General-purpose coding language

[BaconSanwich]

I was interested in learning a coding language, but I don't know which one to start off with. Which is a good, general-purpose, easy-to-learn coding language? I was thinking Python or C++, feel free to suggest others.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Got any ideas about what exactly you wanna get into? Web stuff? Creating applications? Games?

Which is a good, general-purpose

C++, you can do a hell of a lot with it.

easy-to-learn coding language

Not C++

 

[BaconSanwich]

I was heading along an electronics/mechatronics university pathway, and I thought it'd be useful to have. I might do a small bit of modding too.

In what way is it difficult to learn?

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Well specific to C++ there's a lot of syntax to learn, some of which IMO could've been named a little less confusingly
Plus if you've never programmed before you're gonna have to work on grasping the general principle of *how* to write code. Honestly most people find that part the hardest because as a beginner it's easier to use sloppy/lazy code, works for very very small programs but anything beyond will turn into a pile of spaghetti real fast.

 

[BaconSanwich]

Roughly how long do you reckon it'll take to get proficient with it if I spend 2-3 hours a week on it?

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Maybe 3-4 months? 2-3 hours a week ain't much :/

 

[BaconSanwich]

I've got about 6 months on it and I pick stuff up quickly, so I should be right.

Would learning Python be better?

 

[carnageX]

I was interested in learning a coding language, but I don't know which one to start off with. Which is a good, general-purpose, easy-to-learn coding language? I was thinking Python or C++, feel free to suggest others.

Start out with something like Python, and move to C/C++ and/or Java/C#.

I was heading along an electronics/mechatronics university pathway, and I thought it'd be useful to have. I might do a small bit of modding too.

In what way is it difficult to learn?

If you're going to be doing electronics and such, you might want to learn C and C++ because they're closer to hardware. Depending on what kind of electronics you're getting into, might also be a good idea to learn VHDL or Verilog, which is a hardware based language.

Otherwise, if you want to make desktop software (depending on what platform), you could do C++ (Windows/Linux), C# (Windows), Java (WIndows/Linux), etc. I prefer C# just because it's an improved version of Java, basically.

Roughly how long do you reckon it'll take to get proficient with it if I spend 2-3 hours a week on it?

Honestly depends on how well you can pick up concepts, logic, and syntax. Concepts and logic of programming can be the most difficult when first starting out. Syntax ends up just being a lot to memorize; but this one isn't quite as important because the compiler will give you errors if you did something wrong, or if you're not sure how to do something you can look it up online / in a book.

 

[metallicsoul92]

I would suggest learning java, it is platform independent, and soon will be just as proficient as c++. It isnt too hard to learn, you can get tutorials from youtube, or my favorite suggestion : The New Boston

 

[XGC Forsakend]

I would suggest learning java, it is platform independent, and soon will be just as proficient as c++. It isnt too hard to learn, you can get tutorials from youtube, or my favorite suggestion : The New Boston

True, but because it is a higher level language, it would make picking up lower level languages more difficult