Newbie to programming

I would start with either VB.Net or C#.  VB.Net will be easier to read and understand.  Once you learn one of the .Net languages, the jump to any of the others shouldn't be that difficult.

Don't touch VB6 since it won't teach you anything proper about how to deal with object oriented programming.

~IM

I am an entirely self-taught programmer, and I actually started-out with Perl. Perl is a very useful language, and it's prety beginner-friendly. The nice thing is that, while you get familiar with writing a debugging code in a fairly forgiving language, you build up many skills that will make the transition to a less forgiving, lower-level one like C++ much easier. If you want to dive right into a lower-level language, then I'd learn C++ as mrwad99 suggested.

Cheers

I think you must first establish, what do you want to do with programming languages: Web applications, Game programming,
Scientific calculations, Database applications. Then proper programming language would be selected.
Java and C# are appropiated for Web development, C++ is not so much.
C++ instead is unbeatable in calculation performance for game and scientific applications.
VB.net would be a good candidate for SQL applications.
There are other alternatives like server-side languages like ASP or PHP, I guess PHP is more suitable for a begginner for budget limitations.
I agree that Visual Basic is going to decadence, and is not a true OO language to learning.
So, it is your turn to tell us more about your needs.

That's a very good point; not much point in wasting your time with Perl/PHP for example, if you don't have anything to apply it to.

this comment, from mrwad99:

"it is more drag and drop components than actual coding I think"

is 1000% nonsense.  I have been a VB and VB.NET developer for almost 10 years, and while it is conventinet to be able to drag and drop visual control componets onto a form, that just places the visible componet on the screen.  It is the necessary to write the Code to make thise components do what the program needs them to do, and that can involve many 1000's of lines of Visual Basic code, in some involved programs.  The vast majority of the applications that I have written have code that is about 10% invoved directly with the visual controls (Text boxes, buttons, etc) and 90% involved with the infrtastructure of interacting with the DataBase, or the business rules of the application - the code that makes it all work.

Visual Basic would be a EXCELLENT place to start to learn about programming.

AW

I disagree. I think Visual Basic is a bad invesment to start programming, maybe 10 years ago, not now. Just my opinion.

I really mean VB.NET - which is now a FULLY OO language.  VB 6 is a good set of 'training wheels', but no longer a viable choice in the long run, if that is what you mean.

AW

>> this comment, from mrwad99:

>> "it is more drag and drop components than actual coding I think"

>> is 1000% nonsense.

:-)

*refrains from making any comments that will perpetuate what is sure to be a long flaming thread over which language is better than the other*

Basically i want to learn a programming language that can enable to learn .NET technologies or maybe PHP or PERL .... Java

If you want to leanr PHP or PERL, learn em ;) That is to say, they're great languages to start with, so just dive in. Despite my earlier comment, a beginning programmer might actually have a better time with PHP than PERL, but I think the choice is somewhat insignificant, because they are so similar.

nicholassolutions, how do i go abt starting to learn PHP or PERL? Can guide me along? Sorry to trouble you

http://www.perl.org/

http://www.php.net

how bout ASP?

http://www.asp.net

I would buy one of the following books if I were you:

SAMS Teach Yourself PHP
O'Reilly Programming PHP

(available under identical titles for Perl)

Cheers

ASP is not so much a language as a Web environment.  ASP is programmed using either VBScript or JavaScript, and ASP must be run on a Windows Box, running IIS 5.0 or newer.

There are many good books that will help you get started with ASP.

They are probably the same as the two books suggested by nicholassolutions , but change the title to ASP (from PHP)

AW

Hi ..

 I strongly recommand that PERL is good choice for the beginners.

 PERL -> Easy to Learn, Can Learn all Advanced programming patters, All Datatypes Supprted(Java & C), Syntax is easy, Can Learn fast, Many resources.

 Ask if u need more help.

Thanks & Regards,
lamdor

I agree with MrWad99 and Jaime_Olivares think that the answer to this question is a matter of preference and usage and I agree with Lamdor.

So, by far the most functional languages that really teach Object Oriented Programming is C# and Java. However, for you the beginner they may look very intimidating at first...be brave and just try to get a HelloWorld program working in each and see what you like. If you are unsure of what I meant by HelloWorld program search the web and you will find thousands of links to read about it...LOL

Additionally,

C++, is a very widely used programming language and it is available on many platforms. However, it is a beast to learn! As many people would agree.

Visual Basic, is not programming contrary to what some programmers in it would try to claim!

Why?

It creates a certain reliance on the Visual Basic language which is unhealthy to the learning process. "Like a set of training wheels" Holds some truth to it! :-)

If you are looking for general programming languages that offer bleeding edge technologies, are likely to be heavily used for the upcoming years, and are becoming well respected...I advise C# or Java.

C# does require some general knowledge of the Windows .NET platform but here is a link to the .NET and C# documentation:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpref/html/cpref_start.asp

Link to Java documentation:

General Desktop Applications:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/index.html

All Documentation:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/index.html

However, if you just want to learn a server side scripting language. I definately advise PHP it is free and beginners and advanced programmers alike can find a use for it. Here is a link to the documentation of the language:

http://www.php.net/manual/en

It may look intimidating at first but as programming goes it is as easy as it gets... :-)

Respectfully, :-)
Mathew Schlabaugh

Mathew>>  this statement :

"Visual Basic, is not programming contrary to what some programmers in it would try to claim!

Why?

It creates a certain reliance on the Visual Basic language which is unhealthy to the learning process. "Like a set of training wheels" Holds some truth to it! :-)"

MIGHT have been true of VB 6, it is definitely NOT TRUE of VB.NET which is just as Object Oriented as C#, J# or any other OO language.  VB.NET supports full inheritance, full encapsulation, and by every other meaningful standard is a completely OO langauge.


AW

If you would like a language that is somewhat easy to understand, and cheap. My recommendation is Java. It is not very powerful outside of web apps, and servlets, but you can learn alot about OOP with or without those crazy "training wheels." you can download an editor for free at:
http://scintilla.sourceforge.net/SciTEDownload.html

For something a little more indepth, I would recommend any language that can run off the command prompt until you feel comfortable with your style of programming (C++ can do this, even if you program using .NET). Then move on to something more powerful like a GUI language (C++.NET, VisualBasic.NET).

I don't recomend Visual Basic if you can avoid it, because you will train yourself into a very poor programming style, and will not learn much about OOP. OOP is too important to just blow off like that. so like I said before, try starting out with Java, or any other command-line language until you learn how to OOP.

Happy Programming

"I don't recomend Visual Basic if you can avoid it" that should be Visual Basic 6.0, and the comment DOES NOT apply to VB.NET which is a pure OO language.

AW

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"I don't recomend Visual Basic if you can avoid it" that should be Visual Basic 6.0, and the comment DOES NOT apply to VB.NET which is a pure OO language.

AW
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what he said.

But still, start out with something like java that is meaningfull, but simple. Just until you get a grasp on the whole programming thing. Then you can use those same algorithms in other languages by just modifying the syntax a little, and stuff.