What is a good programming language to start with?

Question

i have no prior knowledge of programming and i figure i should try learning c++ or BASIC because im taking intro to c++/BASIC at school next year. Im thinking BASIC would be a better place to start but im not sure.
I tried downloading some ebooks on c++ (one of the books was C++ For Dummies, 5th Edition and a bunch of others with bittorrent) and most of them had wrong sample coding that caused the compiler to come up with an error

so what would be good to start with and what would be a good book/website to use to learn it

Answer 1

they're different languages...basic is simpler

Answer 2

C, Java, and C++ are almost essential for most programming fields. The concepts you'll learn in those languages will give you a solid and flexible foundation. Do not try to learn a language using a "Dummies" book. It won't go far enough in depth. You'll want to take a course or 4 at a community college or something and augment that with books and tutorials. Programming is not something you just buy a book for and learn for fun - at least not if you're serious about using it and being good at it.

Whatever you do, don't let anyone tell you to start with a scripting language. They are rarely as robust and object oriented and if you start there then have to learn something real (like C) then you've got a lot farther to go. If you start with C, then scripting languages aren't so hard.

Answer 3

Do not start with PERL.
PERL is great and I love it but it is so flexible that it can hurt you if you are starting.

C++ would be my bet.

Do not get those dummies books or "bible" books, you do need some structured class from a college or course.

But once you get the fundamentals then adapting to different languages becomes easier.

If you are interested in JAVA you can go to the SUN web site and they have a good tutorial.

But trust me practice makes perfect and at least in my experience only way to learn is by trial and error and a good reference book for commands.

Answer 4

I think there is a lot to be said for learning a scripting language, which is as powerful as C++ but easier to program and almost as fast. Examples include Ruby, Python and PHP.

If you find you are working on projects that need faster computation -- most don't -- then by all means proceed on to C++. Otherwise, enjoy the increased efficiency of your own time with the more flexible languages.

Answer 5

C language is the most fundamental language where you can learn to create real constructs of programming. C is good language to develope logic also.
C is the foundation for C++, Java, C#, VC
you can start learnig C by reading tutorials at
http://www.braindumpindia.com

Answer 6

Here's a free starting tutorial on C++
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html#c++tutorial

Here's another one for Qbasic
http://svatopluk.com/qbtutor/index.htm

You won't learn it all in a day, but hopefully you'll get a head start for next year. If you need to, you can find many more tutorials by searching Google with the key words: beginners programming tutorial. Good luck!

Answer 7

if you study c++ be persistant, do use sample coding first you understand the concept and do a bit of coding, after you can start reading codes of others, try to do it yourself, by the way java/python/ruby are all good. python and ruby are good scripting languages

Answer 8

I think a fantastic place to start would be a scripting language. Some scripting languages are perl, php, and python. Theres very many more, i would prolly start with perl. Should be a little easier to learn.

Pick up the O'reily book on perl, it has a camal on it. Should work.

Answer 9

Javasript is easy and free to learn, very useful for webpages, but not very powerful. If you can handle c++ as a first language, thats cool but... Ouch, C++ is not easy.

Answer 10

Start with Python or Pearl or C.

Answer 11

learn an object oriented language like java first