[wplug] first language

[J Aaron Farr]

--- Mike Griffin <mike at dmrnetworks.com> wrote:
> My programming is pretty much limited to shell scripts, and some mild C 
> stuff, so I haven't attacked this myself yet, but I heard that python 
> was a good language to start with. It's supposed to be easy, yet 
> useful, to learn and use. Anyone have more of an  insight on this?
> 
> Mike

I do java development for work.  Sometimes I have to pick up some shell
scripting, C/C++, or who knows what, but most of it is Java.

My experience is that in the end, it doesn't really matter what language you
start with, the important part is to learn the principles behind good
programming.  Once you've got that, then you can pick up any language fairly
easily -- it's just a matter of learning the syntax and API's.

One thing I would add is that if you're going to learn Perl or C, at some point
you should also learn an Object Oriented Language like Java, Python, C++/C#. 
Then become familiar with Design Patterns [1].

Finally, the best thing you can do is to learn from others.  This is where open
source becomes really wonderful.  Learn a language and then find an interesting
project which uses that language.  Browse the code, figure out how it works. 
If possible begin to contribute via bug fixes and new code.  Open source is a
huge resource that can really help you learn how to apply a programming
language to solve real problems.  Also, pick something small to start with. 
You shouldn't start hacking the Linux kernel or Mozilla right off the bat.

I've been working with several Apache projects over the last year and it's
helped me tremendously.  Seeing how others have solved problems I've also faced
has opened my mind to new techniques and better programming.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you keep it fun and interesting.

jaaron

[1] Design Patterns:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0201633612/qid=1049213714/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/102-1769860-2157701?v=glance&s=books&n=507846


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