OT - Any Fellow Programmers in here?

[Leor_77]

Man, I've spent quite some time in LG and LN...Nice to be back on realgm for a little bit!

Anyway, I've been spending the past 10 months learning different languages, and have concentrated on C++ for about the last 6 months. I really love it, and am learning and enjoying coding quite a lot.

The only thing is that I feel like learning a lot more languages...C#, Java (would love to get into Android OS), ASP.NET(C#), PHP, Python, etc. I feel like I want to consume them all. The only problem is that when I switch between different languages, I sometimes get confused. I'm not sure whether I should just stick to C++ for the foreseeable future, or whether I should try to expand a little bit more...Maybe it's just growing pains.

Anyway, I would love to hear from some fellow coders.

[Frantik]

It all depends onyour interests / what direction you what to go with your career / who you work for or want to work for. For example, if youre interested in mobile apps (android) then you better get good with java as it will prepare you very well. If iOS then ObjC,. If youre gonna do embedded/drivers/compilers and stuff like that or working for a hardware focused company... then you and C/C++ better be best buddies.

Bottomline: let your area of interest/focus and career aspirations determine what language you want to gain expertise at.

FYI: im assuming you're just getting started, no? sorry if im assuming wrong.
But If so, then: knowing a **** load of languages won't impress the big boys. Use that knowledge and get some actual presentable fully done personal programming projects in your arsenal. Language is just a tool. Spend some time learning the stuff that requires the tool. For example: i can either spend time becoming an expert in cloud computing. That's probably gonna get me learning about vmware vSphere. before i know it, im into PowerCLI, and then i gotta know Spring(Java) to implement cloud-based applications., etc etc but in all, im becoming a cloud computing expert. OR i can just know C++/Scala/Java/Lua/etc syntax...bare syntax yo! I think i'd rather become a cloud computing expert lol. Its like civil engineer vs construction worker. ya digg?

[BEazy]

Learning Java and C++ in college right now. Doing an MIS degree.

[Slava]

This is likely the last place I'd look for programming advice but if you are comfortable with C++, you'll find coding in any other language (except may be C) a piece of cake. I'd look for advice on some place like Stackoverflow. There's a good chance there must be a thread on this topic over there too.

[semi-sentient]

I do mostly front-end engineering these days (raw JS, jQuery, Node, AngularJS, etc.), but I have plenty of experience working with PHP, .Net (C#), Java, and (sigh) Visual FoxPro as well.

The most important thing about being a programmer is having strong problem solving skills and being able to adapt to your environment. Before I worked in Java I had no real experience with the language, but picking up the syntax and learning the API wasn't much of a problem. I had no VFP experience either but again I ramped up quickly.

You really have to figure out what you want to focus on. If you're into desktop applications (which IMO are dying a slow death) then languages such as C++, Java, or .Net are the way to go. If you're want to work closer to the hardware/kernel level then Assembly and C are probably more up your alley. However, if you like building web applications then you want to focus on mastering JavaScript/CSS, PHP, and .Net. As mentioned earlier, mobile development (native that is) requires that you know Objective C for iPhones and Java for Android devices.

Whatever the case you'll likely be working with several languages throughout your career and rarely do you stay in one position long enough to become a ninja in one particular language.

You can also check out which languages are the most popular:

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/ ... index.html
http://bestteneverything.com/top-ten-mo ... ages-2013/

[Leor_77]

Awesome, thanks everyone for your responses. I am a member on StackOverflow, by the way, it's just nice to talk to people who I can relate to a little bit more...

I think that honestly the best thing I can do right now is to try to be the best programmer I can at C++. When I get to a certain proficiency in it, I'll start to move into other languages, and hopefully the jump isn't too hard.

[Slava]

Checkout websites like codeeval.com that have coding challenges if you want to improve your proficiency. I did some of those exercises and they can be a lot more challenging and implore you to learn out of your comfort zone than your normal day job coding.

[The Laker Kid]

I programmed with COBOL and Fortran back in the early 90's, but my all time favorite was QuickBASIC.. it was just fun to use and easy to compile. I don't know anything about today's visual stuff. I remember Assembly back in college... that stuff was nuts.

[BJGOAT3]

Learnt Java, MATLAB, VHDL/Verilog and C# in college so far while studying Electrical Engineering. I am mostly on a beginners level on all of the languages, I really want to improve my coding skills though. I actually wrote lottery and tournament draw programs using Java for PS3 FIFA tournaments that me and my friends hold they are really basic programs though