Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: New Prospective Programmer has Questions...

  1. #1

    New Prospective Programmer has Questions...

    ALthough I did debate on putting this in the newbies section I took a risk and placed it here. Nevertheless, I hope that one or two of you may display your opinion on the following.

    Programming - From a begginer's perspective, which language would be most suitable? Which language would be considered a modetate challenge? Which language is geared towards security and securing?

    Education - What material is out there to get someone started? Is there a reputable source that has free information. Are these 'SAMS' books effiecient? IS there a free online course?

  2. #2
    Just Another Geek
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Rotterdam, Netherlands
    Posts
    3,401
    Programming - From a begginer's perspective, which language would be most suitable?
    The name says it all: Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.
    But I found Perl real easy to start with and it's quite powerfull. Even for hardcore coders.

    Which language would be considered a modetate challenge?
    Anything (simple) Object Oriented, like perl (again ) and java

    Which language is geared towards security and securing?
    All and none. It's not the language that makes a program secure. It's the programmer.
    There are programming languages that take some of the work from the programmer and do stuff "automagicly", like memory management and variable declarations. These can help you but it can also bite you.
    Oliver's Law:
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    14
    Well in my opinion C++ is good. but the best that i know is C# with MS Visual Studio.
    There are only two things which are finite, one is the universe and the second is the human stupidity.

  4. #4
    Programming - From a begginer's perspective, which language would be most suitable?
    You won't find much on basic. It started out as... (and still is) mostly an interpreted language for eight year olds. VB is good for kids and lazy-ass slobs like me who poop out half-assed VB applications at will.
    Which language would be considered a modetate challenge?
    You mean considering they are all the same old same old in theory, in practice, in concept, in principal, and yes often similiar in syntax? After you play around with JAVA, Pascal, Perl, C++... by the time you move to .net just because you heard it was cool and everyone else is moving to it... you'll suddenly notice that, "hey isn't all this stuff I've worked with in the past just like JAVA only with various changes and additions?".
    Which language is geared towards security
    What ever language does the best bounds checking and stuff, I suppose.
    and securing?
    Uhhh... hehehe. None that I can really think of at the moment... or go back to the third quote and re-read whatever lame comments I craped out below that quoted comment intil you do loop yourself into reading intil it means something or you have a seizure.

  5. #5
    Ninja Code Monkey
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Washington State
    Posts
    1,027
    I'd recommend picking up perl as your first language. It is:
    Simple to start learning, well documented, well supported, free, cross platform, and as much as a challenge as you want to make it. You can write an assortment of things with it, from web services and web applications to bots or automation (such as pushing windows com objects with it).

    Later if you want to go into something fully compiled I'd recommend java or C#, C++ later if you're feeling spunky.
    "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." - Erasmus
    "There is no programming language, no matter how structured, that will prevent programmers from writing bad programs." - L. Flon
    "Mischief my ass, you are an unethical moron." - chsh
    Blog of X

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    813
    Originally posted here by TheSpecialist
    "hey isn't all this stuff I've worked with in the past just like JAVA"
    I'd say most things relate back to C/C++ syntax.

    One thing and one thing only that you have to keep in mind is that programming is not all about writing code. Despite the thrill I get from getting down to it and the exhilaration I have when I manage [albeit rarely these days] to whip up an error-free program from the first compile, you have to remember that programming involves finding the shortest, most efficient and elegant solution to a problem. That translates into algorithms and hacking.

    As for syntax, I myself started out with C++, went to C, a month of Perl [unfortunately just a month] and am currently studying Java. Though I'm waiting on some more C courses... I like the ability to write low-level stuff, something that Java doesn't really let you as much as C.

    I try to steer clear of .NET [MS-only] stuff, and Java, cross-platform and all, is a good thing. C is generally well supported under both win and lin, but the lack [or rather, unnecessary difficulty] of GUI for apps makes it better for support applications.

    But I wouldn't say Java is hard at all, so you could start out with that Get Java 1.5 and a book that teaches Java 1.5 and you'll be on your way in no-time!
    /\\

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    1,255
    For a beginner, I'd also go with perl. It gives you the ability to write both Procedural and Object Oriented code, and treat both as proper native code. For a beginner, this is pretty handy. It's also (as Juridian mentioned) very well documented and supported.

    If you want to consider web languages (something nobody else seems to have touched on), your three primary choices are probably going to be ASP(with a .NET language like C# or VB), PHP, or JSP. PHP would seem the simplest least cost-inducing of the three, and I like it. PHP has incredible documentation and support, as well as being cross-platform.

    Originally posted here by hypronix
    I try to steer clear of .NET [MS-only] stuff, and Java, cross-platform and all, is a good thing.
    C# can be run on non-MS boxes, and VB.NET support is coming along.
    Chris Shepherd
    The Nelson-Shepherd cutoff: The point at which you realise someone is an idiot while trying to help them.
    \"Well as far as the spelling, I speak fluently both your native languages. Do you even can try spell mine ?\" -- Failed Insult
    Is your whole family retarded, or did they just catch it from you?

  8. #8
    ALL of you excellent responses! I can't help but be amused at how each of you users has a particular preference and how everyones response correllate (or not) with one another.
    I'd like to add another twist:

    Hypthetically, say I'm a programmer student and I know a little bit about programming. What happens if I'd like a program to commit to a certain function that I know (in my mind) and can explain however don't know what the line of code is or where to put it in my program. What are my options? Do I come on to forums like these and expain my situation?

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    813
    Ideally, as a student you would have a TA to teach you. But if you mean student as in the "I'm learning this, but on my own" then what you want to do is find a good forum or IRC channel that's populated by people that work with your same chosen programming language. They would point you to the relevant functions or techniques for your particular problem, however [hopefully] they won't give you any walkthroughs. What I see with a lot of novice coders is their desire to start doing big things when they know so very little. Take the time to write the apps in the book first, understand them and make slight modifications before you move on to writing your own full apps.
    /\\

  10. #10
    hypronix - Well said.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •