Too many C's

[neil9999]

Hi,

I'm looking for a programming language to learn. Basicly, i need one which can create programs that can run on their own:they don't need any special software eg. a web browser. Also,if possible I'd like to be able to edit the code with notepad.

I've heard of many different languages, like C, C+, C++, C#, Visual C etc. Which one shoulld I go for (or a different one?)

Thanks in advance for your help,

Neil

[TheBearMay]

You appear to be asking for a native code generator so let me start by asking, what's your target platform and OS? Business or personal? What is it that you want to develop? ....

Now if the question is C vs. C++, I'd go with C++. (Visual C and Visual C++ are development environments for C and C++ respectively. C# is MS's latest attempt at setting it's own C++ standard without running into licensing and other issues.)

[neil9999]

I'm using Win XP. If possible, I'd like it to work on Win 98+. I'd just like to make simple apps like calculators etc. Also, it should be able to save files at .txt files and retrieve the data off them.

Thanks for your help,

Neil

[TheBearMay]

I'd go with C++ then. It really comes down to personal choice though, a buddy of mine still codes all of his personal apps in COBOL.....

[furious70]

No reason Visual Basic wouldn't be a good choice for simple Windows apps.

[AdamGundry]

Yes there is. BASIC is an incredibly ugly language, and so are its derivatives. You would be better off with a properly structured language, such as C/C++/Pascal (Borland Delphi is excellent). In addition, if you wish to distribute your program, with VB you need to distribute the runtime DLL along with it, which is a pain.

Adam

[spufi]

Originally posted by AdamGundry
In addition, if you wish to distribute your program, with VB you need to distribute the runtime DLL along with it, which is a pain.

Adam

*cough*Java*cough* :D

[furious70]

I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you, but if the dude is looking to make a little calulator or a recipe book for someone, you can't deny he'll pick up VB and be done with the project much quicker. Making an executable out of the VB isn't any harder than writing a correct makefile, and most would argue far easier.

And did you just suggest Pascal? Maybe he should take up Latin as well?

[havik]

Originally posted by spufi
*cough*Java*cough* :D

Just one recommendation? I'd suggest either Java, VB or C++
Better yet, why not all three? Learn more that way and figure out with language best suites your needs.

[spufi]

I was more pointing to the fact that using Java to cut down on the issue of making a .exe version of something since all you really need is the class file and the java environment to run it and whatever OS you are using. Much better than using VB and trying to get it to run on an Apple. :D

[neil9999]

Hi, and thanks for all your help.

Posted by havik and adamgundry respectively:

Just one recommendation? I'd suggest either Java, VB or C++
Better yet, why not all three? Learn more that way and figure out with language best suites your needs.



Yes there is. BASIC is an incredibly ugly language, and so are its derivatives. You would be better off with a properly structured language, such as C/C++/Pascal (Borland Delphi is excellent). In addition, if you wish to distribute your program, with VB you need to distribute the runtime DLL along with it, which is a pain.


What exactly is C#? Is it an update of C++? I'm trying to run a little .cs program (see http://forums.webdeveloper.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23241) without much luck. Also, what is pascal (I thought it was some aincent mathematician:D )? Java I thought was a plugin for a webbrowser, VB I thought was an in-browser language like Javascript. And Borland Delphi - what does it do, and do you have to pay for it?

Thanks for all your help,

Neil

[spufi]

Originally posted by neil9999
What exactly is C#? Is it an update of C++? I'm trying to run a little .cs program (see http://forums.webdeveloper.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23241) without much luck. Also, what is pascal (I thought it was some aincent mathematician:D )? Java I thought was a plugin for a webbrowser, VB I thought was an in-browser language like Javascript. And Borland Delphi - what does it do, and do you have to pay for it?

Thanks for all your help,

Neil

C# is one of a number of attempts by MS to create a Java like programming language. Both of which are based at least partly off of C++, so if you know C++, both will be very easy to pick up.

Pascal is a "old" programming language. I took a class in it about 10 years ago and I frankly can't remember much of anything from it.

You need a Java plug-in just like you need a Flash plug-in when somebody uses Flash on their page. Java can be used for client side things, aka applets, but really that's just a small fraction of what it can do. On the plus side, as long as a person has the Java runtime environment on their computer, they can run your program regardless of their OS. The downside to this is that Java tends to run slower since it's not specifically designed to run in any one OS.

VB is Visual Basic. A in-browser language like Javascript from MS would be JScript.

[neil9999]

Originally posted by spufi
On the plus side, as long as a person has the Java runtime environment on their computer, they can run your program regardless of their OS.

Do any OS's come with the Java runtime environment? If yes, which?

Thanks again for all your' help.

Neil

[spufi]

I don't want to show my ignorance about all of the lawsuits against MS, but I believe Sun, the makers of Java, were tying to get it into all operating systems. Of course, MS didn't exactly play ball, aka MS made their own version of the Java Runtime Environment, JRE. If nothing else, the JRE is a free download.