What to start with?

[videoman1994]

Well I want to be able to make a career of programming either through game programming, or something along that line, so my question is what should I start with, should I go with C++ right of the bat or should I learn C then C++? Or should I go with something completely different?

[ShyguyXPC]

could start with C++, I know when I started the first year of my Computer Programming AAS degree from the local community college (only have one year finished & one semester of C++ before "life" set in & had to postpone schooling till debts paid for etc). but they pretty much start you with C++ right away, the basics & then move you up from there.

though I had a variety of languages before that, several years of BASIC & Pascal (via Mac Pascal) in High school, Junior high & even back in Elementary school (summer education programs etc, during summer break between 5th grade/6th grade & 6th/7th grades)... during first year of college I took COBOL, COBOL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia started off difficult to understand, but with in a few weeks I was flying through the class, finished it a week & half early before any of the others in my class... and passed with an A grade. I think we were using the COBOL-85 revision/version if I remember right (this was back in the 1995-1996 school year)

I've since forgotten 99% of the stuff, since with programming its something you need to keep active with, doing or practicing in order to retain the memory how to do it all LOL... let it slide for a bit & most will forget a lot of things.

But it couldn't hurt to give C a try, since C++ evolved from it, might make C++ easier to understand & program as well.

I know some others, like BASIC and/or Visual BASIC could be handy in getting your feet wet with programming to find out if it is indeed something you want to do. since from there on up, it does get more complicated depending on what your doing.

as for me, I've since grown away from the whole programming bit, & have been more lured in with the Computer Graphics Animation area of Computers... if & when I can get back to school, this is probably where I'll end up going back for... but at least I have some partial education in the programming aspect... I might decide to go back & at least finish up the first years worth of C++ though, as I think the second year was Assembly or something like that Assembly language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[theGlitch]

I am currently enrolled in a college, pursuing a computer science degree. Here (and at most other colleges in this country) they start you with JAVA and move to C. Then from there people learn whatever languages they like.

That being said, last semester I took a game design class. If you are looking to go into the programming side of game design, you need to know C# and C++. They will teach you good programming methods and set you up for the other languages an employer will request you learn.

C++ is used in DX Framework and C# is used by Microsoft for the XBox and other XNA based games.

Now, if you just want to be a programmer and maybe do game design; learn JAVA. It is the base for all new languages and will teach you how to code object orientedly. Object Oriented programming is how the industry is turning.