Thread: Where do I start? Learning computer language

Originally Posted by M-Cat

Assembly is one of the best languages you can learn. Even if you dont program in it, you learn more from assembly than any other language.

Agreed. It also helps with CG since [good] assembly is always the fastest, if you do really low level stuff then you will be using inline assembly.


You must be writing some huge programs if it takes hours to compiler. I have all optimizations turned on and I've never had a program compile for more than a few minutes.

Now I'm not writing full-size apps, but full-size apps are modulated and the modules can be compiled and tested individually, so most of the bugs are out of the system (especially something simple like syntax errors,) by the time that the modules are put together.

How does not having an IDE slow people down?

XCode does syntax and semantic checking on the fly so if I miss a semicolon or parenthesis it automatically yells at me. It also does debugging without writing tons of tests and can show me all of the variables when an error is encountered, which definitely speeds things up. As far as I know Eclipse, .NET, and Bloodshed all do the same. For apps with a GUI it also does drag and drop of buttons and such.


If you're planning to go to college for CS then you should learn what is taught there. Most colleges teach C/C++/Java and sometimes VB. If you're planning on concentrating in CG then C is what will probably be used. Checking out the OpenGL Red Book might also be a nice idea, the format is the same in every language (for the most part.)