Delphi or C++
I think C++ is the better choice (I didn''t know dlephi had open gl libraries), but pascal was/is a very nice language.
The answer is, of course, "it depends." If you know C++ or Delphi anyway then just pick that language -- there''s no point in making things harder for yourself. I''m a Delphi fan mind you, so my opinion might be a little biased. Here are my thoughts...
Delphi: great, productive environment. I like the language itself - the only thing it''s missing is generics/templates. For learning OpenGL, though, most of the code is the same as in C++ (well, for the actual function calls themselves). Delphi is much much quicker to compile and is more forgiving with its syntax. It has non-retarded exception handling, which is a bonus.
C++: uh, lots of people use it. It seems slightly "write only" to me -- I don''t like reading it, even though I''m totally fluent in it, because it seems that the designers took too many unnecessary shortcuts (such as "= 0" instead of an abstract keyword, which is one of the stupidest things I''ve seen beside case-sensitive programming languages). You''ll have lots of people to help you if you pick C++.
NeHe has C++ and Delphi versions for his tutorials -- bear in mind that the tutorials themselves focus on C instead of Delphi. However, there are Delphi folk out there and many non-Delphi people will be able to guess what you''re trying to achieve if you explain it well enough.
Speed is a non-issue (your final exe will run about the same speed in Delphi and C++). Size may be an issue if you use the VCL, but you don''t need to do that. Productivity is a huge win for Delphi here if you use the VCL(unless you use Borland C++ Builder, which is almost as good).
Delphi: great, productive environment. I like the language itself - the only thing it''s missing is generics/templates. For learning OpenGL, though, most of the code is the same as in C++ (well, for the actual function calls themselves). Delphi is much much quicker to compile and is more forgiving with its syntax. It has non-retarded exception handling, which is a bonus.
C++: uh, lots of people use it. It seems slightly "write only" to me -- I don''t like reading it, even though I''m totally fluent in it, because it seems that the designers took too many unnecessary shortcuts (such as "= 0" instead of an abstract keyword, which is one of the stupidest things I''ve seen beside case-sensitive programming languages). You''ll have lots of people to help you if you pick C++.
NeHe has C++ and Delphi versions for his tutorials -- bear in mind that the tutorials themselves focus on C instead of Delphi. However, there are Delphi folk out there and many non-Delphi people will be able to guess what you''re trying to achieve if you explain it well enough.
Speed is a non-issue (your final exe will run about the same speed in Delphi and C++). Size may be an issue if you use the VCL, but you don''t need to do that. Productivity is a huge win for Delphi here if you use the VCL(unless you use Borland C++ Builder, which is almost as good).
If you take Delphi seriously, I''m sure you already know that there are bindings for many of game programming tools: DelphiX for DirectX, GLScene for OpenGL and JEDI-SDL for SDL.
zgoda: Greetings from Poland 
shad0w0lf: Pls, don`t code in Delphi, most ppl code in C++. The most tutorials that you can find in the web don`t even mention the "Delphi" word. If you wanted to look at some nice code, like Unreal public source, its all C++. It will be much harder to ya to learn gamecoding using Delphi :/
My opinion may be biased as well since I`ve never liked Pascal and the derived languages but I love the clean syntax of C++
I doubt if there are any books like "Thinking in Delphi"
Just look at tutorials, code of the day on Flipcode, anything and notice what language ppl use. They have reasons
As for the "bindings"... With C++ you won`t need any.
Sometimes its critical to find some source in the net and you`re much more likely to find a C++ source. If academic papers have source code included, its C++ or just pseudocode. You don`t see too much delphi code in the net. Anyway pascal syntax style is killing me and I just can`t read that code.
shad0w0lf: Pls, don`t code in Delphi, most ppl code in C++. The most tutorials that you can find in the web don`t even mention the "Delphi" word. If you wanted to look at some nice code, like Unreal public source, its all C++. It will be much harder to ya to learn gamecoding using Delphi :/
My opinion may be biased as well since I`ve never liked Pascal and the derived languages but I love the clean syntax of C++
I doubt if there are any books like "Thinking in Delphi"
Just look at tutorials, code of the day on Flipcode, anything and notice what language ppl use. They have reasons
As for the "bindings"... With C++ you won`t need any.
Sometimes its critical to find some source in the net and you`re much more likely to find a C++ source. If academic papers have source code included, its C++ or just pseudocode. You don`t see too much delphi code in the net. Anyway pascal syntax style is killing me and I just can`t read that code.
Definately C++. From what I''ve heard of delphi, it makes me wanna 
, even though I have never tried it .
, even though I have never tried it .
If you`re just starting, pick C++ since it is gonna be easier to find a job later - actually you won`t find a gameprog job with Delphi.
But I assume that if you asked this question you are probably more familiar with Pascal and are not sure now which language to pick.
I too programmed in Pascal for 10 years but since I wanted a job in industry I chose to switch to C++ since no one shall hire you if you code DirectX or OpenGL but use Delphi. I can tell you that from my own experience. When I told somewhere "Delphi", it was like a magic word: "Oh, no, thank you, goodbye."
VladR
Avenger game
But I assume that if you asked this question you are probably more familiar with Pascal and are not sure now which language to pick.
I too programmed in Pascal for 10 years but since I wanted a job in industry I chose to switch to C++ since no one shall hire you if you code DirectX or OpenGL but use Delphi. I can tell you that from my own experience. When I told somewhere "Delphi", it was like a magic word: "Oh, no, thank you, goodbye."
VladR
Avenger game
quote:Original post by VladR
If you`re just starting, pick C++ since it is gonna be easier to find a job later - actually you won`t find a gameprog job with Delphi.
Delphi is (IMO) very good programming environment, although I would not recommend it for professional game programming. If you want make games "just for fun" or to check some AI algorythm (just for example), there should be no problem and you should''t go the same way as other people just because "everybody does it this way" if you know some language and feel comfortable with it.
And there is other side of this story. In many cases learning to program is rather a course of algorythimics. Once you get to know how to accomplish your tasks, the language you use is not so important and in many cases you just select a language that is most usable in given context. As for professional game programming it will be C++.
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