Want to start coding

[DJ Rep]

Hi I want some advice on what programming language to start on, bear in mind I havn't coded before but can learn very quickly and I want something with a big scope ie openGL openAL integration.
I here something about Cocoa thats like for writing apps with aqua or something? What exactly is it?
And also what is apple script is like a native script to OSX like python? Can it have a GUI?
Also what RAD tools would you recommend apart? Are there any apart from RunRev and RealBASIC
Thanks
Dan

 

[naodx]

If you really want to start with a solid foundation, I would suggest starting with C or C++. There are other great languages out there, they all have there pluses and minuses, but in my opinion C is a great place to start.

C is the basis upon which cocoa (objective-c) was founded, and it is what most of the unix underpinnings of OS X are written in.

If you are really serious about learning programming, it is a good language to learn the basics, like control loops, scope, functions, file handling, data structures, and even the dreaded pointers (can give even the best programmers headaches ).

OS X with the developers tools give you all the tools you need to learn just about any language out there, perl, php, java, c, c++, objective-c just to name a few.

A good book to get started with C is by Deitel & Deitel.

This is just my opinion, others may vary, and there is no right answer.

Good luck and happy programming.

 

[HateEternal]

Deitel makes good starting books, I have one for my Java class, even though it is kind of a beginner book it also contains a lot of advanced stuff.

Java is another good place to start... I found it very easy to learn on. Basically you need to learn concepts of programming, once you have those down all you need to pick up is the different syntax of different languages and you are good to go. Since there is a lot of Java and C material out there and they are both widely used today I would suggest starting with one of those, Once you learn one you can pick up the other no problem.

 

[naodx]

Another great source for java is the core series, in my opinion it is a little better than Deitel's java.

I'm not knocking Deitel's books, the first one I used was their C++ book, and found it to be great. But after taking 3 semesters of C++ then starting in on Java, I found the Deitel Java book to 'basically' be the C++ book reworded for Java. Now don't take that 100% verbatim, but there are a lot of similarities.

If you continue your Java studies, take a look at the core books, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[btoth]

Starting with C would probably be a good idea. Objective-C (Cocoa), C++, PHP, Perl, Java, and other languages all have syntax similar to C. I never really enjoyed C that much (especially just starting out with command-line programs) but it paid off.

Most of my programming in Windows is done using Visual Basic (or .NET), but now I'm spending time with Objective-C on my Mac. I've been reading Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X by Aaron Hillegass. It's pretty good for going over the most common concepts in Cocoa, but assumes that you know some basic C programming first (as will most C++ books). When I was leaning C on my first Mac (System 7 days), I was reading Learn C on the Macintosh by Dave Mark. It was an excellent book on teaching the basics of C in a very readable way. It's a bit old now and it uses an old version of CodeWarrior for the examples, but I still use it to look up stuff in. Though, any book that just covers standard (ANSI) C should be fine.


As for your other questions:
Cocoa, being Objective-C and compatible with C and C++ can use all existing C and C++ code as well as Objective-C code. Which means you can use things such as OpenGL natively.

RealBasic uses a BASIC-style language that is supposedly compatible with VisualBasic. I think you can even use OpenGL libraries with it, but I haven't tried. I found VisualBasic to be a great language under Windows, especially the latest versions for creating programs really quick. I just couldn't stand trying to program a GUI-based Windows app with C++. However, under OS X, Interface Builder with Objective-C is just as fast as Visual Basic but includes the power of objected-oriented C.

AppleScript can now have GUIs, though I haven't used AppleScript for a long time now.


For a beginner, I think it's great that OS X comes with Xcode and Interface builder for FREE. I would grab an easy-to read book on basic C and then move up to Objective-C in OS X. Maybe there's even a book on Cocoa that includes an intro to C.

 

[Viro]

Deitel's books seem to all be very similar. The C++/VB/Java books all have similar examples. If you've read one of them, the others will become boring real quick.