what is the "mother" of all programming languages? what i mean is if you want to learn.............?

Question

i want to learn C++ Java and Visual Basic.. where do I start?

Answer 1

I disagree with poorcocob... You don't really learn programming with interpreted languages, and I have rarely met a good programmer who started with them. Interpreted languages are good for quick, small projects precisely because they let you ignore many important issues, but it is more difficult to learn those issues later on.

I recommend C as a good starting language. It is about the lowest level high level language. For the languages you mention, C++ and Java are very much based in C, so learning C first gives you a good leg-up on learning them.

(source: 25 years as a developer, working in C, Java, C++, Lisp, Perl, Python, APL, teco, and more)

edit: Rawlyn, don't be too definite. Java, like all languages, has its strengths and weaknesses. Even VB has some excuse for existence (now my prejudice is showing). The important thing it to choose a language appropriate for a given project. The OO implementation of Java is much cleaner than C++, for some projects that is a good justification.

Answer 2

Algol is the language from which those languages arose.

Start with none of those. It's far more productive and less frustrating to use an interpreted scripting language like Python. Once you become productive in that (budget a couple of years) THEN you can start considering Java, C++ and so on. Starting with those languages is virtually a guarantee of failure because they are intended for high-performance use by experienced programmers. Interpreted scripting languages do not require compilation and are portable as well.

Answer 3

@Rawlyn
Every Language suck in their own way. All of them have stigma attached to it. Please do not make any remarks about any language in particular. If you think that C++ is the best language to be learnt. These are the negative aspects of C++

1. C++ with all its many concepts and possibilities has a steep learning curve
2. extensive use of operator overloading, function overloading and virtual functions can very quickly make C++ totally unreadable,
3. C++ introduces a comment double-maintenance issue by placing the prototype and implementation of methods in separate files (.h and .cpp)
4. Inconsistent String Use: C++ is hampered by legacy support of C standard libraries that use char* instead of the standard string class.
5. mysterious failures or randomly changing variables due to array overruns, mismatched object files, and other pointer problems
6. No memory model means that code that multithreaded code that works on one system may not work on another.
7. C++ costs developers time spent making false optimizations and finding bugs caused by mismatched alignments and platform-specific packing specifiers.

I am sure C++ code works faster but at the cost of productivity?

Cheers,
Ck
http://www.gfour.net

Answer 4

It depends on what are you planning to accomplish after learning these languages. If you are looking for software development go for C and if you are looking to try out web application development start with HTML5.

Answer 5

Start by choosing ONE of them (learning all three simultaneously would be foolish), and learn it! Search the net, go to your local library - do everything you can to gather knowledge and experience in your chosen field.

p.s. Don't learn VB or Java, they both suck in their own way.