macOS Learn Programming?

[medievalist]

If you already know Java - how difficult is it to pick-up Objective-C ? Is that the only option for writing OS X apps with a nice GUI?

Cheers

Using Xcode and the Interface Builder you can put a gorgeous Mac OS X interface on Unix shell scripts, AppleScript, Perl scripts, Java, Objective C, Fortran . . . it doesn't matter.

 

[medievalist]

I call myself a power user, i am able to pick up things pretty quickly, and am good at learning things. I really would love to learn how to program, just so i have another skill under my belt, and maybe could get a job one summer. I am in highschool, is it to late to learn? What is the most beneficial language

Asking programmers what the best language is like asking a room of devoutly religious people what the best religion is <g>

If I were you, I'd start by fooling around with AppleScript; there's lots of information on Apple's site, you've got the AppleScript editor, and if you installed the developer's tools, you've even got AppleScript Studio. You can learn enough about programming from AppleScript to see if you're interested in going farther--you might detour to javascript, and explore using Javascript, HTML and CSS to build a couple of Widgets. You could then think about learning either Perl (which I confess I hold dear, but I'm a textual scholar--Perl was invented for folk like me) or RealBasic, or Java.

Once you're eighteen, get a hundred bucks together and join Apple's Developer organization as a student developer, then apply in spring for a scholarship to WWDC; it's a great way to learn a lot of stuff.