16 replies to this topic

[Abdul_Rauf]

I want to learn programming but I am bit confuse of which programming language should learn first VB6 or C++, plz give me help. Thanx all of you guys in advance.

[chili5]

You will get more out of learning C++. VB6 is pretty awful. I'm not sure how much VB6 gets used today but judging by how old it is, highly doubt it is a very employable skill these days.

[Jimbow]

Why VB6?
You can learn Python to catch the programming concepts with a lot of worth free books and articles! after that you are free to choose elder languages like Java or C# (.NET in general)
So, the C++ is great and very powerful, but now in 2012 you have more choices as a starting point in programming. Anyway, if you should choose one of them I recommend C++.

Sorry for weak English.

[entheodred]

VB6? terrible.
c++ is a powerhouse but might be hard to comprehend for a beginner.
java is a good start too since you can immediatly getting a hang on how to create nice GUI's without breaking your head on hard to
comprehend API's.
but in the end, learning to program is still the same thing: hard, but very rewarding as you go.

you might aswell take a peek on wikipedia to check info on some languages. see if any have features you like.
Good luck programming!

[WingedPanther73]

VB.NET is a viable option. VB6 is pretty universally ridiculed.

[Soryy708]

Python is simple, but it is very different as a language from C, which is the grand-father of most modern (main-stream) languages.
Get a grasp of C++, and you can easily learn other languages like Java or C#.
However, C++ is slightly big and sophisticated; so try a "stripped down C++": C (my love!).
However, even C might be slightly overwhelming with the concept of pointers, which is stuff on hardware-level, so again: not begginer friendly.

Conclusion: Visual Basic. Why? Yes, it is terrible; I hate it. But only because I tried it.
I personally tried learning C++ first, which I found hard. I switched to Visual Basic 6, got a grasp on the basics, and spitted it out because it's sh*t.
When I have left VB, I went to C. And now I can safely say I know a majority of the language (judging by my progress and understanding of K&R, a book), and I believe I can easily learn any other C-like language.

In short: Visual Basic 6 (VB6) worked for me, might do for you.

[entheodred]

In short: Visual Basic 6 (VB6) is the way to go.

this is your personal experience right?
the majority would actually discourage people to start at visual basic, so "the way to go", no, "worked for me, might do for you", sure!

[Soryy708]

Gee, thanks entheodred!
You saved a person from certain doom by wording my thoughts better. You should work as an editor!

[entheodred]

-del-

[RhetoricalRuvim]

When I was first learning programming, I didn't even know that there were multiple languages. I just Google-searched for something in terms of "the programming language" , because that's what I thought was used for making programs. You could probably do something similar, if you don't care much about what language. Or if you do care about the language, I'd recommend looking at some examples of different programs in different languages and comparing their syntaxes, and see which one you prefer most.

I tend to be more on the Windows side, since usually I use JavaScript, Win32 C, or Win32 assembly. JavaScript can work on other platforms too, but there are a lot of options on Windows of how to use it - ASP, HTA, JS, HTML. And HTA, JS, and HTML are natively supported, too, in most cases. That's what I do, but your choice of language might be different from mine.

[BlackRabbit]

The first language you learn must be easy, visual and preferably fun.

The first lang is not just learning to code is learning what an IDE is, what a compiler is, a debugger, an error, and the easiest that things are the better, c++ will be very complicated for starters, the making, the libraries, memory mappings, i would not suggest to start with c++ without previous programming experience.

In other words, beyond which lang is best, in visual you can drag and drop a couple things, code 3 lines and see something in the screen, no projects to manage, no libs to add, etc. visual basic will help you to focus in programming and basic algorithms that you can actually represent graphically in a screen with no effort at all, that will not happen in c++ for a beginner.

so, i would suggest you to play with VB until you get familiarized with programming and execution basics, and then you go for bigger fish.

[papabear]

In my opinion I would suggest learning how to code in a procedural/oop language like C++ because it's a cross platform language and you can learn a lot of basic and develop your logic in this language. without using a Drag and Drop of controls, you must try to develop your own objects like textboxes, labels, buttons and understand how they work