Want to learn programming

[pkmz]

I want to learn programming. I have bought a book for C++ I'm not sure if it was because I wasn't focused due to personal life things or just to hard.

What would be a good language to start off on?

I know html and css.

Thanks guys in advance,

[jelle2503]

i believe C# is one of the easier languages.. As in I even used to code (let it be on existing code), with no knowledge on the library.

[Deep3r]

C# is a more used language because it's easier and it's what most programmers use today.

I would still recommend C++. (If you're programming for Xbox 360)

[KrK]

The language you learn depends entirely on what type of software you want to produce.

If you want to be able to quickly produce applications that use GUIs, then a higher-level language such as C# or Java would be ideal. They're built around frameworks that implement commonly used functionality for developers to take advantage of (networking, image processing, etc), plus handle the vast majority of memory management for you. If the applications you're going to produce need to focused on performance, you're better off with a lower-level language such as C or C++.

Given your experience in HTML and CSS though, you might find learning PHP is more useful to you if you're looking at going into web development. PHP is syntactically similar to C++ which would help to make the jump towards application development easier in the future.

- KrK

[SpikedCola]

I'm with KrK - PHP would be an excellent stepping-stone to go between web and OS (or embedded?) programming. It all depends on what you want to do. C# is my personal favorite, and it is semi-specific to Windows programming (though there are some .NET ports/something like that I  believe). It is really easy to whip together a GUI or console app for those little projects you always have the need for.

On the other hand, if you want to do embedded programming, ANSI C is the way to go. Sure, you can start off doing 8051's in assembly, but most new chips are optimized specifically for C. Take the chip Im working with now in class, a dsPIC33FJ64MC802. Sure, you could look up the instruction set and write asm, but even the register examples in the datasheet/family manual use C.

I guess it all really depends on your end goals.