I have a few questions about programming languages
1. What are the most popular programming languages ?and why?
2. To learn C++ or C# should I learn C ? and if C necessary how much of C knowledge I need basic? intermediate? or advanced ?
3. What are applications of C++ and C# ?
For C++, I see no reason to learn C first.
I think knowing C is actually making it harder for me to learn C++ correctly.
I would suggest C# followed by C++, and C last if needed.
Note: If you really only need one; I suggest learning that one first.
Edit: I only know C well, the others only slightly.
Tim S.
"...a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are,in short, a perfect match.." Bill Bryson
1. There is a group which does a study on this using an index. Check it out here: TIOBE Software: The Coding Standards Company
2. Consider the practical case. Are you taking a course at a university? Most of them teach C at least. So you should learn it. To me C has a teaching advantage that it's fairly minimalistic, so the distance between basic and advanced is not that great. Much more important is good techniques that apply to any programming language.
3. Languages like C, C++, C# and Objective-C are so called "native languages" - the languages and tools are purposed to produce code that runs natively in the hardware and not through a VM or interpreter like many other popular languages Java, PHP, Python. Advantage is speed, efficiency. C# tends to be favoured in the Microsoft world, Objective-C in the Apple world. C++ seems to me to be "corporate neutral" of the two.
In C++ circles it's a fairly big no-no to write so-called "C-style" code in C++, so for this reason I think some people may suggest not learning C as somehow helpful in some kind of goal to write proper C++. But I think a more reasonable way of saying it is to treat them as separate languages. The original idea of C++ was to be compatible with C. The earliest versions were actually compiled with C using a preprocessor. But they each have separate standards which have taken different paths and thus have enough small differences to make them not really the same.
How can someone learn programming if he doesn't know what a pointer is?
I suggest you learning C first.
Code - functions and small libraries I use
It’s 2014 and I still use printf() for debugging.
"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. " —Harold Abelson
1. Very difficult to answer. Each language has its own features and advantages. One programming language might be better than the other depending on the context.
For example, C is better than any other language when you think of robotics, programming micro-controllers, designing drivers, etc. While VB will provide you with all ease when you consider "window programming".
2. If you absolutely don't have any knowledge about programming you might consider learning the basics of C(including structures), first.
3. Application of any language is to design solutions to problems so the applications are vast. Out of many applications, you can say, C++ is used to design games; C# for ASP.NET, etc., etc., etc.
1. Google could answer this for you. Search for TIOBE. Currently C and Java top the list.
2. No, C is not a prerequisite to either. They just have similar names (a poor decision, IMO, especially C#, which is nothing like C/C++).
3. Anything you want to do (sort of). C, C++ and C# are all "Turing complete" (as is almost any programming language you would use), meaning they are all equally capable of solving any problem that can be solved with a computer. How easy or elegant the solution is in a given language depends on what the problem you wish to solve is, and how you want/need to solve it. Each language has tasks it's good at and tasks it's not so good at.
Since you're early in your career, try lots of stuff. Find one (or more) languages you think you like, and start working with them a lot, get good at them. You may find that, as you learn more about that language, you like it less. No biggie, you can switch languages. Computer languages are much easier to learn than human languages, and picking up a second programming language is much easier than picking up the first. You already have all the problem solving skills and are familiar with basic things like branching, looping, functions, etc.
Most programmers have 1-2 languages they're really good with, and several others they use from time to time. Personally, I'm a C guy, with a side of Python for my quick scripting needs. However, I am able to work in Java, C++, PHP and Perl and JavaScript if I need to, I'm quite comfortable with assembly, and have dabbled in Erlang too. I wish I had stronger OOP and functional programming skills, but I mostly do embedded development, so in many cases, OOP & functional aren't necessary or the right choice, and I don't really need them.
Keep in mind that in the question of C vs C++, C may very well be overrepresented in a text-based search like Google. Consider the following linkOriginally Posted by anduril462
stackoverflow.com/questions/9371238/why-is-reading-lines-from-stdin-much-slower-in-c-than-python
From the URL, it looks like it is comparing C to Python. In fact, it is about C++. The URL does not allow + symbols inside them, so they are automatically filtered out for "Search Engine Friendliness"
That being said, I have read in the TIOBE description that they do make note of this and try to account for it in their index.
Very true. As a matter of fact, most universities present as first to their students C or Java.
Code - functions and small libraries I use
It’s 2014 and I still use printf() for debugging.
"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. " —Harold Abelson
Thank you guys lots of good information. I have started programming b/c I didnt want to waste my time by playing games. I think creating part of programming more fun and satisfying than playing a game.
Create your game and then play it! Feels goood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Code - functions and small libraries I use
It’s 2014 and I still use printf() for debugging.
"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. " —Harold Abelson
Does a game can be made only using C programming?Create your game and then play it! Feels goood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean simple game, like DOS game, abandonware game
If you actually read this thread, you would know the answer. You can read through my post #6 to find out. I do not answer your question directly, but it is a very simple inference.
I am going to give a direct answer (despite the fact that anduril462 gave an indirect one
I had built reversi (othello) using only C. After building it, it was very nice seeing other programmers lose to my algorithm. Well actually I was losing too, so it was a bit strange, to be beaten by your own self :P . On the other hand, my approach was not the best one.. Well I am starting telling more and that is not appropriate for the topic. For more see here (on the bottom of the page).
Code - functions and small libraries I use
It’s 2014 and I still use printf() for debugging.
"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. " —Harold Abelson
One of my favorite quotes is by the mathematician Morris Kline He says "When the concrete cases are understood, the abstractions are readily made" I live by this quote and would highly suggest If you really want to code, start with C and for the love of God stay away from JAVA.
Warning: Opinions subject to change without notice
The C Library Reference Guide
Understand the fundamentals
Then have some more fun
This post has the best advice in the thread, IMO.
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.
