Every since I was exposed to Actionscript in Flash and the control it gave me, I've always wanted to try out some programming. I know absolutely nothing about it though and don't know where to start. What a good language to start with for a n00b? What's the most practical one to learn as far as its application? Did any of our nerds make it over here from the old forum?
I suppose it depend on what you want to accomplish. C++ is a nice object oriented language but it takes a long time to learn and you wont be making anything visually impressive. Visual Basic is fairly simple and you can make some nice GUIs after a few hours of practice. Perl Script is the only language I ever found useful as I was able to build a lot of my own tools with it but it's not very exciting. You could use LISP to build your own AI but it's a real bitch to use and its over 50 years old. I'm guessing you'd like something that produces fast and fun results? You may want to stick with Flash. I wouldn't mind tinkering with it.
This was one of the career changes I considered. There are ALOT of software engineering jobs in the NYC metro area right now. The skills most in demand based on job searches seem to be JAVA/J2EE, C++, and .NET. I did some serious research into this, and JAVA is probably the "easiest" to learn. If you're interested you might want to check the other thread for a Demonoid invite, and look up CBTNuggets training courses. Personally, I decided looking at code all day just isn't for me.
I haven't used Flash in years, it's become bloated garage anyways. It won't be soon enough when it joins it's sister Shockwave in the old web tech graveyard. I have been told Java is easiest for beginners, but I've also been told C++ is more useful. What is .NET? Is that some Microsoft-specific type of coding?
C++ has been around longer so in that regard it's probably more useful. Java is probably more of a true object oriented language. I've never touched it. Either one might take you a year to learn. Aside from the basic programing you'll also need to know matrices and algorithms. Hows your math? It's cool if you want to learn it but it's not exactly easy. Of course some people find it very easy and maybe you are one of those people.
They are both somewhat similar. If you are really good at either you should be able to pick up the syntax of the other without too much difficulty. C++ can get more involved in tweaking for hardware and os specifications, whereas Java essentially runs inside the JVM "OS". Realistically though, hardly anybody pays Americans to code anymore. They outsource the bulk of programming to India, and then expect an American software engineer to fix/tweak/hack/ it to fit the parameters of the final project.
Best language for n00bs - could be python. Absolutely easy to pick up, good libraries (including pygame), just buy a book or two and you code in no time Most practical one because of its applications - Java and/or C# because of monumental runtime environments with dozens of technologies for almost anything you can imagine.