Easy Program Language to Learn

[george89]

I wanting to learn how to program and I was wondering if anybody knew of an easy program language to learn at first.

I'm going to self teach myself but I was wanting to know what would be the best program language to start on would be.

Any answers would be greatly appreciated

[v0id]

I'll suggest you to learn Python. It's an easy-to-learn language, and it's especially easy to learn for a beginner, because it's an interpreted language, which will say that you can type something in, and the result of the code will come immediately. You can find Python at its official homepage, http//www.python.org/

There's other languages as well, such as Pascal, which in the start was meant to be an educational language, and easy to use - and learn. There's also something like KPL (Kids Programming Language) aimed at kids there want to start programming computers. But basically you could use it too. Just to get the basics of programming, and later move on to another language.

[WingedPanther]

Pascal was designed to be an easy-to-learn language. Last I looked, Borland made Turbo Pascal 5.5 available for free. You can also use GCC to compile Pascal programs.

[CygnetGames]

I vote for Python, because it's quick to write programs in. It doesn't have all the baggage that languages like C/C++ and Java have, where you need 20 lines of code before your program can even compile.

If you wanted a different language, PHP would be good as well (but it's useful to know HTML before starting PHP, although this is not really necessary).

If you're teaching yourself to program, I would suggest making good use of tutorials and forums on the net - there's all the information you could ever need freely available on the net.

[Crane]

Go with Java - anyone can learn. You don't need to purchase or buy anything and it is most commonly sought after and taught.

[LogicalVue]

I recommend you take a look at REALbasic. It is very easy to use and relatively cheap ($99). It is even free to use on Linux. REALbasic is fully objected-oriented so anything you learn will transfer nicely to other languages such as Java.

REAL Software also has a REALbasic teaching curriculum which might be perfect for someone like you who is just getting started.

[CygnetGames]

Originally Posted by LogicalVue

It is very easy to use and relatively cheap ($99).

What do you mean by relatively cheap? Relative to what?

All sensible programming languages are free. The only things I can think of that you have to pay for are M$ things like Visual Basic and C#. And even then there are other options. VB5, for example, is free.

I think someone learning to program should be looking at free things. Sure it's fine for a large company wanting a fancy do-everything-with-one-program IDE to fork out cash, but someone just beginning to learn? There are many free options.

[LogicalVue]

What do you mean by relatively cheap? Relative to what?

It's relatively cheap compared to lots of things. Your computer for one. A good meal at a restaurant. Gas for your car.

There certainly are plenty of free programming languages to choose from. But if you want a complete IDE, REALbasic is a good choice even if it does cost money. After all, even if a programming language is free it doesn't mean it is easy to learn or use. You could end up spending more time figuring out how to use it, which could cost you more than the $99 for REALbasic in the long run.

And besides, if you're really into free stuff, you're probably already using Linux. And REALbasic is free on that.

[CygnetGames]

Originally Posted by LogicalVue

It's relatively cheap compared to lots of things. Your computer for one. A good meal at a restaurant. Gas for your car.

It's really sad when people use ridiculous arguments to defend themselves when it's obvious from their forum signature that they're just trying to push whatever they happen to be into.

[LogicalVue]

It's really sad when people use ridiculous arguments to defend themselves when it's obvious from their forum signature that they're just trying to push whatever they happen to be into.

I'm just providing options for the OP to consider. When I was in school, I used gcc, emacs and lots of free things. It's easy to work with them when you have lots of time. The real world can be a bit different sometimes, so it's good to have options.