10 replies to this topic

[Derek11]

I've always wanted to learn coding, and lately we've been learning HTML in class so I'd like to learn a programming language.
Which language do you think is 'the best'?

I would probably be wanting a language that can make games, (kind of like Storm the House or other Tower Defense Games).

Which language do you think I should learn first?

[Orjan]

If you want to start programming, I'd suggest C, that makes you learn the basics in programming. If you're going to program for the web, I'd recommend PHP to start with.

[WingedPanther]

I'd consider PHP a natural step from HTML. You may want to look into Flash as well.

[asafe]

Learn You a Haskell For a Great Good!

[chili5]

Why Haskell?

All depends on what you want to, but since you have been using HTML perhaps try out PHP. :)

[ZekeDragon]

Actually I see where asafe is going with this. Learning a functional language like Haskell or Common Lisp might be a good choice for the OP since he's not mentally stuck in any particular programming paradigm, and those languages would help a lot to being a more productive programmer, even with other languages.

Learning and understanding imperative programming is simple. Same goes for Object-Oriented programming, but once you get into that mental paradigm it's very difficult to shift out of it into, say, functional programming. I'd imagine the same goes for the other way around, but I've got no experience on that. In my personal opinion, OOP is fantastically easy to understand and start using, therefore it should not be difficult to pick up OOP after learning a functional language.

That's why Haskell.

[WingedPanther]

The trick to Haskell is to view things from a much stricter mathematical perspective. It's targeting the purest definition of programming: Turing machines as represented by recursive functions. Imperative, procedural, and OOP languages actually stray away from that.

[Orjan]

ZekeDragon said:

Actually I see where asafe is going with this. Learning a functional language like Haskell or Common Lisp might be a good choice for the OP since he's not mentally stuck in any particular programming paradigm, and those languages would help a lot to being a more productive programmer, even with other languages.

Learning and understanding imperative programming is simple. Same goes for Object-Oriented programming, but once you get into that mental paradigm it's very difficult to shift out of it into, say, functional programming. I'd imagine the same goes for the other way around, but I've got no experience on that. In my personal opinion, OOP is fantastically easy to understand and start using, therefore it should not be difficult to pick up OOP after learning a functional language.

That's why Haskell.

I kinda disagree with you. I'm been programming imperative/procedural now for almost 20 years, and have had a long difficult way to try to learn OOP, so no, it's not just so easy... I'm far from learned it now either, even though I actually know what it is at least since the last 15 years, so it has had chances to try to strike me in it's simpleness, but it hasn't. Mostly I can't see the good things with it, as I haven't been programming so large projects in it so I get the real advantages with inheritance etc fully understood. I know how it works, and why, but the last jigsaw piece just isn't there

[ZekeDragon]

Orjan said:

I kinda disagree with you.

Oh come now, Orjan. If you're gonna make a statement make it, not 'kinda'! Say it with gusto, I won't be insulted because you disagree with me. :) Also, I'm assuming you're disagreeing with my second paragraph when I was describing OOP, not the first one. That's what I'll respond to.

Orjan said:

I'm been programming imperative/procedural now for almost 20 years, and have had a long difficult way to try to learn OOP, so no, it's not just so easy...

That may be because of you being stuck thinking procedurally. I don't mean that negatively, it's rather the same that I'm stuck thinking OO, and to me procedural seems... a bit off. These paradigms aren't hierarchies, rather they're just mindsets you have to get yourself into when you're programming.

Orjan said:

I'm far from learned it now either, even though I actually know what it is at least since the last 15 years, so it has had chances to try to strike me in it's simpleness, but it hasn't.

This might be my fault, like I said, it was my opinion that OOP was easy to learn. I was probably a bit more predisposed to think this way since I'd rather see programming as assembling something than as writing formula's (functional) or describing processes with data structures (imperative).

Orjan said:

Mostly I can't see the good things with it, as I haven't been programming so large projects in it so I get the real advantages with inheritance etc fully understood. I know how it works, and why, but the last jigsaw piece just isn't there

I'd be more than happy to fill you in, however I think that doing so would be more appropriate on a separate thread, as this is asking which language someone should learn first. I think I'll do just that...

[JCoder]

Give a try to robozlle: RoboZZle online puzzle game
If you don't have problems with solving these, you can make a good programmer ;)