Programming question

[rootaxs]

I want to further my career by getting out of the design biz and a little bit more into programming. By heart i'm a designer and hardware geek.

The only experience i've had programming was with Pascal 7 years ago. What path would you suggest i take inorder to get back on track?

I was thinking:

C > C++ > Java

Some friends say i start simple:

VisualBasic > C > C++

While some say i should just go scripting:

Javascript/VBSCript > ASP : PHP : CGI

Any suggestions? I'm willing to learn. I just don't know what path to take. Eventually i want to become either a Database (Oracle) Administrator or Security Consultant.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

 

If you want to go the C route, many start with pascal.
And then C++, or C.
Then came java.

Learn perl

 

[rootaxs]

Do you think it's a good idea to skip C and just hit C++ straight in the eye?

 

[Moohooya]

Don't do VB then C/C++. If you do decide to do both, go the C route first. VB will lead you into bad habits that will be a nightmare under C and C++. Lean the good habits first

Moohoo

 

[Rotorvator]

Definitely not C++ as a starter language. C would probably provide you with the smoothest transition from your Pascal background, and would provide a good backbone for learning C++. Unless you plan on doing embedded development, C opportunities are really limited, IME.
OTOH, Java as a language would be much easier to learn than either of the above for the uninitiated. Plus, learning Java first would get you into the OO mindset that a lot of old C developers have a hard time getting their head around. Java is also quite similar in design and use to C++, so once Java is mastered, C++ wouldn't be too much of a leap. So, in a nutshell, I would go for:

Java->C++->(whatever the job requires )

Given your ultimate career goal, a good scripting language I would recommed at this point would be Perl. Awesome language to write in, but the syntax/flexibility can be very confusing for the uninitiated.

FTR, my linguistic history goes something like:
Fortran->C->Scheme->C++->Common Lisp->Java->Perl
(Not that I would recommend anyone else doing it this way )
Looking at that, I would say Java was the easiest to learn, Perl is favorite, and C++ most used.

HTH

 

[rootaxs]

Okay, i've narrowed it to Java, Perl and C++

I might go the J > C++ > P route instead. I think career-wise learning Java would be a good thing as well since i want to go into Oracle which seems to be quite Java-related.

Thanks for all the tips and help! Truly appreciated

 

[EmperorNero]

I recommend against going through c to get c++. the c++ books I've read and previewed, all of them recommened against learning c first since it will also give you some bad habits. with c++, you'll learn object orientation while you won't with c. if you're going to learn c++, don't bother learning c first since it will be a waste of time.

 

[GumbyInLA]

From my experiece, you can get a job being skilled in just about any languange. I know people making money writting in a variant of BASIC!!

The important thing as far as I'm concerned is to get really good at the language you pick. I happen to do most of my work in Visual Basic (don't kill me) and I know just about everthing there is about it. This is what makes me valuable compared to the thousands of others out that that only know a litte.

But, do start with an object oriented language. Getting an understaning of OOP can be difficult and is made harder by learning procedural programming first.

I think your idea of starting with Java is a good one. Learn it and learn it well.

Good luck to you.

dave.

 

[Chad]

Another vote for Java first.

 

[javathehut]

I would go for C++ first. It's by far the most complicated out the bunch, but once you get used to it, you can learn any other language with ease. Java is a joke once you have learned C++.

 

[Supergax]

I took Pascal about 6 years ago, and have started programming in C. While I dont' remember much of Pascal itself, it has helped me with C, since Pascal is a very strict programming language. About a year ago, I took a Java class and hated it, so personally I would go with C and then to either C++ or Java. The reason I say C before C++ is unless you have been programming recently, C is probably easier to start picking up than C++.

Whatever you do, don't go with Visual Basic, like said before, it's a very sloppy language that can get you into some bad habits that will really screw you up when trying to program in another language like C or Java.

 

[BFG10K]

Start with C++ but ignore the object oriented features of the language until you get familiar with the basics. Then you can learn the object oriented features, and after that you can learn Java very easily.