3 ms·

C# or Java because they are easy on beginners.

nostrademons 17y ago
C# and Java are easy on beginners? I'd start with Python, Scheme or JavaScript. Python's syntax is closest to English, the language is nice and consistent, there's an interactive interpreter, and there're a lot of libraries for things you might want to do out of the box. Scheme's syntax is weird but simple, there're very few core concepts you have to learn, and it'll teach you core computer science better than many of the other alternatives. JavaScript lets you do cool things right away, the language is small, and there's an interpreter built into every web browser. If you use FireBug you've even got a semi-decent debugger at your fingertips.
- hga 17y ago
  Agree with nostrademons: you want a reasonably simple and minimally regular multi-paradigm language with an interpreter that is a good fit for a problem domain you're interested in. Based on the domain, you're unlikely to go wrong with any of the three languages and ecosystems he's suggested (granted, to a great extent JavaScript is a Scheme with an Algol family face). C# and Java are not interpreted and have complicated syntax, pretty much see things in an OO way---all in all their friction is high and there's a lot you have to learn before you can really start doing things.
martinp 17y ago
C# and Java enforces too many OO concepts to be a good choice for beginners. Start with something easy like Python or Perl.
- gte910h 17y ago
  I know my college's insistance on java as the first language that people learned (at first course 1 was psudocode, course 2 was java) put tons of people off. (This was a decade ago). When they switched to scheme and python, people took it much better (especially media centric python). http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/cs1315 http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/cs1315 If you wish to follow along in their intro course.
gte910h 17y ago
Perhaps compared to C or C++. Compared to almost any other modern language, they're pretty painful with all the boilerplate and copy pasting a newbie will have to do.

C# and Java are easy on beginners? I'd start with Python, Scheme or JavaScript. Python's syntax is closest to English, the language is nice and consistent, there's an interactive interpreter, and there're a lot of libraries for things you might want to do out of the box. Scheme's syntax is weird but simple, there're very few core concepts you have to learn, and it'll teach you core computer science better than many of the other alternatives. JavaScript lets you do cool things right away, the language is small, and there's an interpreter built into every web browser. If you use FireBug you've even got a semi-decent debugger at your fingertips.

hga 17y ago
Agree with nostrademons: you want a reasonably simple and minimally regular multi-paradigm language with an interpreter that is a good fit for a problem domain you're interested in. Based on the domain, you're unlikely to go wrong with any of the three languages and ecosystems he's suggested (granted, to a great extent JavaScript is a Scheme with an Algol family face). C# and Java are not interpreted and have complicated syntax, pretty much see things in an OO way---all in all their friction is high and there's a lot you have to learn before you can really start doing things.

martinp 17y ago

C# and Java enforces too many OO concepts to be a good choice for beginners. Start with something easy like Python or Perl.

gte910h 17y ago
I know my college's insistance on java as the first language that people learned (at first course 1 was psudocode, course 2 was java) put tons of people off. (This was a decade ago). When they switched to scheme and python, people took it much better (especially media centric python). http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/cs1315 http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/cs1315 If you wish to follow along in their intro course.

gte910h 17y ago

Perhaps compared to C or C++. Compared to almost any other modern language, they're pretty painful with all the boilerplate and copy pasting a newbie will have to do.