macOS Calling all programmers!!!

[Cromulent]

In my opinion (again, remember the opinion saying), Java is not the way to start out.. or finish for that matter. Java is dying a slow death and is becoming increasingly irrelevant. The multi-platform idea is nice, but it is so difficult to create a Java application that rivals what you can do when you use a native platform to a particular OS.

It depends what field you are in. In finance Java seems to be the language to use.

I started out in C and am glad I did. So many languages are based off it that if you have a relatively simple understanding of it then you can find it much easier to pick up other languages as you go. Using an IDE, while faster also slows down your learning. Start out using the command line tools you'll learn more that way.

Oh and 'The Unix Programming Environment' although over 20 years old is still relevant for Mac OS X programming and a damn good book at that .

Edit : Python is a very nice language to learn as well. Very clean and concise. OO as well which helps.

 

[SC68Cal]

IDEs were never made for people just starting out. They literally just get in the way. I never liked them and I never had the luxury to stay with one language long enough to get comfortable in one IDE.

 

[darkwing]

It depends what field you are in. In finance Java seems to be the language to use.

This may be true. One of our Java guys worked at a financial company and did Java development there. I think my stock returns were higher than theirs percentage wise the last 2 years, though. Must be the C. I was wrong about AAPL though. I honestly thought it'd be $40 by now. I didn't put my money where my mouth is, so I guess it's a good thing.

And as for the post about IDEs, I tend to agree. However, it sounds like the OP is a beginner and I figure he might not want to muck around in terminal. Also, he'll ultimately want to use a debugger and learning text-based gdb is even worse. I agree with you, though.

 

[sushi]

It depends what field you are in.

This is so true.

My buddy who does Excel Macros received about a 150 grand bonus last year!

Note, he is very proficient with a few programming languages, but his job is doing Macros. Go figure. Anyway, he is not complaining.

 

[Krevnik]

IDEs were never made for people just starting out. They literally just get in the way. I never liked them and I never had the luxury to stay with one language long enough to get comfortable in one IDE.

That just says the IDE is isn't doing its job... The IDE was supposed to streamline the whole job of programming by bringing all the tools under one roof. If it can't help people starting out, it fails in its goal.

 

[Cromulent]

That just says the IDE is isn't doing its job... The IDE was supposed to streamline the whole job of programming by bringing all the tools under one roof. If it can't help people starting out, it fails in its goal.

True. But it also stops you learning about the build process. There is something to be said for learning some things the hard way. IDEs hide a lot of what is going on and that knowledge can be vital as you become more proficient.

 

[SC68Cal]

That just says the IDE is isn't doing its job... The IDE was supposed to streamline the whole job of programming by bringing all the tools under one roof. If it can't help people starting out, it fails in its goal.

This is true, but I'm speaking from people who are literally, just starting out programming. People who don't even know what "compiling" does. There is a bit of knowledge that the IDE expects you to already know.