[will.morse]

Einherjar, on 10 May, 2008 - 10:30 PM, said:

AlilSpaced, on 20 Feb, 2008 - 03:32 PM, said:

I have mixed feelings about learning Ruby as a startup language; it’s great for concentrating on just solving the problem. But its forgiving nature might take away from what more stringent languages might help a programmer understand about memory allocations and data types. I mean it really doesn’t matter what language you start out learning, because when it comes to solving problems, there are concepts you have to learn to solve any problem; and your ability to utilize those lessons and solve the problem as rationally as possible are what will mark you as a good programmer.

But that’s just my take on things….

I sorta agree with this. I started out with C/C++ as my first languages. For some reason I feel like going from Ruby to something stricter like C/C++ wouldn't have been as easy as going from C++ down to Ruby. But I guess I just prefer to start hard and get easier

I do not teach Ruby or C++, but I have taught perl, tcl/tk, Fortran, and similar things. My main objection to starting with C++ is that most people just seem to learn the C part of it, and don't get to the OO part until they have already developed bad habits. Ruby, more than Python IMHO, gets you thinking OO right off, and developing the right patterns so when you learn another language, you are not thinking strictly procedurally.
BTW, my first programming language was Autocoder, as I recall on an IBM 709, followed shortly by BASIC on a GE-635. Talk about start hard and get easier.

[nitestryker]

I think Ruby Would not be a good starting Lanugage. I think your Better off learning PHP. PHP is a much easier language and it involves OOP which is good to learn. you can also make online games but if you really want to make games your better off learning Flash Programming.

[jamesb]

I think C/C++ is a fine language to start on. It gets you into using semi-colons and parenthesis, which I feel make code more organized and logical. Ruby has no semicolons.... that still freaks me out.

[MitkOK]

Ruby has blocks, the perfect way to organize and encapsulate your code.
Semicolons are for me annoying, useless and ugly 'feature' and necessity.

This post has been edited by MitkOK: 11 July 2008 - 01:33 PM

[captainhampton]

Ruby is great, but remember not to pigeon-hole yourself in a specific language. Be as diverse as possible.

[captainhampton]

Jingle, on 12 Jan, 2008 - 04:12 PM, said:

I think ruby would be a great start out language.

Yes, one could argue this point. However Ruby has some features in it that may "spoil" ones outlook on some programming mentalities. Make sure to build a strong foundation from the ground up first before.