Re: which language for programming

[Nick Bailey]

On 22 Nov 2006, at 2:06 pm, Ed Ardzinski wrote:

> If Lilypond is written in C++ (and I do see some hints of C type  
> syntax when I use Lilypond) this *might* be a factor to consider.   
> But... C and C++ are fairly complex languages and have steep  
> learning curves.  If you an abject beginner with programming I  
> suggest starting out with Visual Basic and concentrating on trying  
> to develop good programming practices.  That will make a switch to  
> a more difficult language easier.
>
> Good luck!

Wise words, but I'd forget VB or Applescript. Why? Python, for  
example, runs on both these platforms and more, introduces the  
concepts of an object-oriented language, and its portability means  
you won't need to learn another language if you want to make a useful  
(cross-platform) piece of code.

Our computing department now use Python as an introductory language  
to teach their new students good programming practice, and because  
it's so widely used and so generally applicable, it'll still be  
useful to them when they graduate.

Of course other good languages also exist (ruby was mentioned) but in  
general one learns a language in order to communicate with others, so  
Visual Basic and Applescript need not apply (unless you don't want to  
talk to many other people!).

Nick/.