Please use the search box at the top right to search for "C++ or C#". This discussion has been covered fully by many members of this community (of all levels of experience and wisdom) at least a dozen times in recent months.

General summary:

There is no need to learn C as a first language. C++ is heavy and complicated. C# gets recommended from time to time as a first language. I'd vote for C#.

Quote:Original post by ejele012
I encourage you to learn C++ first, then you can move to C#. Both are Object Oriented Languages.

I would recommend that if a beginner wishes to learn a C-family language they should try the opposite approach, beginning with C# and learning C++ later if desired/required. My reasoning is as follows:

• A beginner is trying to learn both the programming process and the details of thier chosen language at the same time. As both of these can be quite difficult tasks it would be wise to minimise the complexity of the language where possible to allow the beginner to focus on the actual task of programming. C# protects the user from a lot of unneccesary details they would have to deal with in C++.


• C# allows the user to work with the excellent .NET framework which provides a lot of functionality they would otherwise have to either code themselves or use external libraries for in C++. C# therefore potentially allows the user to be more productive as they become more experienced.


• C# (while still far from ideal) is generally accepted as a much more cleanly designed language than C++.


• It's generally accepted that your first programming language is the most difficult to learn and that learning additional languages at a later stage will often be significantly easier. It therefore makes sense to tackle the difficult task of learning a first language using a relatively simple language.

Due to the reasons listed I would actually recommend a beginner not start with a language from the C family at all and to instead try Python or something like Phrogram.

I'm interested in your rationale for recommending the learning of C++ before C#.

Quote:If you want an IDE try Bloodshed Dev-Cpp, is free and you will be able to build and compile both C and C++ programs.

Dev-C++ lacks features and isn't up-to-date with modern editors. The free Visual C++ Express is by comparison an excellent and fully-featured product, but if for some reason you really don't want to use it code::blocks would be a better alternative than Dev-C++.

Quote:Although C is not Object Oriented.

Are you implying that that's a bad thing? I wouldn't recommend anyone use C (unless they're working on a specific task for which it's the best option), but not being Object Oriented isn't neccesarily a bad thing.

I would suggest, VERY STRONGLY, learning C++ as a first language (there really is not point in distinguishing C and C++ for the purposes of learning programming, as C has been pretty much replaced by C++ in virtually all areas -- and C++ basically is a glorified, upgraded version of C). It is, despite what many people claim, one of the quickest languages to learn and one of the easiest to use (until you get to advanced features and stuff). It also just happens to be by far the most common language in use in most fields of software development, from games to operating systems. C# and Java are slow running, inefficient languages with unnecessary complexities which slow the learning process and coding process as well.


[[ disclaimer: yeah, I know... I'm rather biased... sorry, this is just what experience has shown me]]

Quote:Original post by medevilenemy
[[ disclaimer: yeah, I know... I'm rather biased... sorry, this is just what experience has shown me]]

A simple look at the many topics from users having extreme difficulty with C++ should show you that your experience is actually unusual though. Yes, C++ is certainly not an unlearnable language, and there are people out there who find it relatively easy and are very comfortable working with it, but are you really comfortable 'VERY STRONGLY' recommending it as a first language to others when there are so many examples of others obviously not sharing your pain-free experience of learning the language?

Quote:C# and Java are slow running, inefficient languages with unnecessary complexities which slow the learning process and coding process as well.

That's just plain flame-bait, you should know well and good that they don't run that slowly and that no beginner is actually going to be good enough at C++ to write a program that significantly (if at all) outperforms the versions they would be able to write in either C or Java. As for unnecessary complexities that slow the coding process, I'd have to say your experience is again unusual there; most people who advocate those languages do so largely because of the increased productivity that's possible.

Quote:Original post by medevilenemy
I would suggest, VERY STRONGLY, learning C++ as a first language (there really is not point in distinguishing C and C++ for the purposes of learning programming, as C has been pretty much replaced by C++ in virtually all areas -- and C++ basically is a glorified, upgraded version of C). It is, despite what many people claim, one of the quickest languages to learn and one of the easiest to use (until you get to advanced features and stuff).

Wow, I smell someone who has never bothered to even take one of my quizes, and who really doesn't have a strong understanding of the language he is touting.

Quote:It also just happens to be by far the most common language in use in most fields of software development, from games to operating systems.

Which is no excuse for learning it first, in fact it's exactly why you SHOULDN'T learn it first, since that trend is not true. It may be used quite commonly in game development, however that is usually in conjunction with other languages (such as python or lua). Furthermore, the complexity of the language is such that most "professional" programmers barely have a clue about the expected standard behavior of the code they produce.

Quote:C# and Java are slow running, inefficient languages with unnecessary complexities which slow the learning process and coding process as well.

Wow, congratulations. You apparently haven't been paying attention to the last several years worth of language development. Java and C# run very efficiently, very closely matching and sometimes exceeding the speed of C++ applications. There are a few areas in which they are weak, however even in those areas advancements are being made that are allowing them to quickly approach the speed of execution of C++. Considering the great amount of effort that has gone INTO the languages in making sure that they represent mostly defined behavior, without having gregarious areas of undefined behavior, like C++, the extra cost of execution speed is well worth the time saved in debugging, development, and deployment.