web development goes Perl is usually a very good language to learn first because you can learn it's easier form PHP next. MySQL is almost the default database for personal use, but it's also a good idea to know how to use postgreSQL and MSSQL and oracle. Also after you learn php or Perl you ASP or JSP are interesting languages although in my opinions are very obnoxious.

[illmatik]

If you want to learn object oriented programming, I would grab Bruce Eckel's Thinking in C++ (for the object oriented primer he gives), and then Thinking in Java if you want to learn either of those. Top notch books. I think you can download MS Word versions of future revisions off his website www.mindview.net

[Entity_Razer]

Yhea I know a BIT of VB.NET already (not much, just starting)
But I would not advice it.

Why?
It's easy but deu to VB.NET's easyness it's handicaps you if you use it to much. You get sloppy because VB does a WHOLE lot for you.

It converts everything on itsself and you don't need to do anything to make sure it works properly.

Thats kind of a restriction. You get "sloppy" you still get the normal "attitude" for programming but you get so much "lazyness" inside the VB.NET environement.


Its still easy to use and you get a good feel on programing but yhea....

[MrSeanKon]

C# could also be interesting, if you're interested in .NET and Microsoft's solutions.and not only....
Visual Studio is something amazing and C# is easier than Visual C++ (also included in Visual Studio) and more powerful than Visual Basic.

[nn_step]

My advise is get $40 and buy a book on C programming and a book on Unix programming..
Then download any free compiler you want...
(if you are good at shopping the books with come with compilers..)

[Dementor]

At first i started with the good old python then i went to basics... Its been years and I forgot them all. Hello World ! lol

[Entity_Razer]

I would NOT advice beginning with Unix Programming. The idea is the same but *nix is a LOT more difficult to debug in my opinion as where in Visual Studio you get an error message and it directly transports you to the flaw. Now I know any good open source compiler will do the same but that doesn't get rid of the fact *nix is harder to begin with so I would not advice it.

But!!!, BUT!


It's not because I don't advice it that it cannot be done. In the time it took me to debug my Ubuntu rig (with MasterOfPuppets' help) I learned a LOT of commandos and what I should and or shouldn't do.

So you do tend to learn a LOT more or remember stuff better (I did) but a good beginning is in my opinion better then learning a lot with a lot of frustration.

Once you get a reasonable look and feel to programming Knock yourself out with Unix coding

[Xyus89]

Hi,

start with c++, very very basic stuff.

xyus