What programming language should I learn?

Question

I aspire to become a computer engineer, most likely in software. I'm 16 and I am just looking to get ahead.

I do not which to go about learning first, C++, Java, Perl, Python? Or perhaps another? What would you recommend?

Answer 1

Your choice of language is irrelevant unless you know exactly what kinds of projects you are going to be working on. If you want to be ready for whatever comes though, I would recommend C++. Once you master C++, all the other languages you listed become trivial to learn.



At least, that was the case for me. But honestly, it really doesn't matter much, you'll get the important concepts of programming with any language you choose.

Answer 2

it really depends on what kind of programming you want to do. if you actually want to be a computer engineer you should probably learn more than one.

i would start with C++. Python is a really good one to know to.

perl and java - not so much. they'd be a good extra.

actually i revise that. the most practical would be C++, but Java is probably easier to learn because it has a lot of english in it that makes it easier to understand when learning programming.

Once you know one language it becomes a lot easier to learn the rest.

python is probably the hardest to learn and at 16 i wouldn't bother with it.

i don't know much about perl. i learned java first.

good luck.

i'd probably tackle them in the order that you have them above.

Answer 3

I have used C/C++/PHP/Perl/VB/C#/Java, and I now use Python. Python provides platform independent code, so if you want to write Windows/Linux/Mac GUI apps, you can use something like PyQT4, and if you want to create a web project, there are frameworks like Django to help you.



It's much easier and quicker to write than C++ or Java, and it's not as cryptic as Perl, or as floppy as PHP. It teaches you good structure, and will have support for many years to come, as it's creator Guido, works for Google, who produce many Python projects, such as the Google App engine. Python is growing rapidly in popularity and is also pretty fun to use.



Whatever you chose, enjoy!

Answer 4

Learn Java. It is the most popular programming language today and it is going to be around for a long time because it is OS independent. Its simpler to learn than C++ but not the easiest programming languages around. Learning Java will also help you in writing server side code for Web Applications.

Answer 5

Yep, C++ is fantastic! It will help you to understand any other programming language mainly because of your brain after C++. I would also look into Python as it's becoming more and more popular nowadays. Python is supported by Google as it uses the language a lot, for example, YouTube is written in Python.

Answer 6

It depends what you want to do.



Web development: PHP, Python, or Perl



Stand alone system application:

On Windows: C# or possibly Visual Basic

On Linux: C, C++ with the QT libraries



which language you choose greatly depends on what you want to do, specifically.



C is a very low level language. Its fairly basic, but you have to write a LOT of code to do anything useful. C++ is slightly higher level (only marginally though), and has objects. Java is a full fledged language (like C++ or C), but has lots of built in libraries for doing useful things like network communication, handling non-ASCII strings, creating graphical interfaces, etc.



C++ alongside QT isn't too bad, because QT adds lots of libraries too C++ making it very similar too Java. C++ will teach you the differences between pointers, references, and "primitives" (I know, I know, its a Java term).



Depends what you want to do :)

Answer 7

He probably seeking to say that you simply have to study programming methods and good judgment, alternatively than languages. This particularly is principal, too. For example, being in a position to preserve a talk in 15 human languages doesn't suggest you'll write an fantastic paintings of literature in any of them; and a particularly good written software is just like a particularly good written publication, in that it demands to have many ingredients that are compatible in combination in non-seen however robust methods.

Answer 8

C++ and Java