Okay, now, I'm by no means trying to label myself a newbie, or less forammly, a n00b, but I need some help and insight from talented, and more educated programmers, like everyone else here. I have been sitting on the idea of computer programming for a few months now. I've done my homework, and swam around a bit in the pool of programming. Now, before I get serious I want some opinions, and some suggestions. I aspire to be a general computer programmer, programming applications for that are versatile and work on many, if not all, operating systems. Naturally, this would point to Java and Python, right? Well, I don't know. When I start becoming dedicated to a language, I want it to fufill all my needs. Generally, Java doesn't do very well with execution. They kind of throw you the files, and if you don't know how to use them, the program is usless, closing off a large audience. Now, Python is what I'm more seriously considering. There are many different forms of it, and it appears to be very dedicated. There is even Py2Exe, which would solve my personal executing problem. Now, all I want is some opinions for my decision. Am I being mislead? Is Java truly better? And no, I'm not interested in C or C++, I want to work with more "open-sourced" languages. Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. And yes, I've read the "For Beginners" section on the site.

First of all, I do not program in Java or Python. I program right now in C/C++. But, I am about to get started on using Java for my school next year. So, this is what I have to say. I would lean more towards Java, because it seems for of a language then what you want. Python is a scripting language(correct me if I am wrong), and NOT a programming language. Sure, Python is simple and easy to learn, but I don't know if is suitible for you. Do you want to program Computer Applications in a company as a carear, or just as a hobby? That would really rely on the language you chooce.

That is just my 2 cents though.

Chad.

Quote:Original post by migigicoko
I want to work with more "open-sourced" languages.

I hope you realize that Java is not open source. Next to Visual Basic it's probably one of the most closed-source languages there is. Sun has complete control over the language.

Python scripts would probably work on any OS that supports Python, however once compiled it'll become platform-dependant and I'm pretty sure each OS has it's own executable format.

programwizard, C and C++ will work on all OS's only if they use cross-platform libraries, APIs and don't use endian dependant code. Plus the program would still have to be compiled on each OS.

migigicoko you might wnat to look at C# too. While it runs best on Windows, there is software like Mono that will allow it to run on Mac and Linux.

I would consider the most "open source" languages C and C++. Heck, ive made my own compiler for it, I dont see how you can get more of a "open source" language...hope that helps

Probaly be best for you to try them all out and see what you like.

There are many really beautiful languages out there you can learn!
c# (a nice language)
OCaml (I really like this one)
Haskell (a lazy purely functional language, I enjoyed learning this language.)
Clean (similar to haskell)
Vault (the safe c from microsoft)
D (another safe c)

[Sorry, I forgot to enter my password! Here you have some links.]
OCaml (I really like this one, win,linux and mac)
Haskell (a lazy purely functional language, I enjoyed learning this language.)
Clean (similar to haskell)
Vault (the safe c from microsoft)
D (another safe c)

Well, could someone direct me to a good, free, sturdy, C &/or C++ Compiler and debugger?

You could use visual C++ .net 2005 which is free for now, but I use DevC++ with mingw.