[plug] programming

[Ben New]

Hi,

I've never used python, and used very little gtk, as previously 
suggested so can't comment on those.

I'd recommend Java as it is well documented with online tutorials and 
plenty of books available, as well as being cross-platform.  Although 
some people have some issues with its 'slow-down factor' associated with 
the nature of the VM etc, I've never had any problems with that.  As 
long as you aren't planning on making full screen 3D games or anything ;-)

Other than that, C is an obvious choice for *nix platforms, being the 
language that *nices are generally developed with.  It can be rather 
cryptic though, and relies on a fair bit of knowledge of internals like 
memory addressing, etc.  (However imho it is *way* less confusing than 
C++ with its botched-up OO stuff)

Btw, these 2 languages are both taught at Murdoch in first year CS 
subjects, so someone else must agree they are good for beginners ;-)  
They are also more general-purpose than other languages, say for example 
Perl, which is mostly only used to create filters / reports.

As for the "4GL" style languages like VB where the interface is done 
with point-and-click, I personally stay away from these types of things, 
but there are kits available for Java that do that - Forte is one I think.

Ben



Adam Hewitt wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>I am very interested in learning to program but I am at a loss as to
>where to start. There seems to be hundreds of languages out there and
>without learning them all I can't mnake a judgement on which one will be
>the best to start off with. Bascially I have a few simple ideas for some
>programs I would like to work on, if it is possible for a beginner to
>jump straight into graphical programs (gtk+) then I would prefer to do
>that. I have done some work with VB and C++ a long time ago but I dont
>think I would remember enough to not have to start from scratch.
>
>Does anyone have some suggestions on where I should start, what I should
>use and information on both? I am in the process of buying a house and I
>am supporting a pregnant wife so I dont think I can justify buying books
>at this stage so any online info would be great.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Adam.
>
>_______________________________________________
>plug mailing list
>plug at plug.linux.org.au
>http://mail.plug.linux.org.au/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/plug
>
>  
>

-- 
Ben New
ben at leftclick.com.au
0407 089 890

Leftclick Software Development
http://www.leftclick.com.au/
08 9433 5380


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