[oclug] Easiest and most usefull language to learn?

[Greg Franks]

>>>>> "Ian" == Ian Wormsbecker <iwormsbe at nortelnetworks.com> writes:
    Ian> I would recommend C++ as a good starting language as
    Ian> well. With all the good stuff in the STL, it should be pretty
    Ian> simple to learn the basics of programming, plus you can use
    Ian> your knowledge towards becoming an expert in two very
    Ian> powerful languages: C and C++.  C and C++ are two very
    Ian> platform independent languages (as far as the standards are
    Ian> concerned) and once you learn them, you should have no
    Ian> problem picking up other languages.

    Ian> My 2 cents

    Ian> Ian

Avoid C++ like the plague as a *first* language.  The object model is
wrong, and it is filled with all sorts of idiosyncrasies like
templates, exceptions, multiple inheritence which will only trip you
up as you try to figure out these "features" (barnacles?).

If you're going to go the C-based route, start with Java.  Java has
fixed a lot of the dumb things in C and C++, and is based on a
reasonable object model.  Carleton U (sys eng) has gone this way for
its first year programming course.  I think the CS department is still
using smalltalk.

(A hint about the complexity of a programming language is the
thickness of the language reference manual.  Compare C vs C++).
-- 
   __@               Greg Franks              <|       _~@ __O 
 _`\<,_         Ottawa, Ontario, Canada        |O\   -^\<;^\<, 
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          "Where do you want to go today?"   Outside.