having recently obtained a laptop and the free time needed for dev work, i am now looking to start familiarising myself with the different popular languages in existence. up to now, the only programming languages i've had any experience with have been calc based ( 83+ BASIC, Quigibo's Axe, and some limited z80 asm) and i am looking to learn at least the most rudimentary concepts of java, C/C++, python, C#, perl, and action script before the end of this upcoming summer. my questions are these:

firstly, is this list feasible, and would i benefit more if it were modified to remove some of these languages or to add others?

secondly, what ubuntu compatible development environments would you recommend for these languages?

A very commendable project! Personally, I'd start with either C/C++ or Python, myself. Ubuntu has simple packages for both of those: build-essential for the former, and Python 2.x and 3.x packages for the latter. For both of them, you can just write your source code in your favorite text editor, then compile and run from a shell. There are also IDEs for both, if that's your sort of thing. Why Action Script exactly?

Mono for C#.
gedit or WingIDE for Python.
Eclipse/NetBeans for Java.
CodeBlocks for C/C++

That's what I recommend.

I recommend starting with Python or C#. If you want to start with non-OOP, go with C first.

I don't think I'd start with C# over either Python or C/C++, personally, but that's just me.

I'd personally go with Java and C first, and then moving to other languages.

action script wasn't really high on the list. i only included it because it seemed like an easy way to make simple, cross-platform games using graphics drawn by a friend of mine as sprites(we do a lot of cooperative work).

anyways, i'm a bit put off by the idea of OOP, so i guess C it shall be to begin with.

That makes sense, but I wouldn't personally recommend it as a first or second language.

That seems fair, although I would be curious for some clarification about what about OOP puts you off exactly.

Hmm, I just felt that C# really worked with me, so I started with that, but I would agree with Kerm/player Java or C(C++) should be learned first. But hey, to each their own, you never know.

Start with C first. Use gedit for everything.
's what I did/do

Why not?

C and C++ are pretty terrible languages to start with on account of their arcane compilation model and the ease with which you can unintentionally shoot yourself in the foot. You'll likely end up spending more time learning C or C++ than you will actually learning how to program.

If going for a curly-braces language I would strongly recommend C# as that is relatively idiot-proof and a very nice language to boot. Java is not quite as nice a language but has an equally low barrier to entry as C#. Python is also very beginner-friendly.

GameDev.net's wiki has an article on getting started in game development with an entire article dedicated to picking a language.

To tell the truth, I wouldn't recommend C, C++, Java, or C# as a starting language

I would say Start it small, very small. then work your way up. Computer programming is a lot different than calculator programming, and I expect you don't want to have to worry if "Stdlib0x7597.h" or "Elatoquoal.dll" happens to be missing from "System256\bootcode\0cslkjasdl\C bootcode crap folder" on your first language

Well, then, oh wise Ashbad, what would YOU suggest?

Lua http://www.lua.org/

please try to start small with something like that -- I don't think you want to dive crash course directly to C. Though, who knows, maybe you will be fine to do it straight on -- however, most good computer programmers have to start somewhere rudimentary to understand everything. Plus, Lua is fun, and you'll notice some similarities to TI BASIC, but with more power and some more difficult concepts

And, I say don't try to look for a game making engine either -- those kinda turn out to be junk when you realize you weren't really programming in the first place (gamemaker is a decent exception, but I still don't recommend it)

Whatever you do, do *NOT* start with C/C++. You're going to go in with insanely unrealistic expectations and will get frustrated very quickly with just how bloody hard everything is. Especially C - just don't do it.

I absolutely recommend Python. It is very easy, has a pretty good built in library, tons of additional libraries for anything you want. The syntax is simple and straightforward, and it requires you to have proper indentation. An ideal starting language.



If you are on Windows, C# is an excellent language with a huge, pretty well designed library, tons of documentation, and you can get one of the best IDEs of any language for free. If you aren't on Windows, though, it sucks.



Lua is a terrible language to start with. By itself you can't do much of anything. Lua is only interesting when you start embedding it, which is way out of scope for someone just starting. I would only recommend starting with Lua if you are going straight into game modding and that is the language of choice for that game.

I am too lazy to actually make my own post so instead I quote people and then don't say anything new.

I'm sorry to say I have to politely disagree you can do a lot with Lua if you just look up a few math and graphics libraries -- I've personally made many 8 bit RPGs with Lua in my heyday of newbdom. In fact, being connected in so many places with my Lua knowledge, I've been given a free trial yesterday for a 3D rendering library set completely meant for Lua via email. Okay, so maybe no making COD4, but hey, any 3D for an interpreted language is quite amazing

So, I wouldn't say it's a useless language besides its embedding while it may not have the full potential of C#, it is nonetheless a great language to learn at some point IMHO -- and it's easy enough to learn early on in life, too

I don't think I went in with any particularly "insanely unrealistic" expectations. I will grant that some concepts seem hard at first but I think it's all quite simple if you actually take the time to understand things. Note, however, that C wasn't my first dive into procedural language and I'm pretty adept at grasping things when bonked into my cranium enough times. Also note, as well, that I am an idiot born and raised

Personally, I don't see what's wrong with starting out with C if you take baby steps. In terms of the procedural structure, it's pretty much similar to any other procedural language minus the syntax nuances. In terms of pointers and memory allocation and variable scope, yeah it can get frustrating or look difficult. BUT, a good read-through of an excellent C tutorial/how-to-guide can usually clear up most of that stuff. Plus, there are plenty of nicely (or nicely enough) documented libraries to go with C that can make lots of complex aspects ridiculously easy to implement.

I agree with Tsukasa wholeheartedly, but if we were to all agree he should do Python first and then move to C/C++ and C#, I could be happy with that decision.

I will have to agree with that, for Python has anti-gravity.

Disagree all you want, but Lua is primarily for embedding and the community for it primarily revolves around that and as such it has very few built in libraries and very few additional ones compared to other languages. Heck, go to the about page on lua.org and they talk about being embeddable and being small - which are definitely two of Lua's biggest advantages but are also ones which make it a terrible standalone language. 'Tis simply truth, man.

As for 3D for an interpreted language, Python has had OpenGL bindings for years, and has things like pygame. It isn't amazing at all. And like I said, many many games embed Lua as their scripting language.



Case in point, you didn't start with C. If you are trying to learn programming *AND* learn C *AND* learn memory management, you're going to get extremely frustrated very quickly.



Because nobody does that

You need memory on the heap, you malloc it. You're done with it, you free it. You guessed wrong, you realloc it. I don't see what's so hard about that.