C++ as a first language?

[OneNineFour]

Im on the same boat, Whats a good programming language to start from. (Not web)

[OneNineFour]

Im on the same boat, Whats a good programming language to start from. (Not web)

[Hassan]

Im on the same boat, Whats a good programming language to start from. (Not web)

C# and then C++. Best languages ever created !

[Jakob]

C# and then C++. Best languages ever created !

I proudly second this.

[Pxpc2]

I proudly second this.

Same. But would say Java as it's better to knkw java and c++ instead of 2 .NET ones.

[Fovea]

C++ is not a .NET language and the industry is quite favorable right now to people who know C#.

Also, regarding an earlier post, Java was designed around a single paradigm (OOP), only later with pressure from the community was the generic paradigm added.

[t7ancients]

I don't know much about Java. All I know is that the only reason most kids want to learn it is because of runescape private servers. They then learn how to declare a variable, and call themselves Java professionals.
Java, C#, C++. In my opinion, and from what I've seen, any of those three are best to start with. Java and C# are more closely related than C++, or that's what it looks like to me. I'd go with C++, then C# and/or Java.

[cfsharp]

I come back to this thread after a couple of months learning C++ more in-depth after being away from it for a long time. I have a new mindset about what languages should be learned first.

What I know now is that you should learn C++ first if at all possible. Because, if you master C# or VB.NET, or Java, Python, Lisp, FORTRAN, ect... you will find yourself hating many things about C++. I'd say learn C++ as a beginner language, and get all the computer science stuff (memory management and such) done learning C++ then move on to other languages. The higher level additions and changes in higher level languages are meant, i think, as a convenience rather than a advancement. Also, as a general truth, the higher level you become in a language the more abstract you become from hardware and the more difficult it becomes to manipulate lower level hardware stuff such as memory. If you're looking to write hacks, manipulating memory is a highly important part of that, and C++ or C are probably best suited to get the job done (this being why most people recommend learning C++ for hack writing).

tl;dr: I went away for a while, got more into C++, hated the extra work I had to do because i was used to conveniences in C#, should have learned C++ first.

tl;dr:tl;dr: Learn C++ first, you'll thank me later.

[t7ancients]

I come back to this thread after a couple of months learning C++ more in-depth after being away from it for a long time. I have a new mindset about what languages should be learned first.

What I know now is that you should learn C++ first if at all possible. Because, if you master C# or VB.NET, or Java, Python, Lisp, FORTRAN, ect... you will find yourself hating many things about C++. I'd say learn C++ as a beginner language, and get all the computer science stuff (memory management and such) done learning C++ then move on to other languages. The higher level additions and changes in higher level languages are meant, i think, as a convenience rather than a advancement. Also, as a general truth, the higher level you become in a language the more abstract you become from hardware and the more difficult it becomes to manipulate lower level hardware stuff such as memory. If you're looking to write hacks, manipulating memory is a highly important part of that, and C++ or C are probably best suited to get the job done (this being why most people recommend learning C++ for hack writing).

tl;dr: I went away for a while, got more into C++, hated the extra work I had to do because i was used to conveniences in C#, should have learned C++ first.

tl;dr:tl;dr: Learn C++ first, you'll thank me later.

Could not have said it better. .NET is easier because it hides all the details of what's going on underneath. If you learn Java, VB, or C# first, your skills will not translate into C/C++/Assembly as easily as they would the other way around. To really understand the way programs work, stick with C++, then I suggest C# afterward because C# is just awesome like that.

[cfsharp]

A year later and all I have to say is learn Scheme first. If you really want to understand the mathematics and programming principals go with a language like Scheme. C++ is great for a first language and all, but there's a lot of low level and boiler plate stuff that's distracting for learning real programming principals like algorithms and such. I'd really recommend picking up "Learn Python The Hard Way," or any decent book on Scheme. Once you understand principals, then move on to lower level programming with languages like C++ and Assembler. Trust me, it will make you a far better programmer in the future if you understand the underlying why and how in programming.

All this assumes you one day want a decent job in programming, if you're in it to make hacks as quickly as possible, pick up the basics of C++ and Assembler, and learn to use a debugger. Then feel free to hack away until you get something that sorta works but you don't really understand why because you Googled 60% of your code.

[Auxilium]

teh fuck? A year bump?

Either way, I don't really see how learning a language like Scheme or Python first would help later. Sure, C or C++ is low level, which could be difficult, but all the algorithms are still there. You don't have to use all the low levelness in C or C++ because unless you actually need to use low level abilities, you don't really need all of them. I don't really see how pointers arrays and references are that hard to grasp, but whatever.

Starting with a language like python is easy sure, but is likely to cause laziness and dependence instead of making stuff yourself.
I've seen project euler solutions. The Python people use 1 line of code full of built in functions, while the Assembly, C, C++, D etc have dozens of lines of code. Which is what I believe will make you a better problem solver and programmer, working through it yourself instead of using the premade functions

[cfsharp]

teh fuck? A year bump?

Either way, I don't really see how learning a language like Scheme or Python first would help later. Sure, C or C++ is low level, which could be difficult, but all the algorithms are still there. You don't have to use all the low levelness in C or C++ because unless you actually need to use low level abilities, you don't really need all of them. I don't really see how pointers arrays and references are that hard to grasp, but whatever.

Starting with a language like python is easy sure, but is likely to cause laziness and dependence instead of making stuff yourself.
I've seen project euler solutions. The Python people use 1 line of code full of built in functions, while the Assembly, C, C++, D etc have dozens of lines of code. Which is what I believe will make you a better problem solver and programmer, working through it yourself instead of using the premade functions

Sorry about they year bump. While I agree that learning high level languages can cause dependence on high level features, I think it's better to learn the basics of algorithms and data structures in a higher level language. Less lines of code doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't getting the idea. If you understand an algorithm or data structure, it's the same across the board. So why learn it in a language that distracts you with boilerplate and annoying quirks? Learn the basics in high level languages and move to low level when you need to.