Which language is the best?

[Xeogears13]

Which language is the best for a beginner to learn to code in? I was looking into some C++ classes, but I couldn't find one. So I am going to have to wait untill I go to highschool (1 year) where they offer programming classes. So any recomendation would be nice.

I have experience in HTML, and Flash Actionscripting.. I know not much. :lol:

[upplepop]

For years, beginners have learned on BASIC. It's probably the easiest programming language to learn, and it's still used today!

[shadowen]

I tend to recommend that beginners start with something like VB 6 or VB.NET. VB 6 (or visual basic 6) is an object aware lanugage that is easy to learn (teaches basic programming logic, flow, structure, etc...) and pretty powerful, VB.NET (or visual basic .NET) is an object orientated language that teaches object orientation (modern languages like C++ and Java use this) and again, is easy to learn, but requires the .NET framework. Java is another high level language (a bit lower level then VB) and will also teach object orientation. my recommendation is start with VB6 or VB.NET

[fireflyrsmr]

do you have to buy a compiler or is that already on the desktop? If we write in vb 6 will it port to the pocket pc 2002?

[Peter Foot]

For the Pocket PC you can download eVB 3 free. This is a basic :wink: version of Visual Basic specific to writing for Windows CE devices. While this will offer a good starting point to get you up and running with learning the language, be aware that Microsoft is no longer actively developing eVB - it is now a legacy technology and you should at least investigate the .NET Compact Framework for which you can develop in C# or VB.NET.

That said programming in any language is all about learning the building blocks which you will fairly easily be able to apply to another language in the future.

[ebadger]

If you're serious about learning, you should buy visual studio 2003.
VS2003 will let you write VB.NET programs that will run on the desktop or on the PPC2003. Also, you can write programs that will run in an emulator. Writing apps for PPC is very simple and consistent with writing apps for desktop when using VS2003

[Peter Foot]

If you're serious about learning, you should buy visual studio 2003.
VS2003 will let you write VB.NET programs that will run on the desktop or on the PPC2003. Also, you can write programs that will run in an emulator. Writing apps for PPC is very simple and consistent with writing apps for desktop when using VS2003

Yep, if you can afford the outlay then VS2003 is a worthwhile investment. Having consistent (and rich) tools between desktop and device development is brilliant. While the .NET Compact Framework is dramatically smaller and simpler than the full .NET framework there is a lot of third-party code around to extend this. Take a look at the free libraries of code we offer at www.opennetcf.org for example. There are some useful articles to get you started if you choose this route at http://smartdevices.microsoftdev.com, and OpenNETCF.org of course :wink: