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First Programming Language

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 5:20

I wanted to get into programming, I never programmed anything before and I heard Python was a good place to start. What books should I look for, what programs should I download, and if not Python what language should I start with?

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 5:45

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 5:46

Read SICP and learn Lisp. Then read K&R and learn C (even though it's not Turing-complete). Now you're an EXPERT PROGRAMMER.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 5:55

>>1
Don't learn Python, listen to >>3, >>2 hates you.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 6:29

>>4
wtf.
Python ftw, it's simple and powerful. What do you want more?

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 6:30

>>5
THE FORCED INDENTATION OF CODE. Thread over.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 6:31

>>5
powerful
Compared to C and C++, which are LBAs. Compare it to Turing-complete languages, now.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 7:17

I would suggest learning C first then LISP.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 7:24

>>8
Wrong. C would teach you bad practices you couldn't identify. You could if you start learning in the right order.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 7:50

>>9
Learning Lisp then C will be frustrating, the other way around will be enlightening.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 7:55

>>9
The bad practices can be unlearned.
Myself I went from x86 asm to C to CL.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 8:53

>>11
Why would you choose the painful way?

>>10
Learning Lisp then C will be frustrating
You've got a point.

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 9:13

>>11
It's just how I've done it many years ago (I've known x86 asm before C and known C before CL). I actually learned some high-level languages between those too, but I don't think they're as important to mention (C#, Java, Pascal, VHDL, O'Caml, various others). Learning from the low-level to the high-level gives one a perspective about how things work closer to the hardware and then how you can abstract over that to write your regular day-to-day high-level code. (VHDL might have been worth mentioning as more low-level than assembly, however I've learned it after ML (and after C) and before CL).

Name: Anonymous 2011-03-03 10:29


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