I wanna learn to code.

[Haywire]

I'd love to make programs, like windows based. What would you suggest to start with ?

[The Unintelligible]

C# -- if that's too hard for you try VB.NET, although personally wouldn't recommend (not that bad of a language just not my cup of tea)
Python -- not really a graphical Windows language like C# or Visual Basic, but it's fairly easy to pick up and very popular (powerful language as well)
AutoIt -- Basic scripting language that allows macros/programs for Windows to be made pretty quickly (and robustly, might I add; it's a pretty underrated language because it's used mainly for automation purposes)

All in all, out of these 3 I'd probably start with C# because Visual Studio is such a comprehensive IDE and the .NET Framework is extensive enough to cover pretty much any program you would want to develop (also, like I mentioned before, particularly ideal for the development of Windows programs). Huge support community and I'd say it's pretty popular for Windows programming.

Google, Youtube, Stack Overflow are all great sources if you need help on something or you're looking for certain information.

Alternatively you can post here if you run into any coding related issues.

[Haywire]

C# -- if that's too hard for you try VB.NET, although personally wouldn't recommend (not that bad of a language just not my cup of tea)
Python -- not really a graphical Windows language like C# or Visual Basic, but it's fairly easy to pick up and very popular (powerful language as well)
AutoIt -- Basic scripting language that allows macros/programs for Windows to be made pretty quickly (and robustly, might I add; it's a pretty underrated language because it's used mainly for automation purposes)

All in all, out of these 3 I'd probably start with C# because Visual Studio is such a comprehensive IDE and the .NET Framework is extensive enough to cover pretty much any program you would want to develop (also, like I mentioned before, particularly ideal for the development of Windows programs). Huge support community and I'd say it's pretty popular for Windows programming.

Google, Youtube, Stack Overflow are all great sources if you need help on something or you're looking for certain information.

Alternatively you can post here if you run into any coding related issues.

Thank you,I'll begin looking deeper into this.

[Chad]

Why go with a Windows only based language? C# is great and powerful but lacks multi-platform capability unless you use other 3rd party software *Cough* Mono *Cough* and even then it's a pain in the ass to re-write your code to use another frame-work. Since Mac and Linux are becoming more increasingly popular throughout the world (as if they aren't already), you should look into learning a cross-platform language! Especially if you want your software to be used by a large community.

Personally I think Java is the way to go now. It's in pretty much everything and every computer has it installed therefore making it incresingly easier to run on all systems. If you sway into Java use Netbeans. It has a powerful IDE and a lot of documentation and a very, very large programming community. You could basically learn everything you need to know as long as you study! Even though Netbeans also has a GUI creator which makes it easier to build GUI applications.

C++ is a great choice too but one of the harder languages to learn. I personally use QT Creator for my C++ Programming. But then again I completely switched over to Linux a couple years back. The only time I use windows is to put music on my phone and for college.

The more you learn about programming and the power of open-source software with a large community, the more you hate Windows.

> Linux4Life.

[The Unintelligible]

@Chad, while your suggestions were all good your post is kind of tangential/off-topic to what the OP was asking.

I could've wrote a lot more than I did but he specified that he wanted to learn Windows programming, so I answered accordingly.

In the future you may not want to be limited to a language for Windows, so learning a cross-platform programming language could be a great idea. But if he wants to build optimal code for the OS he's using (being Windows), then I'd totally recommend C# over Java (which is pretty similar to C#, funnily enough) or Python.

If he wants to learn a language that works across a variety of platforms, Python and Java are both great choices.

[Chad]

Haywire,

It honestly depends on what you plan on programming. What you need to take into strong consideration though is that later down the road, your plans might change. You might want to program in a Windows based language because you love Microsoft. There is nothing wrong with that. Microsoft is going to be around for an extremely long time. Part of being a programmer is always keeping an open mind. Technology advances every day. What might be the most powerful personal computer today, might be nothing but a common house hold PC within the next year.

Your taste in an operating system might change over the years of programming. I went from being a Windows fan boy into falling in love with Linux and due to that it was difficult for me changing over because I had to basically learn another programming language. C# was not officially cross-platform. I had to use a third-party IDE known as Project Mono to begin developing in C# again. This was an extreme pain because Mono was another framework not developed by Microsoft., I had to learn the equivalents for certain aspects of the language and I no longer had all the support that I used to have in Windows. This was back when Mono was still in the earlier stages of development. Now Mono is probably more powerful and has a larger community with more documentation and support.

All I'm trying to say is say is stay open minded. You have the ability to decide what language you want to learn. It's always great to be multilingual. For if you know one OO based language, you basically know them all.

Tip: when programming push your self little by little. Create projects that force you to learn more. Perfect example; using TCP Sockets to communicate over a network and to communicate with with websites.
By learning how to use Sockets you have to learn about how to manipulate the data to being sent over a TCP packet.

To create a master piece you must first paint all the little details.

[A terrible taste]

There is already a lot of good advice here. If you are interested in picking this up yourself I would suggest a site like Welcome - Learn Java - Free Interactive Java Tutorial
Don't get discouraged if it seems overwhelming.

[Kitsune]

If you're looking for Windows based i'd suggest Vb.Net or Visual C#.

VB.Net - Fun and easy to use.
C# - A bit harder, just as fun to use but i feel like my projects in C# run 10 times better than anything i code in VB.Net.

I believe you can create either VB.Net or C# projects using this: Download Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop from Official Microsoft Download Center

I use Visual Studio Ultimate 2013

[Riddle]

C# -- if that's too hard for you try VB.NET, although personally wouldn't recommend (not that bad of a language just not my cup of tea)
Python -- not really a graphical Windows language like C# or Visual Basic, but it's fairly easy to pick up and very popular (powerful language as well)
AutoIt -- Basic scripting language that allows macros/programs for Windows to be made pretty quickly (and robustly, might I add; it's a pretty underrated language because it's used mainly for automation purposes)

All in all, out of these 3 I'd probably start with C# because Visual Studio is such a comprehensive IDE and the .NET Framework is extensive enough to cover pretty much any program you would want to develop (also, like I mentioned before, particularly ideal for the development of Windows programs). Huge support community and I'd say it's pretty popular for Windows programming.

Google, Youtube, Stack Overflow are all great sources if you need help on something or you're looking for certain information.

Alternatively you can post here if you run into any coding related issues.

This is the advice you want to follow. Chad makes a valid argument for the use of cross-platform code instead of C#. However, as a beginner you will probably want to create some simple applications with graphical interfaces (windows, buttons, etc.) and C# is perfect for that. You can worry about more complicated issues (such as cross-platform code) when you get past the basics.

[Tumblr]

i am so basic. but i would also love to be a programer.

[Fork]

Honestly, it depends on what direction you're trying to take. Are you doing this for fun? Or are you hoping to have a career in this?

If you're just doing it for fun, choose the easiest language like Visual Basic/VB.NET. You can branch off of there and learn ASP.NET to extend to web-based development, I'd imagine it would be pretty easy.

Now, if you're going for a career path, I reccommend starting off with either C++ or Java. Honestly, Java is more fun to learn. You can make GUIs with any programming language if you try hard enough. Personally, I'm a Web Developer, so I don't particularly dabble around much in this nature of programming - Just seems like a really boring job to have unless I'm working for a popular program-based company like Skype or Symantec. Typically when people give reccommendations I always get answers that I don't particularly care about. I care about what's going to be more "fun" to learn.

Can't go wrong with Java though.

[The Unintelligible]

Honestly, it depends on what direction you're trying to take. Are you doing this for fun? Or are you hoping to have a career in this?

If you're just doing it for fun, choose the easiest language like Visual Basic/VB.NET. You can branch off of there and learn ASP.NET to extend to web-based development, I'd imagine it would be pretty easy.

Now, if you're going for a career path, I reccommend starting off with either C++ or Java. Honestly, Java is more fun to learn. You can make GUIs with any programming language if you try hard enough. Personally, I'm a Web Developer, so I don't particularly dabble around much in this nature of programming - Just seems like a really boring job to have unless I'm working for a popular program-based company like Skype or Symantec. Typically when people give reccommendations I always get answers that I don't particularly care about. I care about what's going to be more "fun" to learn.

Can't go wrong with Java though.

I don't see ASP.NET used much in web development personally (as in web guys I know), but I hear it's fairly popular. Wouldn't that be more of a Windows language since Visual Studio is primarily a Windows IDE? (though I know it can obviously be deployed in other operating systems since browsers aren't really platform specific)

Career wise why do you recommend C++? Companies are branching off into different languages these days like Python or even self-made languages (Mozilla - Rust, or Google - Go).

I agree with you on Java being a good career language because it's a language in use on a lot of platforms these days including Android/Mobile. I don't use/know it, but industry wise it's still pretty booming.

Also, I hold a different opinion than you on programming being boring lol. Web dev is actually probably a lot more boring IMO unless you're into the design aspect (HTML, CSS, etc. are all generic "languages" and not very fun to do due to lack of structure). Backend or security can definitely be fun but otherwise the managing of websites, browser optimization, etc., are all kind of tedious.

I don't know how fun it'd be working with Skype or Symantec since their work is mostly focused on their flagship software (Skype client and AV), but I know the pay would be pretty generous -- money is kind of fun in itself.

Just curious, is there anything about Java that stands out to you as to why you think it's "fun"? It's a language that's never really interested me but I'd probably give it a shot in the future.

[HTML]

don't do it.
please don't do it

it's full of tears and blood

[hks222]

don't do it.
please don't do it

it's full of tears and blood

jesus

[OwlCapone]

via Imgflip Meme Maker

[The Unintelligible]

That's funny coming from you. Also dank ancient maymay, bro.

[Lewis-H]

Come up with a simple project.
Get the software you'll need.
Join communities about how to start coding.
Read a few books.
How to start coding with YouTube.
Listen to a podcast.
Run through a tutorial.
Try some games on how to start coding.