Thread: Absolute beginner

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    Absolute beginner

    I am and absolute beginner in fact I haven't even started yet. I have been reading every post so far and am a bit confused. I don't know where to start, I want to use C# geared toward .net.
    I have talked to 3 different people I know and been told 3 different places to start. So I want an honest opinion should I start with C, C++, or C#. I was looking at a couple distance learning courses but they want to start clear back in Visual Basic and are very broad based in curriculam with no definitive line to go afterwards.

    I need some good directional advice, so please voice your opinions and explain with pro's and con's

    Thank You
    CStalnak

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    All three will be fine but personally I am all for learning the hardest first. So with that said I would go with C++....

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    Supermassive black hole cboard_member's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chadsxe
    All three will be fine but personally I am all for learning the hardest first. So with that said I would go with C++....
    I would say that to an absolute beginner any language can be 'hard' to learn. Learning an 'easier' language such as BASIC or Pascal first will ease the learning curve when it comes to C/C++ (C# is quite similar to VB).
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    Advanced Novice linucksrox's Avatar
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    i learned a little tiny bit of QBASIC first, and then a few years later started on the c++. i think that helped because QBASIC is one of the easiest languages to understand, so you get the idea of programming and some basic concepts. from there c++ is a great way to go.
    "What are all you parallelograms doing here?" - Peter Griffin (to Joe and his wheelchair buddies)

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    The superhaterodyne twomers's Avatar
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    I learnt pascal (kind of) in school ... I don't think it did me any good (or bad) for c or c++. I dunno ... maybe that was cause I hated it and didn't study it one bit .... it's possible. but meh. either or I guess, but I think c++ is the most popular, especially in this forum, so there will be a lot of help here if you need it.

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    It's full of stars adrianxw's Avatar
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    If you really have no exposure to programming at all, an easier language like BASIC will at least get some of the concepts into your mindset. Things like variables, files and so on.

    I would not say Visual Basic is the right place though. The drag and drop makes it very easy to make quite sophisticated user interface programs without really teaching you much, because so much of what needs to be done, is done for you.

    I would suggest you consider where you want to go and start there. If your target is C programming begin there etc.

    Transferring from one language to another will always mean work.

    To go from C to C++ you will need to learn a whole new way of looking at programming, (object orientation), to get the most out of it - it is, of course, quite possible to write non OO in C++ but you lose a lot of power.

    Similarly, if you start with C++ and then move to a C environment, you will have to start doing a lot of things you have not done before because you used C++ to do these for you, the template library is a classic example.

    If I was forced to say one or the other, I'd say C++ as the real world uses of C are smaller than they were and smaller than C++, so it is a skill which is more likely to help you later.

    C# is growing in popularity, in the MS world, if that is where you want to be heading, it may be worth considering. The move from C++ to C# is not as great as that between C and C++ in my opinion.
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    Well I guess I am backwards.....I learned C++ first...then C#....

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    Supermassive black hole cboard_member's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chadsxe
    Well I guess I am backwards.....I learned C++ first...then C#....
    I sort of did the same thing. I knew much of C++ a couple year back when I started looking at C#. Now I don't give C# the time of day (.NET is one of my pet hates).
    Good class architecture is not like a Swiss Army Knife; it should be more like a well balanced throwing knife.

    - Mike McShaffry

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    semi-colon generator ChaosEngine's Avatar
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    It depends on what your goals are. If you want to become a hobbyist programmer, learn python. it's simple, powerful and does everything you'll ever need without the pain of C++.

    If you want to be a professional applications programmer, learn python for the above reasons, then learn C# or java 'cos that's what the industry wants (and if you think the industry always chooses the best language for the job, you're wrong! )

    if you want to become a professional systems programmer, learn python, then C++.

    in short, learn python. where you go from there is up to you.

    unless you want to be an embedded programmer, in which case learn C.
    Last edited by ChaosEngine; 01-16-2006 at 08:17 PM. Reason: no python on embedded platform!
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    off topic:
    in short, learn python. where you go from there is up to you.
    i fear that if he will be learning this he will not try anything else .

    on topic:
    if your goal is
    I want to use C# geared toward .net.
    then go and master C#.

    if you find yourself unsatisfied then go look for another language.

  11. #11
    semi-colon generator ChaosEngine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by what3v3r
    off topic:

    i fear that if he will be learning this he will not try anything else .
    hell yeah, I've been using python with c++ and boost.python for the last 2 months and I feel constrained everytime I go back to C++

    Quote Originally Posted by what3v3r

    on topic:
    if your goal is

    'I want to use C# geared toward .net.'
    that's not really a goal, it's a step towards a goal. what I was asking was what he wants to DO with his skills.
    "I saw a sign that said 'Drink Canada Dry', so I started"
    -- Brendan Behan

    Free Compiler: Visual C++ 2005 Express
    If you program in C++, you need Boost. You should also know how to use the Standard Library (STL). Want to make games? After reading this, I don't like WxWidgets anymore. Want to add some scripting to your App?

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    C# geared towards .net... well, learn C# then.

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    Registered User Jaqui's Avatar
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    find yourself a good book on object oriented programming PRINCIPLES, then learn C#
    the c# is an MS ba$tardized oo language. [ .net being a framework for network applications ] c# is a .net language to begin with, so learning c# is learning .net c# is also been ported to all os, as ms made ports even for linux.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Henager
    If the average user can put a CD in and boot the system and follow the prompts, he can install and use Linux. If he can't do that simple task, he doesn't need to be around technology.

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    http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/ex...p/easytolearn/

    Just as an FYI Visual C# 2005 Express is free for all who download it before 11/7/06. Also, there are (in the above link) a 16 lesson on-screen cam C# tutorials.

    I'm using those videos to learn C# myself.

  15. #15
    the hat of redundancy hat nvoigt's Avatar
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    find yourself a good book on object oriented programming PRINCIPLES, then learn C#
    Agreed.

    the c# is an MS ba$tardized oo language.
    Care to explain ?

    [ .net being a framework for network applications ]
    The .NET Framework includes a networking API the same way that other languages include a networking API. The .NET Framework is not only for networking applications, but for all kinds of applications. Save from driver development, I don't see what you cannot do with .NET.

    c# is also been ported to all os, as ms made ports even for linux.
    There is an open source effort called Mono. While in theory .NET is platform independent, it's real use seems to be Windows applications/web services. Then there is Rotor, but that's also a nice theoretic sugar coat, nothing to go productive with. I haven't heard of any attempts to get a .NET Framework equivalent running on a Mac, but I'm not a Mac guy, maybe I missed it.
    hth
    -nv

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