I would like to learn a programming language as a hobby. Question is, which one? (1 Viewer)

[S1M0]

No point in repeating myself, and if you're reading this, then you've read the title.

Despite my best judgement, i want to learn a programming language as a hobby. There's a plethora of languages available, and considering that i simply want something versatile and capable of creating something according to my desire, i dont know what language to choose. I'm going into software development, so there's no need for me to learn a language solely based no programming hardware (although that would be useful as a future engineering student...).

I'm thinking of learning C++, in fact i'm learning it know, but i'm not entirely sure. Also, people i've talked to seem horribly biased towards one particular language.

So, fellow computing enthusiasts, any suggestions?

 

[fatmuscle]

programming or web programming?
free?
what skills do you already have?

 

[S1M0]

Well i was thinking of doing web-based, although i may dabble a bit in software. Something good as a hobby.

My skills are a bit lacking, i know HTML, some javascript, a bit of php, and the fundementals of C++.

 

[Excalibur_]

I reckon Java would be a better entry point - it's much closer to C/C++ syntax. Also, the weak typing of PHP would probably result in sloppy C coding down the track.

Don't think C++ as a first language is a terribly good idea though...I'd get the hang of some beginner-friendly languages (such as Java / VB) just to get the hang of programming conceptually and then move onto C++ (which isn't so newbie-friendly, dreaded pointers).

 

[jumb]

It depends on what you want to do with it. If you plan on doing web stuff, java. If you plan on programming robots and such one day, C. If you want to program applications and games, C++.

If you dont really care though, I'd recommend Java, only because it's a very friendly language.

 

[fatmuscle]

Java close to C? C++ yes, but not C.
C is more like PHP.

Coming from a non-programmer, i picked up C and PHP a lot easier than Java/J2EE.

disadv of php would be you will need to run/find a php host, and get a backend database happening for some dynamic content. fun though

 

[S1M0]

Alright, i'm all set then.

I'll learn PHP and Java initially, see how i go, and then once i'm done with that i might consider leaning C, as thats going to be useful when i go do an engineering degree.

Thanks for the help.

 

[bboundy]

If you're gonna run PHP, I recommend getting WampServer (if you're on windows). It's a self-contained PHP, Perl and Java (I think) server that doesn't need any internet hosts and such. If you're on Mac, get Entropy PHP server and install it. The macs have built-in webservers (under "sharing"). You also need a good text-editor. Textmat for Mac, Jedit for windows.

 

[Supermodified]

I learnt C during my first semester of Uni. I had the choice of either COMP1911 Computing 1, which was learning C, or ENGG1811 Computing For Engineers, which was learning Excel and VB, which seemed boring. But yeah, I found C really interesting to learn. We did everything from the basics right up to nodes, link lists, arrays, memory allocation, and it wasn't really that hard to do. But yeah, I haven't really done programming in any other language, so I couldn't really recommend C over anything else.