Thread: What are some fun simple languages to learn.

  1. #1
    Ethernal Noob
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    What are some fun simple languages to learn.

    *waits for inevitable*

    Right now I'm pretty familiar with Java and am learning C++ to a slow progression, and wanted to know are languages like perl or C# nice languages to learn "on the side". I'm interested in C# because of the whole XNA thing since I know groups that are starting to create games with them, and have seen people pick it up and in a week start making neat stuff. I've also heard a lot of perl being interesting to learn. I've been told that C# is pretty much close to java and it won't be hard to pick up.

  2. #2
    Registered /usr
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    C# sounds like a good idea for you, no real surprises given your Java/C++ experience, plus it has commercial significance.

    Not sure why you'd want to learn Perl though, I dabbled in it couple of years back but I've since forgotten everything. Can be pretty tricky once you get into the whole regexp thing.

  3. #3
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    If "fun" is the operative word I would consider learning Haskell or any other functional programming language. That is what I will want to be doing in a couple of years as a sidestep to my ongoing C++ learning process.

    I find functional languages extremely interesting and... you got it; fun!
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  4. #4
    Its hard... But im here swgh's Avatar
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    good basic! I used to love the old style in the early 1990's!

    Code:
    print"Enter your name: "
    input a$
    print"hello a$ how are you?"
    end
    run

  5. #5
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    If you don't fancy the whole gamut of perl, try it's older and much more compact sibling - awk.
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  6. #6
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    I agree with Mario. Haskell and Lisp can be great fun. But they are not exactly simple.

    Ruby could be fun too, or JavaScript - modern JavaScript (get a Firefox 2 release candidate) can do very cool stuff.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  7. #7
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
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    Python, Lisp

  8. #8
    For Narnia! Sentral's Avatar
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    LUA Scripting Language is pretty cool. It's popular with Half-Life 2, for making mini-mods. If you like modding games, it's a good language to learn. Or another alternative is UScript (Unreal Scripting), another popular scripting language similar to both Java and C++.
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  9. #9
    pwns nooblars
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    I <3 Perl, some stuff can be developed SOOO much faster, and with decent programming habbits it isn't hard at all to be OO. Remember though, a file that you include needs to have a 1 at the end... gets me EVERY time, even though I have been programing in Perl for little over 2 years.

  10. #10
    Dump Truck Internet valis's Avatar
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    brain........ and befunge--especially befunge

  11. #11
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    Another vote for Lisp. The concepts are so interesting.
    If I did your homework for you, then you might pass your class without learning how to write a program like this. Then you might graduate and get your degree without learning how to write a program like this. You might become a professional programmer without knowing how to write a program like this. Someday you might work on a project with me without knowing how to write a program like this. Then I would have to do you serious bodily harm. - Jack Klein

  12. #12
    Fear the Reaper...
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    I remember, when I was young, I used to love programming my old TI-83. Not a very powerful language, but simple and easy. And it gets the job done for what you intend to do.
    Teacher: "You connect with Internet Explorer, but what is your browser? You know, Yahoo, Webcrawler...?" It's great to see the educational system moving in the right direction

  13. #13
    Administrator webmaster's Avatar
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    If you're going to learn Perl, you might as well learn Ruby instead.

    Scheme (or Lisp) is very cool too, but they take some getting used to. Scheme is also nice because it's useful to learn languages with different programming models; once you know one language in a given style (e.g., OO), it's usually fairly easy to pick up the second. Switching between styles is what can be difficult.

  14. #14
    pwns nooblars
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    I have found no need for Ruby thusfar. I use Perl all the time for quicky things and simple UIs and what not. And have only used Python in its Jython form.

  15. #15
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
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    I once had a professor who described Python as "Perl for humans". It's a programmer friendly language, very rich libraries, and can be executed as a script or compiled.

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