Hello everybody. As you've probably guessed by the fact that I'm posting in the beginners section, I am a complete noob at programming. I have made an effort though, and I have learnt the basics of virtual basic 2005 express, And understand the gist of it. But I am thinking of spending my time with the c++ language instead, as the general consensus appears to be that although it is harder, in the long term it is a better place to start from, particularily in the case of game development, which is a line I wish to pursue. I have encountered a problem though, and that is which of the 'c' languages to use. This has probably been posted hundreds of times here before but I would still like an answer. However, there is another 'c' language I found on the mdn website, which is c#. This was there, presumably in the place of normal c. Am I correct in thinking this is the next version of c? Also, some general advice on which of the three c's to use wouldn't be amiss. This may seem quite a noobish question, but we've all got to learn somewhere, so I'd be very gratefull for any answers. Thanks

C# is a completely different language from C or C++ that runs on .NET. It's roughly like VB .NET with a more C-like syntax. It's not really a vesion of C in any sense.

If you want to start with either C#, C or C++ then I would suggest C# first, especially since you have a VB .NET background. Also, if your goal is to eventually use C++ then I would suggest skipping learning C entirely and go right to C++ whenever you decide to do leave the .NET languages.

thanks alot, much appreciated.

C# is a very modern programming language largely inspired by C++, with an extensive framework (libraries with functionality you can use out-of-the-box). C++ on the other hand is starting to age, but there is a lot of code available for it as it has been considered the 'standard' for high-end game development for years and still is.

C++ is compiled directly to executable code, whereas C# is compiled to byte code. It is further compiled to executable code when the application is started. This has the advantage that C# code can run on different platforms (operating systems and processors), but also that there's a (typically minor) performance penalty compared to C++. For cutting edge game development direct access to the system is preferred, for which C++ is the only option.

However, for a beginning programmer C# is an excellent choice. It's a very clean language and doesn't have many of the pitfalls C++ has. Once you master C#, it's easy to learn C++ if you really need it.

So where does plain C fit in? It's a legacy language with no bells and whisles at all. It's easy to learn but hard to use for a large project because it has little structure compared to object-oriented languages like C++ and C#, and you have to do truely everything yourself (which on the other hand makes it easy to understand because nothing happens behind your back). Anyway, you can still write pure C code in C++ as well, so except on platforms where there is no C++ compiler there's little reason to write a project in C nowadays. But it's not a bad idea though to spend a few days writing C applications so you'll learn some very fundamental programming aspects. But don't stick with it for too long or you will have learned bad habits when you enter the object-oriented world.

So my suggestion is to have a look at some C tutorials just to get the fundamental concepts, and then quickly go to C# for a clean, modern and powerful programming language. You won't need the ultimate power (and ultimate difficulty) of C++ for years so try to avoid it.

Quote:Original post by ussnewjersey4
On a side note, I disagree with what SiCrane said, that C# is a completely different language. Sure, the APIs you use differ drastically, but the syntax is very similar. When I think of a language, I think of its syntax. Other things don't matter as much, because something you can accomplish in one language can almost always be accomplished in another language. Going from C++ to C# was easy for me, while even looking at a few lines of VB code makes me want to puke.

Thinking about a language solely in terms of syntax is a flawed point of view. For example C, C++ and C# have all different, and largely incompatible, mechanisms and idioms for making sure resources don't leak in case of an error condition. Just because you understand a language's syntax doesn't mean you understand the language.