I want to learn to program. Help wanted.

[tmanatme]

I want to learn how to program, but have no idea where to start. Currently on www.codecademy.com learning java but what else should I do to progress. 

[frezal]

If you want to develop phone apps, learning C++ would be a good idea.

[Trovaner]

I'm personally a huge fan of python but it is an interpreted language so it doesn't perform quite a well as Java or C++.

If you are interested in mobile development, you have a few options. You can program for android phones using C++ but it was designed with java in mind (I should know considering that I've worked on a few of these over the years). If you want to program for iOS then you will need a Mac that is Snow Leopard or newer and it was designed to be coded using Objective-C (but now supports some others). Windows Phone was designed with C# in mind and the language itself is considered the best for mobile development (however, the documentation for the other phones using this language could be a little slim). As with the others, Windows Phone supports some other languages but the documentation is a little harder to find for them.

If you are interested in web development, you'll probably end up learning more than one. HTML and CSS are required to make a website (super easy) but you may also want to learn Javascript for client-side execution and PHP for server-side execution. There are also a bunch of CGI supported languages such as Ruby and Python. I really like web dev but I've only worked on two sites and I've had no formal training in it.

If you are in to using databases then I would recommend MySQL. I haven't used any others but I find it to be very logical and straight forward. It is also worth noting that Perl is said to be an excellent language for managing databases (things like calling MySQL commands from a Perl script). I use PHP on my server to manage the database so I don't have any experience in Perl. Personally, I would hold off on anything related to databases until you really need it (just be sure to know when that is).

If you are interested in AI for robotics, the de facto standard is LISP. It is way different from the other languages that I have listed but it is quite a bit of fun. It is an interpreted language and you'll be hard pressed to use it in anything practical. Other languages such as Java and C++ have been used over the years but LISP was designed specifically for this purpose.

If you are coding desktop applications then you can pretty much use whatever you want. However, I would not recommend using C until you have a basic understanding of C++ because, though faster, C has much less safeguards to prevent you from screwing up you computer. I would also recommend staying with the more popular languages that are still being actively developed (languages like DOS Batch are being phased out) because they will have better support and documentation from communities. Visual Basic is a very popular language for this purpose but I'm not too fond of it personally.

In general, interpreted languages are much easier to learn and code in but they aren't used too often in proprietary projects unless they are embedded into a compiled language. Also, a lot of the more popular languages will look similar to each other so it is really easy to learn a new language after you have an understanding of another.

For all the languages listed, here is a breakdown of their difficulty IMO. I left out Objective-C, C#, Perl, and Ruby because I haven't used them yet (but plan to try my hand at the first two very soon). I also left out VB because it has been many years since I last used it.
1. HTML (easiest)
2. CSS
3. DOS Batch
4. MySQL
5. LISP
6. Python
7. PHP
8. Javascript
9. Java
10. C++
11. C (hardest)

[HurricaneAndrew]

I used to know some BASIC, but it has been lost in time.

[tmanatme]

Thanks for the help for now I will finish up the javascript lessons. I'm getting it pretty fast. Then move on from there thanks for the help and I can't wait to learn enough to be in this great modding community.

[MassimoV]

We're glad yo take interest.

[playzooki]

1. HTML (easiest)
2. CSS
3. MySQL
4. DOS Batch
5. LISP
6. Python
7. PHP
8. Javascript
9. Java
10. C++
11. C (hardest)

I disagree. Batch is easier as it involves less punctuation.

[Trovaner]

^^^ That's actually why I'm saying that it is more difficult. The high level of structure for the first two make them really easy to pick up on. However, you are probably right about it being easier than MySQL.

[Badger]

It all depends on what you want to do. There isn't 1 'best programming language', although some are better for some things than others (I hear C# is good for game development). However, it would probably be for the best if you finish whatever you're learning right now before moving on to anything else.

[Venko]

My reaction, when I saw, that "DOS Batch" is considered a "programing language" :

[Psydia]

Get an old second hand macbook air and start learning xcode. Believe me you will like it. And you'll like it even better when your app is launched on app store!

[123savethewhales]

I suck with all forms of language too much to learn programming.  The syntax always kill me.  Not being able to ever remember names or new words also doesn't help.

[Badger]

Get an old second hand macbook air and start learning xcode. Believe me you will like it. And you'll like it even better when your app is launched on app store!

AHAHAHAHA


no. Awful idea.

[Psydia]

Get an old second hand macbook air and start learning xcode. Believe me you will like it. And you'll like it even better when your app is launched on app store!

AHAHAHAHA


no. Awful idea.

It's not gonna be an awful idea just because you say so.
I'm still having fun with my 2008 mba with dual boot mac os 10.6 and win7.

[HurricaneAndrew]

Get an old second hand macbook air and start learning xcode. Believe me you will like it. And you'll like it even better when your app is launched on app store!

AHAHAHAHA


no. Awful idea.

Believe it or not, there are some people who like things that you don't and they're not wrong