Choice of programming language

[bboughton]

Hello,
Sorry to ask this question here but not sure where else to go. I have seen posts like Visual Basic verses C++ and the answer is usually each is suited for different purposes.
I have no programming experience but want to create a program to meet my specific needs but have no idea where to start.

I want the program to be able to look at 2 webcams, average the pixel value of each, and put out these in a log alongside a GPS bearing from an NMEA signal.

edit: using windows xp and only has to work on xp.

Any advice on where to start is greatly appreciated. I realise it would be a significant amount of work to do this and would have to start with simpler projects but the above is my ultimate aim and I would like to get there as quick as possible.

Thanks for your time.
Ben

[Xav]

Visual Basic is a lot simpler than C++, and therefore is the language you should use if you've never programmed before. C++ is more powerful, but more difficult, and VB looks more like English than C++, so VB would be ideal to begin with.

[bboughton]

Thanks for that. So is Visual Basic suitable for the above application? Or is that just advice for where to start? What about visual C#?

[Xav]

Not necessarily the most suitable - most tasks can be accomplished using various languages, but VB has the easiest learning curve.

Visual C# is my favourite language, but is a step up from VB, so you might want to learn it after VB (like I did).

[suicidal pencil]

I recommend PERL for learning programming. Not for what your doing, but just to learn programming structure, algorithm development, etc.. PERL is actually pretty easy to learn. Personal experience can vouch.

VB or PERL for learning.

[WingedPanther]

One issue will be the number of pixels per image and whether it has to run "live". VB, if I recall, runs slower than the equivalent C++ program so that may be a factor. If you only need a few frames per second, or the images are lo-res, VB would probably be fine.