Thread: Computer Science Language choice help!

I am a computer science major in college in my second year. I am having trouble deciding what is the most beneficial language to specify in, I learned java freshman year and also learned C++ in high school. I have a mac as well as a PC i can program on both but i want to know what the recommendations are as far as programming for each language is. I know C++ is a good language for some things but i know its not as effective as maybe something like java. I obviously am not a specialist which is why i am posting here.

Please let me know your feedback i would like to program Iphone apps, maybe Mac Apps, or android apps. These are just a few ideas im looking to pick up a textbook specific in a language to learn a little more specifically then class is teaching here.



Thank you guys


also this is my first post so if i did something wrong please let me know, i am new to this forum thank you.

Well first off C++ is always more effective then Java. The only reason we have Java is first it is independent of operating system(s) and second they have business logic that makes it sound more appealing to owners i.e. better marketing strategy.

Don't get me wrong Java is a fun language to fool around with, but it isn't as powerful for web development as PHP and for desktop languages it isn't nearly as powerful as C, or C++.

I would shoot at C if I was you.

I'd choose C++. Java has some strange features (like interfaces, prohibition of multiple inheritance, standalone procedures etc.). Contrary to this, C++ is a multiparadigm language, i.e. code as you want, but pay for abuse of this freedom. With C++ you'll be in touch with modern programming techniques. I've got familiar with Java in some days without any special training, just started coding and all. Java's syntax is very similar to C++.

Agreed.

I also recommend C/C++.

However, Java does come packaged with numerous useful libraries, some of which you would have to include yourself in C/C++ by either finding them or writing them yourself. Also, if you're in academia then Java is generally the most popular language there, from what I've seen.

Best of luck on finding a language that suits you well.

Maybe someday there will be a language better than both C/C++ and Java in all respects. In the mean time C/C++ is probably the most powerful overall.

I'd rather choose C/C++
it's simple or complex ugly or beautiful all depends on you

I started with C, then learned Python. I suggest learning Python if you need to brush up on your algorithm/logic since it's not so pesky about the semi-colons.

Most people seem to choose C/C++, yes, I choose them too,but a little Java/.net programming experience is helpful.

I am a freshman here and this is my first post. I am learning computer science in China, I want to practice English communication here, may anybody help me?

Any language is not best for every thing.

Like if you want to create software for embedded systems then C is better and if you want to create software for windows Visual basic is better.

So it's always a good idea to learn the concept of programming and have a good practice in some all popular Programming languages like:

C , C++ , java , visual basics , python , PHP and Assembly etc.

And I think it's always good to have perfection in Assembly , C and Visual Basic.

I would choose Java or C# because it has good economical value. Most enterprise applications are programmed by Java or C#. I would proceed with Java Enterprise Edition and also C++. Low level programming is good with C or C++ which concerns speed over efficient of implementing.

It all depends on you. It is not the language that makes a program elegant and well structured.
It's the designer and the coder. End of story.

I am presently learning Javascript and C# and I am horrified by the examples given sometimes. I saw much nicer and elegant programs in Basic (yes) or Fortran. Languages come like fashion. There was the fashion of Fortran in the early 80s, then came COBOL, there was the LISP for AI. Then, in the late 80's, everyone was talking about Pascal and Delphi. Then came C, C++, VB fashion (remember the 90's...).
Now, if you want to be in, you need to know Java or C#... Fine, learn that. Python seems to be seriously growing as well.
But don't forget to think before coding. A lot of my programs are on paper before being coded.

About apps on Mac and iPhone, if you want to program games, I seriously invite you to download Unity3D. Extremely nice application. And you will have a platform for learning C# or Javascript.

Choose JAVA ! You'll learn it third year. You'll have advantage, may be some difficulties with the libraries...

Originally Posted by Fmp2491

I am a computer science major in college in my second year. I am having trouble deciding what is the most beneficial language to specify in, I learned java freshman year and also learned C++ in high school. I have a mac as well as a PC i can program on both but i want to know what the recommendations are as far as programming for each language is. I know C++ is a good language for some things but i know its not as effective as maybe something like java. I obviously am not a specialist which is why i am posting here.

Please let me know your feedback i would like to program Iphone apps, maybe Mac Apps, or android apps. These are just a few ideas im looking to pick up a textbook specific in a language to learn a little more specifically then class is teaching here.



Thank you guys


also this is my first post so if i did something wrong please let me know, i am new to this forum thank you.

Originally Posted by Fmp2491

I am a computer science major in college in my second year. I am having trouble deciding what is the most beneficial language to specify in, I learned java freshman year and also learned C++ in high school. I have a mac as well as a PC i can program on both but i want to know what the recommendations are as far as programming for each language is. I know C++ is a good language for some things but i know its not as effective as maybe something like java. I obviously am not a specialist which is why i am posting here.

Please let me know your feedback i would like to program Iphone apps, maybe Mac Apps, or android apps. These are just a few ideas im looking to pick up a textbook specific in a language to learn a little more specifically then class is teaching here.



Thank you guys


also this is my first post so if i did something wrong please let me know, i am new to this forum thank you.

Since C++ is base of all the languages so one should start their base with c++ but for writing iphone application i think you should go with java since it is more advanced and effective than c++ and large companies always prefer java.

The C++ standard template libraries cover nearly everything covered by the Java libraries. The upcoming C++0x standard (still in the works, but already supported by several major compilers) cover a lot more.

If you really want to be a computer scientist, my recommendation is learn every language you can and as wide of a variety as possible. Look in to some esoteric languages. Once you learn a few, you'll be able to pick up a new language with ease, whenever you need to.

If you need one language to learn concepts in, I'd recommend C++ for basic concepts, but for more advanced concepts (probably 4th year stuff really) certain languages will be more appropriate for certain things.

While Java is good (now, I hated it before 6.0) I wouldn't recommend it for learning beyond the very, very basic concepts. It hides several things (pointers and memory) that can be important later. It's much easier to move from C++ to Java, than Java to C++.

Also, don't use C, unless you're just trying it out to learn something new. You can do literally everything you can do in C in C++ and usually you can do it much more cleanly and understandably.

As an aside, if you want a lot of interesting languages to play with, try writing one of these: http://esolangs.org/wiki/Popular_problem in one of these: http://esolangs.org/wiki/Category:Implemented

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Depends on what you want to do in your career and what you want to accomplish.

Each language has it's place, that is why they exist. Java is extremely portable, C++ is very powerful and fast.

If you want to be employable the best solution is to learn solid programming skills (loops, conditionals, structures, data types), develop clean readable code (commenting, variables, documentation), and have a good understanding of common algorithms. All these skills are portable to any language. This make learning new languages a lot easier since it reduces it mostly syntax. These habits help you get hired since you will often be working with others and the more readable the code you produce the easier it is to explain it to someone else. Obscure code will result in you being stuck in an area long after it has become challenging or fun since you will be the only one that understands the code.

The other skill to pick up is don't use a hammer for every task. :-D Use the appropriate language for the appropriate task. C++ will get employed, C# and Java will allow you to branch out. Then watch the job ads for what people want in the area you want to get into. Even if you are not looking for a new place to work it will tell you what skills you need to have if you wanted or if you had to seek a new job.

No one language is better then another language. However, certain languages are more effective then other languages when performing certain tasks.

When it comes to computer science, it helps a lot to be well read. My suggestion is that you should be well versed in all the standard, commonly used languages. I don't mean that you should know every tiny detail about those languages. Just know enough that when something warrants the use of those languages, you should be able to accomplish the trivial, and nontrivial after some study.

Comparing languages is really like comparing oranges to apples. You choose your language based on your goals. If you are on a short deadline, and you need to rapidly create a prototype of something, you should opt for a rapid application development language such as C#/VB/Python. These languages trade flexibility for development time. They provide garbage collection so you don't have to invest a considerable amount of your limited time budget on memory management (in nontrivial projects, it can take literally weeks to find memory related bugs).

However when speed is of a necessity, the notion of doing things in an interpreted language such as python is silly. You not only want your code to be natively executable for the most rapid execution, you also want the greater degree of freedom lower level languages offer for the maximum optimization of execution time.

So my suggestion: Be well read. When I want to check something quickly, I pop the python interpreter. If I want to show something cool to my math teacher, it'll be a Java applet. If I want to make something that has a nice user interface but doesn't need to run fast, I use C#/VB.net. If something needs to look nice AND run fast, I use a C#/VB front end and a back end written in C/C++/inline assembler.

Originally Posted by Goddard

Well first off C++ is always more effective then Java. The only reason we have Java is first it is independent of operating system(s) and second they have business logic that makes it sound more appealing to owners i.e. better marketing strategy.

Don't get me wrong Java is a fun language to fool around with, but it isn't as powerful for web development as PHP and for desktop languages it isn't nearly as powerful as C, or C++.

I would shoot at C if I was you.

Dido