Thread: As a Computer Science Engineering Major, is C the best language to start with?

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    As a Computer Science Engineering Major, is C the best language to start with?

    Title says it all. My friend recommended I start with C. Just wanted to double check.

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    The most important thing you can do is to learn how to program. This cannot be stressed enough. The language you are using is irrelevant, and you will touch many languages during the course of your study and career.
    Quote Originally Posted by anduril462 View Post
    Now, please, for the love of all things good and holy, think about what you're doing! Don't just run around willy-nilly, coding like a drunk two-year-old....
    Quote Originally Posted by quzah View Post
    ..... Just don't be surprised when I say you aren't using standard C anymore, and as such,are off in your own little universe that I will completely disregard.
    Warning: Some or all of my posted code may be non-standard and as such should not be used and in no case looked at.

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    In my own opinion, yes. Either 'C' or assembly, but I personally find 'C' more fun.

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    No, C is not a good language to start with. I recommend python. As a computer engineer, you should learn C too though.
    It is too clear and so it is hard to see.
    A dunce once searched for fire with a lighted lantern.
    Had he known what fire was,
    He could have cooked his rice much sooner.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sellers04 View Post
    Title says it all. My friend recommended I start with C. Just wanted to double check.
    Just to add to the confusion, I'm going to suggest that it's as good as any...

    As Andrew already pointed out it is very unlikely you'll get into a programming career without having to work with several different languages over the years.

    C is a nasty language with very few built in safeguards, you can do things horrific and wonderful with it... but mostly it will teach you to be careful with your code; good habits you can carry to other languages as you go.

    High level languages like C# and Python do a lot of baby sitting, they allow you to be somewhat wreckless and do a lot of cleaning up after you. While they do give you a good basis in programming, they don't tend to generate careful programmers or programmers who really understand what happens when code goes wrong.... they baby sit and protect you from seeing that... C doesn't.

    A secondary decision hinges upon what you're likely to encounter in specific fields of interest... Embedded devices (Microcontrollers) use C a lot... larger corporations tend to favor RAD tools like C#, where dedicated programming houses tend to favor C++. So think about where you want to work before you get too deep into a given trench.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    In my own opinion, yes. Either 'C' or assembly, but I personally find 'C' more fun.
    Assembler? (cough, spit...)

    (just kidding)

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    You've chosen to major in CSE and you're asking what your first programming language should be. Are you trolling us?

    (And wasn't LISP mandatory for everyone majoring in CS? )
    Disclaimer: This post shows my ignorance at the time of its making. I claim ownership of but not responsibility for all errors in it. Reference at your own peril.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CommonTater View Post
    Assembler? (cough, spit...)

    (just kidding)
    I recently finished a project with a PIC that had to be written in Assembly Language for extreme timing precision. It was actually very enjoyable to me!

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    Trolling you? I don't see why this is a strange question. I know i will be learning Java in my first few classes at OSU but during the summer i figured i'd try to learn C

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    I suppose the question we should put forth to you is: do you enjoy programming? I've always gotten a strange excitement when I had a reason to code something, which is why I personally enjoyed the challenges of 'C' (mentioned previously in this thread).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    I suppose the question we should put forth to you is: do you enjoy programming? I've always gotten a strange excitement when I had a reason to code something, which is why I personally enjoyed the challenges of 'C' (mentioned previously in this thread).
    Yes i do very much. I recently just made a small program for my grandfather for his method on betting for horse racing. Funny i know.. hah

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    Quote Originally Posted by sellers04 View Post
    Yes i do very much. I recently just made a small program for my grandfather for his method on betting for horse racing. Funny i know.. hah
    Perhaps funny, but also valuable. The trick to learning anything is to just keep doing it. It's difficult to think of programs to code "for practice," so grab any idea you can get and run with it.

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    C is fantastic to learn first because it is a pretty small language. There isn't a lot of extra functionality. You can learn how to program because you are given all the necessities and nothing more.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    I recently finished a project with a PIC that had to be written in Assembly Language for extreme timing precision. It was actually very enjoyable to me!
    Masochist!

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    Quote Originally Posted by \007 View Post
    C is fantastic to learn first because it is a pretty small language.
    If you view C as a "pretty small language", then that means you only use a "pretty small subset" of C.
    Right 98% of the time, and don't care about the other 3%.

    If I seem grumpy or unhelpful in reply to you, or tell you you need to demonstrate more effort before you can expect help, it is likely you deserve it. Suck it up, Buttercup, and read this, this, and this before posting again.

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