What Programming language for the beginner?

Cheers for the feedback.

I have decided to start with Python and then once I have reasonable skill at that I will go for C.

Reasoning:
After your feedback plus further web research it appears that Python will provide a fairly quick learning curve with real results for less time invested = time efficient.

Python also has a fairly ordered way of doing things so it will teach discipline.

Python cane be sccaled for larger projects and has good community support so it means it will be a language that is versatile for some time.

C will be my next choice because it appears fundamental to a lot of other languages and its a lot more "pure" ie handling memory etc better. But this is at the cost of the speed of development.

This is my personal opinion that I wanted to share back with those who helped me.

Cheers all

Hello,

From what little experience I have in python it seems easy, powerful and well documented! Python, PERL and PHP are the kind of languages that you can stick with and play for ever, making all kinds of useful apps and interfaces. The great thing is you see fast results, basically just as soon as you read a couple of pages describing the basic syntax, rules and constructs, you are ready to go (by refering to the function list for whatever you need of course). Mistakes often do not bring punishment and you need not to be concerned with some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, like the memory allocations -of course let us not forget that some real developers bothered with these to allow us to work without them -. That's the difference between C and scripting languages, with C you get to see things the way they actually work on your computer -better even, make them work yourself, while in (example) Python you only mess with things that appear more directly functional and practical. Depending on one's interests and needs, he might find exciting the extra control of C, or find it instead an anoying distraction from his work. Personally I am mainly interested in automating or writing interfaces for standard procedures and applications here and there, mostly small things but useful and practical nontheless. For these things, honestly, is not worthy to mess with C -unless you like and want to-. Python, PERL, PHP and others such provide hundreds of ready functions about everything and it is amazing how easily you can do complex things. Imagine a huge LEGO collection, from which you could build mostly anything you can think of -and it would be real! If I had to describe how I see C in a similar way, I'd say it's more like plasticine or clay: it's not so impressive as the legos at first sight but allows you to make more polished and perfect applications, except that this needs extra effort and skill -and also you inevitably get your hands dirty in the process .

One last thing to say, In my experience once someone gets seriously involved with a powerful high level language that provides the wanted results with small effort, and gets used to it, it feels somehow "right" to try to accomodate his needs coding in this language and "gross" to forget it and switch to a lower level one. So perhaps Sahirh is right and you should start directly with C, because other languages may spoil you enough to stay away from C later on

Have to agree with nske here. C is a nice language and gives a good foundation. Why do you think high schools and entry level colleges have started with it so much. (they've started switching to Java now...) It's a pretty quick learn too, just don't try skipping the first few chapters unless you have background.

hey man try pascal , after u tell me which is the best between all the programs u heard bout " best to start programing"

At most community colleges, there is a course called Intro to Programming. Take that course and find out which language you are best at:D .

If you're a masochist, very ambitious, or just really friggin' good, start with C/C++. As others have said, it don't just teach the basic concepts like what a loop is, you learn about datatypes and all that other stuff as well.

If you're a mere mortal as I, start with Perl. Perl is fun, and for someone just starting to get their feet wet, you're less likely to get discouraged when some really odd error keeps your first few programs from working. Also, it's hard to not stay interested when you go on CPAN and see a module that easily lets you do fun stuff like connect and use IRC. Even a beginner suddenly says "Hey, I can do that...". Then you start learning because it's fun.

Then, move to C/C++.