[gameprogrammer] Re: any good??
- From: "Jason Clark" <jclark@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 20:28:08 -0600
I think that the higher level languages like Python are a wonderful
place to start as far as learning conditional statements, basic design,
and program flow. Speaking from personal experience though, their 'ease
of use' can also cause problems down the line, especially when you
change to C and you have to grasp the string is an array or char
datatypes thing, rather than just something you assign data into (In my
case it was TCL that stung me). OTOH, being able to create a tangible
program with very little background kept me excited enough that I was
willing to sit through learning about compiling, linking, etc...
After C, I learned C++, STL (Standard Template Library) gave my C++
greater strength, and Java just looked like Python to me and was very
easy to pick up. I've learned several others now (my list is no where as
long as the masters in this email group), just because I needed them for
particular job or because it looked fun to learn, but I think Bob's
previous comment is most accurate, 'Use whatever you are excited about'.
If you really want to see some results fast and have fun, try an
interpreted language like Python. It's free, there are lots of
tutorials, and a ton of people who can help along the way. Once you feel
comfortable, choose the next language, say C. Learn the best way to do
what you want to get done in that language and most importantly, have
fun with it. After a while they all blur into the same thing anyway.
Just don't get religious about languages, granted I have favorites (and
despise some), but at the end of the day, I try to use the best tool for
the job, and have fun with it. If I discounted a tool simply because
others didn't like it, I could miss out on so many cool things, new
ideas, new constructs, bragging rights (oops, did I say that out loud,
how nerdy of me), some jobs, and new ways to solve problems.
Have fun,
Jason
-----Original Message-----
From: gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gregg Bolinger
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 1:31 PM
To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: any good??
I'm not so sure I agree with the Python statements in terms of
learning how to program. But I really don't think J++ is the place to
start. Especiallly since it's not an activily developed or maintained
language. (Wonder why you got the book for $1) If you want to go the
Microsoft Java route, J# would be your best bet, but I would recommend
C# over that.
But you never really stated what you are starting? Are you just
learning how to program? Do you know any other languages?
I know a lot of people are going to disagree with this but I stand
firm behind it. If you are just going to start learning how to
program start with C. After you have the basic concepts of it and
know how to write general programs in C move to an OO language. C#,
Java, C++ (althought C++ might be a bit much depending on your skill
level).
You aren't going to find 10 people that all agree about this. Most
University programming departments don't even agree one what language
to start learning how to program in. You may just need to start
somewhere and move to other languages until something starts to click.
Really and truly, there aren't as many differences in languages as it
may appear. The syntax may look a little different, but it's all the
same concepts. Once you learn one langauge it's so simple to move to
another and pick up the basics. Whatever you do, make sure you are
having fun with it or you will lose interest.
Gregg Bolinger
On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 20:29:21 +0400, Alexander Sabourenkov
<screwdriver@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> jcool bubu wrote:
> > is Visual J++6 from the Ground Up any good for someone who is just
now
> > starting out? and i bought it for $1. is that good?
> >
>
> It depends on what you are starting out in.
>
> If it's programming, I would definitely recommend putting Java aside
and
> tinkering with Python tutorial examples and pyGame demo programs.
>
> I now find (too late I'm afraid) that Python as a language does a
really good
> job of offloading boring syntactic details and library issues off
one's head.
>
> It feels very concise. As a consequence, when writing in Python I tend
to
> think more of what I'm trying to accomplish, rather than of how to get
around
> language limitations and wade through syntactic jungles to make
something
> work. This, I feel, is even more important to a beginner.
>
> --
>
> ./lxnt
>
>
>
>
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>
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