For Windows, was is the best language to learn?

[JBull]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and have questions about getting started programming Windows applications.

What should I learn? Visual C++ or Visual Basic or C# ? I hear that C++ is being replaced by C#.

I have experience mostly with ANSI standard C (that's what they taught in college in 1994). In the past I have always used Notepad to edit the code, then compiled, linked and executed using a DOS command prompt. I have never programmed a Windows application that uses dialog boxes, graphical displays, etc.



I am not a computing professional - I work as a chemist. So I will be programming as a hobby in the Windows environment. I dont care much about programming for web pages like CGI Perl or anything along those lines.

Thanks for your advice.

[smith]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

I think C++ would be your best bet. I would go with Visual Studio 2005 C++. And no, C# will not replace C++. C++ will be best for you because you already know ANSI.

C# would be my second choice if I were you. C# is very good for RAD (Rapid Application Development) and is fairly similar to C++.

I'm not a fan of VB at all so I never recommend it.

Also, check out these threads:
http://forum.codecall.net/programmin...age-learn.html

http://forum.codecall.net/programmin...ogramming.html

[JBull]

I downloaded Visual C++ Express 2005 from Microsoft today. Its free from the Microsoft site.

I like the editor and debugger. However my old programs had errors when compiling. My old compiler gets no errors with the same code. For example I had to change
main()

to

int main()

And other annoyances.
Is it possible to use Microsoft Visual C++ but only write code in "regular" C? Or will this impose severe limitations to my pogramming?

[Void]

Hey JBull. Yes, the new VS2005 uses Managed C++ and is different than ANSI. If you write only ANSI you will not be able to create your controls using the form editor. I'd go ahead and learn how to write using 2005. And another thing, if you go searching to 2005 tutorials you won't find any but you will find a plethora of 2003. The two languages differ a lot and most of the code wont compile in 2003. What you can do is find 2003 code and then what doesn't compile search up on MSDN to see what is wrong. You can also just get a book.

[Lop]

Yeah, I've never seen any 2005 tutorials out there. Are there any?

[WingedPanther]

Some additional comments: Depending on what your old compiler was, it may not have been very standards compliant, so allowed illegal things through. For example, you should always use int main() in C++, even though it's not important for C.

Also, it's important to realize you are talking about three different things: C is a predecessor language to C++. Visual C++ is C++ with additional libraries for doing GUI work, among other things. VC++ is also an IDE with an eye towards the VC++ libraries.

Personally, I would recommend that you learn ANSI/ISO C++ first, and then worry about VC++ or some other resource. There are plenty of resources for doing graphical and other tasks that are not part of the C++ language and are completely free or open-source.