Programming Thread

[twocows]

This thread is for any discussion of programming or programming languages. Feel free to ask questions or share code or ideas with others here (though please put any code into Pastebin and link to it instead of simply pasting within the thread). If you want to recruit someone to work on a project, please ask them with a private message or visitor message and not here, as this thread is for discussion purposes only. Also, this thread does not include discussion of web-based languages such as HTML, PHP, etc., as discussion of these belongs in the Webmaster Discussion subforum.

I'll start off with a few recommendations for new programmers. Python and C# are two great languages that can help you understand concepts used in many languages. Python is relatively simple and should help you begin to think like a programmer. You can download Python here and find the documentation here. You should follow the documentation to get it set up, as it is a rather complex process. As for C#, it is a powerful and relatively simple language that uses syntax similar to many very popular languages. You can download it here and find documentation here. I recommend C# over Visual Basic, which many cite as an introductory language, because it uses syntax far more common in the programming world while maintaining all of the same functionality. Here are two additional documents (here and here) for C# programming, these ones documenting suggested programming style.

I also recommend that any programmer, regardless of experience, read through Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. It is especially useful for aspiring programmers, but anyone will benefit from reading it.

Finally, for those of you looking for a good editor, my favorite is Notepad++. It's lightweight and has syntax highlighting for all of the major languages and also has plugin functionality. For those looking for a full IDE, Eclipse may be more to your liking.

 

[Captain Fabio]

Only just noticed this thread.

The editor I am using is Visual Studio 2008, as I am using it for XNA Games Studios. It is a great editor, but can throw you off sometimes with the debugging, as it will say there is a problem in this place, but it is somewhere else.

I use C#, C++ and XNA (Much like C#) mostly.

 

[Rosecross]

My main editor is Visual Studio 2010, but I currently am more interested in using free and open technology so I am using Code::Blocks for my C++ development.

I highly recommend to learn C++ first for those interested in programming. It's a great multipurpose language, with low-level abilities when needed. Sure it has it's difficulties, but you can go over them easily. The tools would be the Code::Blocks IDE or the Visual C++ Express. Both are free and include a compiler so you don't have to do a big hassle to get your programs running.

I use C#, C++ and XNA (Much like C#) mostly.

What exactly do you mean? XNA is just a Framework for C#, so it's supposed to be 'like' C#. =P

I program in C++, C#, PHP (sadly, my strong field. Everyone is learning PHP this days >_>), I'm sure there is no need to mention I know HTML, CSS, and JS very well.

Anyways, I really know my way around programming so if anyone has questions I will be glad to help.

 

[Captain Fabio]

What exactly do you mean? XNA is just a Framework for C#, so it's supposed to be 'like' C#. =P

Well there you go =P
That explanation was more for people who didn't know what XNA was =]

 

[wakachamo]

Because I'm an enormous Macfag, I use the Xcode toolchain with Objective-C as the primary language. That said, every once in a while I play around with Java/Ruby/Python, etc.

If anybody has any questions regarding Mac OS X/iOS development, or their related frameworks (Foundation, Cocoa and Cocoa Touch), I'm your man.

 

[Captain Fabio]

Because I'm an enormous Macfag, I use the Xcode toolchain with Objective-C as the primary language. That said, every once in a while I play around with Java/Ruby/Python, etc.

If anybody has any questions regarding Mac OS X/iOS development, or their related frameworks (Foundation, Cocoa and Cocoa Touch), I'm your man.

Actually, I might pick your brains at some point for the Objective-C. I am converting over to the macbook pro and I would like to get a knowledge of Objective-C for app dev.

 

[mr. ck]

I am in love with Visual Studio 2010 (& 2008 for XNA)! :)
On Ubuntu I use gedit, that's all I need.

Currently programming in C# (Only for XNA) and C++ (My favourite). Even with C++, it's mostly OpenGL programming :P
I'm trying to teach myself Python, I already know Ruby and PHP and a few other languages for scripting.

At school we have to use Turbo C++ 3.0, it's so freaking old, that it doesn't even have container classes, std::cout fails, NO string class! Man!!!

 

[twocows]

My main editor is Visual Studio 2010, but I currently am more interested in using free and open technology so I am using Code::Blocks for my C++ development.

I highly recommend to learn C++ first for those interested in programming. It's a great multipurpose language, with low-level abilities when needed. Sure it has it's difficulties, but you can go over them easily. The tools would be the Code::Blocks IDE or the Visual C++ Express. Both are free and include a compiler so you don't have to do a big hassle to get your programs running.



What exactly do you mean? XNA is just a Framework for C#, so it's supposed to be 'like' C#. =P

I program in C++, C#, PHP (sadly, my strong field. Everyone is learning PHP this days >_>), I'm sure there is no need to mention I know HTML, CSS, and JS very well.

Anyways, I really know my way around programming so if anyone has questions I will be glad to help.

If you're going to recommend a low level language for beginners, C is a much better choice than C++. With C, you have to learn a lot more about how the computer actually does things. Also, it's easier later on to learn C++ than it is to go back and learn C after learning C++.

 

[Rosecross]

I would recommend Assembler for real low-level programming. ;P
C++ is not exactly low level, but it gives you that ability in case you really need it. I have never toyed with C personally, I just know it has some differences like the method it uses for dynamic memory allocation and it has no classes (main addition to C++).

 

[wakachamo]

Actually, I might pick your brains at some point for the Objective-C. I am converting over to the macbook pro and I would like to get a knowledge of Objective-C for app dev.

Sure. The language itself isn't hard to learn at all (it's a direct superset of C that adds objects), it's the frameworks themselves and the way of thinking behind them that'll get your mind working, IMO. :P Apple's got amazing docs throughout, though.

 

[twocows]

I would recommend Assembler for real low-level programming. ;P
C++ is not exactly low level, but it gives you that ability in case you really need it. I have never toyed with C personally, I just know it has some differences like the method it uses for dynamic memory allocation and it has no classes (main addition to C++).

C and C++ are quite a bit different. Learning C requires you to learn some aspects of assembly (mainly, bitwise operation and stack/heap operations), plus, as you said, it doesn't have classes.

 

[prateek203]

Is nobody interested in VB now a days? I didn't do VB.Net, but VB is cool! Yeah I know you can do it all in C# too.

 

[mr. ck]

Is nobody interested in VB now a days? I didn't do VB.Net, but VB is cool! Yeah I know you can do it all in C# too.

VB is well... It's really, a lame excuse for a programming language...

Good for beginners; that's all, but it's easy to switch to C#... And well, C / C++ really out-perform either and provide more possibilities.
There are other languages too, Java etc.

Besides C# is a GOOD language, why would you stick to VB.

 

[prateek203]

I'm not sticking to VB, infact I'm not actually programming in any language now. Very busy due to studies. And yeah I programmed a little on C# using Visual Studio 2008, it was cool. Very much like VB. Programming very much like JAVA. But I have great memories with VB, and that is very cool too. It's a great language of its time.

 

[mr. ck]

Not really... VB was nothing more than a beginner's language:
BASIC: Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

Even at it's time, C/++ and Java were still better...

They teach VB at universities to science students to teach them logic, but it has no value beyond that. When programming in languages like C++, you spend more time solving technical issues with the code than logic related problems...

 

[twocows]

Is nobody interested in VB now a days? I didn't do VB.Net, but VB is cool! Yeah I know you can do it all in C# too.

Compared to C#, there's no reason to use VB. Learning C# introduces you to syntax used by a vast number of languages. It prepares you to become a better programmer. VB uses its own weird syntax that tries to be simple. If you really want simplified syntax, Python's a better choice.

If you'd need accurate calculations, the integer part will be huge. Let's say we use long longs instead.
Multiply something like (2^37, -11) * (2^40, -13) (I know, there are better ways to do this, just a random example)... And it's already not going to work. And it is cases like this where accuracy really messes up...

But I get the idea, you could do something like this and make it work with how we store large numbers like 100! in C++ / C.

EDIT: Let's carry on our discussion in the programming thread :)

If you do it that way, then yes, but there are algorithms and such that make it less problematic. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I recognize its importance. And having to spend the time making workarounds is still infinitely better than, say, letting a SCUD missile get through your Patriot defense systems due to inaccurate timing.

 

[mr. ck]

"Oh ****!"

I hate how there are containers for dynamic arrays, strings, just nothing for floating point numbers or integers.

Would be interesting to create a class like that :)

 

[twocows]

"Oh ****!"

I hate how there are containers for dynamic arrays, strings, just nothing for floating point numbers or integers.

Would be interesting to create a class like that :)

Well, I do most of my programming in C where there aren't any classes at all.

I would love to see some sort of nice solution for the floating point problem, though.

 

[mr. ck]

I've programmed in C most of my life... Then a mix of C and C++ (I know, horrible!) Now as I'm being introduced to new things in C++, I'm liking it more...
Even though I'm moving to C#, but it's there for nothing more than XNA, for me.

If not a class, a library maybe :)

 

[twocows]

There may already be good solutions out there. I'd be interested in seeing if there are any open source projects that make it so the programmer doesn't have to worry about it as much.