First class in programming

[e24ohm]

Folks:
I am taking my first programming class, which is 16 weeks long - 8 weeks of C# programming and 8 weeks of Java programming. I know nothing of programming, and not to offend anyone, but I thought Java was being phased out, but what I understand about Java - that it is cross platform compatible – is this true? I thought only mobile phones used Java.

What is the difference between Java and javascript?

After the 16 weeks, my next class is C++.

Can anyone offer help with learning programming? I have no real strong base for programming logic or anything like that.

Thank you
Jay

[e24ohm]

How does QT relate to C++?

[kavon89]

what I understand about Java - that it is cross platform compatible – is this true? I thought only mobile phones used Java.

It is cross-platform. I believe Java's mantra is "Write once, run anywhere". It's not perfect, but it is very much like that. You'll run into differences in the GUI especially if using the operating system's native theme.


What is the difference between Java and javascript?

Everything, they just happen to have similar names... they're not related at all.

[froggyswamp]

I suggest googling before posting such questions (java vs javascript and so on). Not to offend you, but what you're asking has been answered uh.. 1 million times?

[kavon89]

How does QT relate to C++?

Qt is a cross-platform library for creating user interfaces in C++ so that theoretically all one would have to do is recompile the same source code on another operating system without modifying the code.

[Niko Johnson]

If this is your first time being exposed to a programing class or language for that matter, you should really try out C instead of C# and java. not to say there not good languages, but every language is pretty much based of C and is a great backbone to know.. if you can understand C other languages are a breeze

[froggyswamp]

if you can understand C other languages are a breeze
I totally agree with you, but by this logic why not going deeper down the rabbit hole and learn assembly.

[TheBuzzSaw]

I totally agree with you, but by this logic why not going deeper down the rabbit hole and learn assembly.
Because you misinterpreted the logic. C programming teaches you everything you need to know both in principle and in syntax. Assembly goes overkill on principle (it shows you how memory is handled) and shows nothing in terms of useful syntax.

[Flimm]

Please let's not turn this into a programming language war. The OP is already enrolled in the programming class and he/she will be studying three different languages anyway.

@OP: Java is used all over the place nowadays. Google's Android will support applications written in Java, for example.

[froggyswamp]

Because you misinterpreted the logic. C programming teaches you everything you need to know both in principle and in syntax. Assembly goes overkill on principle (it shows you how memory is handled) and shows nothing in terms of useful syntax.

It's you who refuses to follow the logic. C is no less overkill for learning Java then assembly for C, and hence my question was "how much deeper". Feel free to misinterpret my words once again.

[TheBuzzSaw]

It's you who refuses to follow the logic. C is no less overkill for learning Java then assembly for C, and hence my question was "how much deeper". Feel free to misinterpret my words once again.
Compare Java side by side with C.

Compare anything side by side with assembly.

[froggyswamp]

Compare Java side by side with C.
Compare anything side by side with assembly.
Shifting the focus to comparison? Hijacking the matter of the issue isn't nice.
The matter was/is about easier learning Java. The guy told him to do some overkill and learn C, and I said why not do even more overkill and learn assembly.
Can you prove where exactly lies the boundary between reasonable and overkill?

[TheBuzzSaw]

Learning assembly requires a great deal more understanding of how computers work. C does not. Assembly is complex no matter how you slice it. C can be complex, but it is often very simple (especially for learners).

It is good to learn C if you plan on learning many languages because most languages are inspired by C syntax and design. C is like Latin in that if you understand the roots, you can pick up new languages much faster.

Assembly simply does not help here. Your attempt to say "may as well learn it all" simply does not fit here. I was programming in C when I was 12 years old. It's not that difficult to learn. I tried learning Assembly and had no idea what I was doing. I only barely picked it up in a recent college course on computer architecture.

When you understand both, yeah, it's easy to see how C converts to Assembly through the compiler, but learning C by itself can be achieved with far less understanding of memory management.

[froggyswamp]

Un/fortunately I know what C and assembly do and how they relate to each other and to Java, that's not the question.
The issue was - is suggesting to learn C first to make for an easier Java learning an overkill or not, to which I'm saying rather than shifting the beginner's focus from Java to a lower level language you're in essence suggesting doing overkill in time and resources investment for a an easier future learning. Hence I ask again, how much can you shift user's focus from what he wants and how do you prove it's reasonable? The answer is obvious - suggesting to learn another language is in essence overkill to which (only) a few beginners would agree usually in case they're about to learn C anyway.

[cprofitt]

Folks:
I am taking my first programming class, which is 16 weeks long - 8 weeks of C# programming and 8 weeks of Java programming. I know nothing of programming, and not to offend anyone, but I thought Java was being phased out, but what I understand about Java - that it is cross platform compatible – is this true? I thought only mobile phones used Java.

What is the difference between Java and javascript?

After the 16 weeks, my next class is C++.

Can anyone offer help with learning programming? I have no real strong base for programming logic or anything like that.

Thank you
Jay

This is just my opinion...

Java is a cross-platform, now open source, programming language. It is still very widely used.

C# is a Microsoft implementation of Java (at least in principal) and was the result of Microsoft being sued by Sun. (http://www.jameskovacs.com/blog/CNETHistoryLesson.aspx)

So you should be able to carry a great deal of 'style' between the two - though there will be differences in what you 'include' and some syntax differences as well.

As you program in these languages... just learn the 'basics' of programming along the way -- do not get totally caught up in the 'syntax' of the language.

[korvirlol]

Un/fortunately I know what C and assembly do and how they relate to each other and to Java, that's not the question.
The issue was - is suggesting to learn C first to make for an easier Java learning an overkill or not, to which I'm saying rather than shifting the beginner's focus from Java to a lower level language you're in essence suggesting doing overkill in time and resources investment for a an easier future learning. Hence I ask again, how much can you shift user's focus from what he wants and how do you prove it's reasonable? The answer is obvious - suggesting to learn another language is in essence overkill to which (only) a few beginners would agree usually in case they're about to learn C anyway.


When learning new programming languages c is a good start point, this is because the syntax in C is arguably the most low level of all the high level programming languages (malloc vs new, etc).

Learning assembly prior to other languages as a beginner is not lucrative. However, learning and understanding assembly as you get to be a more experience programmer is (imo) quite essential. I think this is the point buzzsaw is trying to make.

No need to be an e-bully bro.