Scripting Languages

[nemesis567]

Buy a book, they are pretty cheap. And start reading up the absolute basics before you start coding games (even simple ones) because when you have the understanding, it's easier to absorb the information and knowledge the game design articles/books/tutorials provide. I made that mistake when I started coding a loooong time ago, I was too eager to make games that I forgot to learn how programming languages actually work, the biggest mistake of my life and I ended up drawing things for people instead (slight exaggeration).

I would say start with C++, because the information that you can found is immense. It's debatable but I always found it hard to find beginner info and books for other languages than C++ (python might be an exception).

If you want to start with C++ don't. Start with C and then move to object oriented programming like C++. It's not worth learning C++ if you haven't got advanced knowledge in a C like language because you'll never understand why people actually created C++ to it's full extent.

[eliasfrost]

Buy a book, they are pretty cheap. And start reading up the absolute basics before you start coding games (even simple ones) because when you have the understanding, it's easier to absorb the information and knowledge the game design articles/books/tutorials provide. I made that mistake when I started coding a loooong time ago, I was too eager to make games that I forgot to learn how programming languages actually work, the biggest mistake of my life and I ended up drawing things for people instead (slight exaggeration).

I would say start with C++, because the information that you can found is immense. It's debatable but I always found it hard to find beginner info and books for other languages than C++ (python might be an exception).

If you want to start with C++ don't. Start with C and then move to object oriented programming like C++. It's not worth learning C++ if you haven't got advanced knowledge in a C like language because you'll never understand why people actually created C++ to it's full extent.

I'm basing my advice on opinion. I thought C++ was easier to get into and it is basically an extension of C, so the basics are the same. Reading C just to understand WHY people made C++ seems utterly pointless to me, understanding how they are connected seem like better homework to me, and it doesn't matter which one you start with. From a newbies standpoint, C++ would be more rewarding since the resources available for C++ newcommers surpasses that of C.

[Your Computer]

People who teach C++ will likely inform people not to learn C before C++ if their main focus is C++. This is because the way people handle each language differs significantly.

[eliasfrost]

People who teach C++ will likely inform people not to learn C before C++ if their main focus is C++. This is because the way people handle each language differs significantly.

That's true, I'm not saying it's a bad thing to learn C, I'm saying that C++ is a great way for newcommers to start programming because the resources are easily accessible. If he wants to move on to other langs after that (or before) then I'm not going to stop him.

[Bridge]

C is outdated. You can do absolutely everything you can in C in C++ via libraries anyway if you need to. Learning C purely as an introduction to C++ is akin to learning Latin before Italian (or any romance language). Yes, you will understand why Italian is what it is today, but you will also have to put up with clumsy conjugation, not being able to express modern ideas effectively, the list goes on. It's perfectly valid as a programming language, but not if the ultimate goal is to learn C++. It's just not necessary. C++ steamlines a lot of C's concepts anyway so it is probably easier for a beginner with C++-oriented goals to learn and use.

[Adrianis]

As long as your resource for education in C++ is based on the fact that you are starting with C++, then there is no reason to learn C. Learning C will set you up for C++, but you may as well spend the time learning C++ from the ground up anyway.

"Reading C just to understand WHY people made C++ seems utterly pointless to me" - Yup!
That said, C has it's own style - Procedural rather than Object Oriented, its just that procedural isn't so important these days, but it is good to have the knowledge of both, eventually, just don't start with it or you'll have to unlearn a bunch of stuff.
I started out with C and am now learning C++, had I started with C++ I think I would be in a better position than I am now.