Programming Languages Path Forward
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What is going to be the predominate programming language in the new future (for GUI and 3D programming)? I have been using MFC, C++, and OpenGL but I am assuming Microsoft will quit supporting MFC in the future. I tried out C# a couple years ago. The .NET IDE wasn't up to snuff yet and I was not all that thrilled with the language but I am sure it has gotten better over the last 2 years. Then I discovered C# was just Microsofts replacement for Java so why use C# instead of Java. I also looked at Python and I really liked that language but I hate to spend alot of time converting my old code to a new language only to see it not supported in the future.
Comments welcome.
Quote:Original post by NealC
What is going to be the predominate programming language in the new future (for GUI and 3D programming)?
What is the predominant programming language of the present? If you think deeply about it, despite the prominence of C++, virtually all languages are widely employed. Which should sensitize you to the fact that a.) it's a bit of a nonsense question, and b.) it's impossible to tell which of the current generation of languages will vault to the top, if any.
Quote:Then I discovered C# was just Microsofts replacement for Java so why use C# instead of Java.
C# is not "just Microsoft's replacement for Java."
Quote:I also looked at Python and I really liked that language but I hate to spend alot of time converting my old code to a new language only to see it not supported in the future.
Python is nearly 15 years old. Why would it not be supported in the future?
You need better sources of information. Much better ones.
Well, I personally use PHP, C, and O'Caml most extensively, but I also use Lua (for scripting, shell, and standalone) and Smalltalk (the Squeak, Strongtalk, and my own implementations).
I avoid C++ like the plague because of the nonexistant template "support" and standard-library functionality that irritates how I feel things should happen. Comparitively, the C standard library works the way it looks like it should, and needs far less reference material to figure out finicky details.
I use these languages because they are what suits the job at hand, and what work best for me in those situations. Lua is easier to integrate into larger applications that Python, and I prefer its syntax; PHP is a good prototyping and basic-application authoring language which I tend to use to develop modules and prototype code before progressing to CGI C; O'Caml and Smalltalk are great high-level languages for application and algorithm development, and C... is C. It's so common and well-supported that you almost require it for anything more complicated than application development.
What'll last? C and PHP, because of how wide-spread they are. Smalltalk, because there are still crazy folk like me out there. Lua, because I don't need a community to support it; I can do that myself.
I avoid C++ like the plague because of the nonexistant template "support" and standard-library functionality that irritates how I feel things should happen. Comparitively, the C standard library works the way it looks like it should, and needs far less reference material to figure out finicky details.
I use these languages because they are what suits the job at hand, and what work best for me in those situations. Lua is easier to integrate into larger applications that Python, and I prefer its syntax; PHP is a good prototyping and basic-application authoring language which I tend to use to develop modules and prototype code before progressing to CGI C; O'Caml and Smalltalk are great high-level languages for application and algorithm development, and C... is C. It's so common and well-supported that you almost require it for anything more complicated than application development.
What'll last? C and PHP, because of how wide-spread they are. Smalltalk, because there are still crazy folk like me out there. Lua, because I don't need a community to support it; I can do that myself.
Worrying about which language is best or will reign supreme is like worrying about which gauge socket for your socket wrench is best or will reign supreme. They are each better than all the others for specific tasks. Your job as the toolmaster is to learn how to use as many as possible so you're not trying to slam a 1/4" socket onto a 3/8" bolt.
-me
-me
If anyone has an insider clue it'd be the guy that's been programming windows since 1.0:
Q. There are so many ways to write Windows programs these days. There's the API, there's MFC, and now there's .NET and Windows Forms, and in a couple years Avalon is coming out. What should I use?
A. I can't answer that question for you. The programming interface you chose must be based on many factors, including the programming resources you have, and your target audience.
However, it is very clear that the world needs to be moving in the direction of managed code, and that's where the world seems to be going. Exploring Microsoft .NET now (including learning C# and Windows Forms) puts you in an excellent position to take on WinFX (also known as Avalon) when it becomes available.
To give you a hint he does most of his stuff in C# now but sometimes still uses plain old rusty trusty C.
Q. There are so many ways to write Windows programs these days. There's the API, there's MFC, and now there's .NET and Windows Forms, and in a couple years Avalon is coming out. What should I use?
A. I can't answer that question for you. The programming interface you chose must be based on many factors, including the programming resources you have, and your target audience.
However, it is very clear that the world needs to be moving in the direction of managed code, and that's where the world seems to be going. Exploring Microsoft .NET now (including learning C# and Windows Forms) puts you in an excellent position to take on WinFX (also known as Avalon) when it becomes available.
To give you a hint he does most of his stuff in C# now but sometimes still uses plain old rusty trusty C.
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Quote:Original post by Oluseyi
C# is not "just Microsoft's replacement for Java."
You are the one who needs a better sources of information. Put the languages side by side. It is a replacement, plain and simple!
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Thanks to some of you for the information. It is appreciated. Looks like I will dig up my C# Petzold and Prosise books that I read when C# first came out. I started programming in C# when it first came out but the IDE debugger wasn't quite perfected yet and I was not impressed. I will look it over again.
For those that don't think past there noses should realize that some of us are not professional programmers. I do not have the time to learn multiple languages because my job is an engineer, not a programmer. Programming is the means that allows me to solve problems. I am proficient in Fortran, C, C++, Windows APIs, MFC, Matlab, and OpenGL which is a hell of alot more than 99% of the engineers in my field.
For those that don't think past there noses should realize that some of us are not professional programmers. I do not have the time to learn multiple languages because my job is an engineer, not a programmer. Programming is the means that allows me to solve problems. I am proficient in Fortran, C, C++, Windows APIs, MFC, Matlab, and OpenGL which is a hell of alot more than 99% of the engineers in my field.
What makes you see C# as a "replacement" for Java? I look at the languages side-by-side, and I don't see any such thing. I'm curious.
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