I would like to learn programming on my PC and would like to know what a common programming language would be for a common desktop PC and what kind of programs could be written with that language.
2006-09-24 22:43:18 · 15 answers · asked by klystronic 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Programming & Design
If you are doing this just for fun and not looking to become marketable the best and I think the most straight forward is Visual Basic. While some people believe this is an old language and you are wasting your time they are not looking at it from just starting to learn programming.
There is very little you can't do with it once you learn it.
The nice thing about it is you can go to the Microsoft web site and download the design application for free.
It is called Visual Basic - Express. There are many items included that will get you started. There are several sample programs includeing a screensaver program that you can play with that will display any RSS feed you would like while the saver is running. Changeing the program to go to the RSS feed you want will teach you quite a bit in and of itself.
It is easy compared to C, C++, or just about any other script language. But remember this. Learning any computer language is just like learning a foreign language. You will only be as good at it in relation to how well you study it. So for getting your feet wet it is a great place to start.
There are a lot more programs out there than most people know that have been written in this language. You are limited by only two things. Your knowledge of the language and your imagination.
If you are looking for something that will get down to the bits and bytes or something that you could use in hacking, this would not be it. It is an old language. One step up from basic but a very big step. And the development package is free to download.
Check it out. You will like it.
2006-09-26 08:07:31 · answer #1 · answered by John B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Serious software is written in C++, but that does not make it a good place to start. C++ programmers are very contemptuous of Visual Basic, but that does not make VB a bad place to start.
You can start writing VB from inside Excel on your PC, but you should get a simple book about it from your local computer store first, because the VB online help is useless for a beginner. The book will have some simple example programs to start with.
Moving on from VB to C and C++ should be easy after a while. Starting with C++ would be crazy. Starting with C is possible, but slower - I think it would take a lot longer before you could write a useful program.
The main difference between programming languages is their DATA TYPES. VB has all the types you need, plus VARIANT which is asking for trouble - you should avoid it until you have mastered everything else. C has no TEXT type, so you have to contrive it out of other types, which is easy but bulky; and C has an ADDRESS_OF type, which will blow your mind at first. C++ has OBJECTS and CLASSES, which are so useful that they let you write code that you can't understand five minutes later. So, not a good place to start.
2006-09-25 07:17:59 · answer #2 · answered by bh8153 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
C is the common programming language, if you know c you can get the logic for all languages. You can write any type of programs using c.
2006-09-25 05:48:15 · answer #3 · answered by Venkat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
BASIC is a good start to learn programming basics (no pun intended!).
For more serious stuff C/C++ are the ones to learn.
Java is pretty cool and is very C like. Take a look at java.sun.com for tutorials, you can even download a Development Kit (J2SE SDK) to get you started writing code.
:)
2006-09-25 06:20:08 · answer #4 · answered by sprite 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1957 - FORTRAN
1958 - ALGOL
1959 - LISP
1960 - COBOL
1962 - SIMULA
1964 - BASIC
1966 - ISWIM
1970 - PROLOG
1972 - C
1975 - PASCAL
1975 - SCHEME
1977 - OPS5
1978 - CSP
1978 - FP
1980 - dBASE ll
1983 - SMALLTALK 80
1983 - ADA
1983 - PARLOG
1984 - STANDARD ML
1986 - C++
1986 - CLP (R)
1986 - EIFFEL
1988 - CLOS
1988 - MATHEMATICA
1988 - OBERON
1990 - HASKELL
with these languages anything is possible
2006-09-25 06:01:30 · answer #5 · answered by yahbonez 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't touch any form of BASIC. Learn C/C++. You can write any program in this - most professional software is written in C/C++.
BASIC is a child's toy and not worth wasting your time on.
Rawlyn.
2006-09-25 05:50:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Learn 'C' and datastructure.. it will be useful for programming in all language...
later you can move to Object oriented programming c++ or Java
2006-09-25 05:47:47 · answer #7 · answered by Sunil Patel 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try to learn visual basic ... you can make a good programs with, or Visual C++ ... beside Java in which you can make programs for any platform , not only windows
2006-09-25 06:19:27 · answer #8 · answered by Luay14 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go with 'C'. If u undertstand the logic. U can learn any other languages easily
2006-09-25 06:10:32 · answer #9 · answered by smartsuman2k1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is a language called Ruby which is very easy to grasp and quite powerful have a try you will not waste your time
2006-09-25 06:19:26 · answer #10 · answered by ajk1139 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋