What Should I Learn Next?

Languages I currently have an excellent grip on:

HTML/XHTML
CSS
JavaScript
C++

Languages I'm good at but not excellent at:
PHP
Python
Ajax (I know I know it's only a technique, don't shoot me.)
XML (Not a language per se...)

Things that I would find useful to learn:
ASP
Java
C#
.Net
SQL
Perl
Ruby/Ruby on Rails

What should I go for next? I'm thinking Java but I've had issues with trying to get my computer set up to do that and in general I have no idea how.

As for what it is that I want to do, a simple question yet it often steers the path programmers take, is this: create stand-alone applications like - and these are only examples - Minesweeper or Microsoft Office. Gaming seems to be a hugely popular thing but I'm not necessarily looking to get into game development. Also with networking, I'm not very interested in that (although I was taught it in high school) but if it's a major thing - and it probably is - I can invest time into it. I could stick to my web development niche but to me it seems rather limited.

I'd say there's no point in learning perl or ruby unless you've got some special reason to, since you already know one general purpose scripting language and two web-oriented scripting languages. Also .Net isn't a language, it's a framework or platform, kinda like Java virtual machine. C# code is compiled to a .Net program (though theoretically there's nothing stopping anyone from making a compiler that compiles to native code).

I might suggest you work a bit with databases and SQL. It's a nice thing to know, and it's really needed for bigger web-applications, so maybe it'd be nice to have a fuller picture of that scene.

Other than that, if you want to develop graphic applications or small games, you should probably go with Java or C#, as it's an easier place to start. However these won't be true stand-alone programs, as the person running them need the Java Virtual Machine or .Net framework to run them.

Java. You say you've got an excellent hold on C++? C++ is a huge language and STL is even bigger.

C#. It's almost the same as C++, so there isn't much to learn.

Not really, the syntax is similar, but the way that you use it is very different.

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Originally Posted by ninja9578

Java. You say you've got an excellent hold on C++? C++ is a huge language and STL is even bigger.

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What is STL?

And from the looks of it, I might be best off learning Java. Now, I've tried setting up a Java IDE (Eclipse) and for whatever reason it just could not identify the fact I had Java downloaded. But let me give it another shot. Plus, I have a Java manual I bought from a book sale a year back.

French.

J'aime le sexe et la technologie. Putain de robot.

=D

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Originally Posted by youssarian

What is STL?.

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O.o

Standard Template Library

I consider Java more of a learning programming language because it handles things for you that a real programmer doesn't want handled automatically. It hides things like allocation, cleanup, and polymorphism, which can add up to some serious optimization problems.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ninja9578

You say you've got an excellent hold on C++? C++ is a huge language and STL is even bigger.

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C++ isn't really all that huge, though. It lacks (native) networking and multi-threading capabilities.

That's because those are platform specific and C++ won't ever do that. C++0x does have native multithreading though. Why would you want native networking though when there is libcurl?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ninja9578

That's because those are platform specific and C++ won't ever do that. C++0x does have native multithreading though. Why would you want native networking though when there is libcurl?

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Everything about a program is really platform specific... That's why we have higher than machine level programming languages, so that we can use the same code on different hardware configurations and OSes.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to C++0x, though I guess it will take some time for it to be supported by the big compilers.
Also, libcurl uses C-style programming, not C++ style, unless you write a wrapper or something.

You don't need a wrapper. I can use C library with C++, OpenGL is too. C++0x will be supported by big compilers the day that they release the specs, most already do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ninja9578

You don't need a wrapper. I can use C library with C++, OpenGL is too. C++0x will be supported by big compilers the day that they release the specs, most already do.

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Yeah, I know that, but I prefer to use C++-style programming in a C++ program, even if you _can_ use the C-style.
It will? Well that's terrific. Then I really can't wait :p

You can use a C library in a C++ way, that's what smart pointers are for :P

Of course the big compiles will support C++1x the day it's specs are released. Who do you think comes up with the C++ specs? AT&T, GNU, Intel, Microsoft. Ordered according to influence. :P

youssarian, lots of languages isn't what employers want, they want people who specialize. I only know 5 languages, and of which, I would only consider myself an expert in 3. I know BASIC, C, C++, Java, and assembly. I consider myself and expert in BASIC, C, and C++. Definately get into specializing in some of those langauges, and train your brain to think creatively, enter some programing competitions.

Definetly, JAVA. Where would the net be without JAVA? It's useful.

Actually, Java is on the way out. But you have to learn Java in order to learn it's replacement: J2EE.

I've been trying to start learning Java but I'm running into all sorts of problems. I was using NetBeans but I found that to be very clumsy and hard to use. I couldn't make any stand-alone files. No, it thought everything I did was an entire project. And then when I tried starting a new project, it wouldn't run properly.

I have also seen there are two important commands: javac and java. javac works just fine, but there are two files in my Java folder called 'java' and neither one of them does anything except throw me an error about function main not being found, even though I supplied one.

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As for specialization, I consider myself specialized in the basic web programming languages (HTML, CSS and JavaScript).

Well, java doesn't make stand-alones. They require the java virtual machine to run. The only compiler that I'm aware of that creates standalones is GNU's Java compiler.

That's what I meant. I just wanted to make .java files that would be made into .class files by javac and then use the Java virtual machine via the java command.

Oh, if they don't compile, then there are bugs in it. :P

Code:

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class myfirstprog {
  public static void main(String args[]) {
    System.out.println("Hello World!");
  }
}

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There are no bugs in here that I can see. You?

The "javac" command works fine, but "java" refuses to run any program. It says java.lang.ClassNotFoundException and several more lines. The file is named myfirstprog.java and the compiled result is myfirstprog.class.

Hmm. Maybe update java? It works fine for me:

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4383/picture2aeo.png

Oh hey, I'm guessing the javac and java programs are both in the same folder?

Yes, unless you tell the compiler to put it somewhere else, it puts it in the same folder.

Do you mean the compiler and VM themselves? No, they aren't, but they are registered in the system. *nix lets you do that. You don't have to be in the working folder of a program to call it. I actually don't know where java and javac are.

Something I just thought of. Did you do this by mistake?

Code:

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java myfirstprog.class

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That's very different than

Code:

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java myfirstprog

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Oh no, I caught myself doing that and even when I removed ".class" it still flopped.

Can I see a screenshot of exactly what you're doing in your terminal?

Well I can sure try to get one up.... my blocky 800x600 resolution makes it a little difficult. Although on the plus side, I'm going to be putting more RAM in my computer probably tomorrow!

As soon as my webhost returns to working operation, or I can find some other way, I'll get you that image.

What about learning Assembly? :p
anybody here doing assmebly or know assmebly?

I know assembly and use it from time to time when I want something to run FAST. It makes the fastest programs by a very wide margin, but it's cumbersome and difficult to write and debug.

Parts of my super-efficient JSON engine are written in assembly, but I don't use it very often.

I'm still trying to get great at xhtml/css =*(

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Originally Posted by Jorge

I'm still trying to get great at xhtml/css =*(

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Hit me up if you need help.

And ninja, I'm going to have to get a Photobucket account for this thing. My webhost is moving servers and my site is down.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1270302716

I don't know how where javac compiles on windows, are you sure that it put the compiled class in the same directory?

If so this is my guess: your class requires other classes which are part of java's precompiled library. They are in java's directory, and java compiles your class expecting them to be in the same directory. This is why programming is not done on Windows. My suggestion is dual booting Ubuntu and doing your development on that.

Once you get in tune with the basics of Java, get yourself a copy of "Effective Java" by Joshua Bloch. It's one thing to learn the syntax of Java and be able to write simple programs, and it's something else to ACTUALLY have a grip on Java. Basically, you shouldn't be writing large amounts of Java code without having gone through this book and referring back to it when in doubt. It covers a wide variety of best practices that will save your ass.

Likewise:

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Originally Posted by youssarian

Languages I currently have an excellent grip on:

C++

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You are not Scott Meyers, therefore you do not have an excellent grip on C++ :P

Depending on what you're doing, you might be interested in Effective C++, More Effective C++ and Effective STL. It really changes the way you write C++. Just like for Java, I wouldn't let anyone who hasn't at least skimmed some of those books touch any C++ code I'd have to maintain later. :)

No one has an excellent grip on C++. Professional programmers have a good grip on it, but the language is too large and complex to know all of its aspects.

I'd like to think I have a good grip on it :P

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Originally Posted by A Roxxor

I'd like to think I have a good grip on it :P

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Are you Scott Meyers? :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ninja9578

No one has an excellent grip on C++. Professional programmers have a good grip on it, but the language is too large and complex to know all of its aspects.

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I wouldn't think that having an excellent grip means knowing all aspects.

There are some who have an excellent grip on the English language, similarly.