Which programming route to take, advice needed.

[Motive]

hows it going guys

Recently I changed my major to computer programming after a few years of college. My goal is to be able to develop websites and create applications for mobile devices. I'm a complete beginner with no prior experience in any type of coding. I am taking courses at my school because it actually helps me to be in class learning.

My school lets you concentrate on one of four programming languages, with each having an intermediate and advanced class. I am unsure on which language would help me out the best out of the following: C++, Visual Basic, Java or C#. I know that I will need to learn objective-c, I was thinking one of the C languages would help me the most. I would also like to learn a language that is going to be here to stay for some time.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[triplefault]

Of those four languages I will suggest you focus on Java. Roughly half of all mobile devices are Android-based (Java) so that will give you some valuable experience.

Start out small - set up Eclipse and find some simple task on your computer to automate, or maybe a small text-based game you can develop and play with. Later, when you feel more confident in the language, look up some Android tutorials on the 'net and start making some mobile applications.

If you prefer Apple devices you need to know Objective-C. Learning C++ will teach you about the "environment" in which you will program (memory management, and other low-level stuff), but the languages themselves are vastly different. As a beginner you will have a much easier time learning Java and targeting Android devices, IMO.

For web development, Ruby is the big thing right now. The internet is booming with tutorials for it and it has a healthy community.

 

[jazzc]

Java - This way you 'll learn how to program in an object oriented way, which is a must nowadays. Also, Java is very strong on the enterprise field, but it 's not like "oh, I know a bit of Java -> great, here 's 200k/year"

 

[masterjani]

Learn C++ it's basic and very easy to learn. Once you learned C++ you can easily opt for Java or C#.

 

[SlimProxies]

Don't learn Objective C. Instead learn C++ or C#. After you learn these, learning new object oriented languages should be pretty easy.

 

[Italian Hawk]

Learning Java will make it real easy to switch to either of the C languages you mentioned down the road. Visual Basic has it's place for internet marketers who are lazy and don't want to learn a better more expandable language, but it's not something worth focusing on.

 

[Motive]

great info guys. I mainly want to focus on apple and android mobile development, would I need a Mac computer to be able to program apps for the App Store? Last I remember I did.

 

[SlimProxies]

great info guys. I mainly want to focus on apple and android mobile development, would I need a Mac computer to be able to program apps for the App Store? Last I remember I did.

If you want to develop for Apple and Android, you should find a cross platform IDE. I think MonoTouch is, but it ain't free. Also you will probably need a Mac, to test your apps for iOS. But you could always use Hackintosh

 

[Motive]

I'm thinking of picking up a MacBook for programming, just don't know if that's a good idea for programming overall. Does the operating system make a big difference in programming various languages?

 

[-Jericho-]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say you should first learn PHP and Javascript for websites since those are such common languages used in a variety of sites. That is if you already know html/css which is a must first.

After that I would probably learn ruby on rails. After that I would maybe go the Java route but to be honest you can do so much with PHP/JS.

I would suggest reading up on it. You can start here:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/programming-language-learn-web-programming/
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/10-Programming-Languages-You-Should-Learn-Right-Now/

 

[qrazy]

If you learn C++ you'll be able to understand other languages like Java or c# quite easily. And the competition for C++ is less in the job market because most people feel it's difficult and they choose java or C# over C++.

 

[migrashin]

C++ or Java. I learned C++ first and then Java. It was very easy to pick up after learning C++.

 

[Blackberry_11]

Choose c# ,
it is best and better for you .

 

[accelerator_dd]

If you are looking some something you can also use to get a freelance job, here are your stats from odesk:
[h=1]java Jobs[/h] - 666 were found based on your criteria

[h=1]c# Jobs[/h] - 324 were found based on your criteria