Lately, computers seem to be everywhere and perhaps you’ve thought about trying your hand at computer programming. It could be that you want to do it as a hobby or make a living at it. But just as a computer can be a tool to achieve an end, so can the language used to program it. And just like human languages, some programming languages are better for achieving certain ends than others.
You’re right if you guessed that there isn’t a “one size fits all” language that will work well for every scenario. So what exactly should you pick? It can depend on a variety of factors. Namely, what exactly are you going to make? A short, simple program doesn’t need a complicated language to write, and neither would you want a rudimentary language for a large, complex program.
You might also wish to pick up something easier to learn at first, in which case you’ll want a language that has the most English-like syntax (and by that I mean where instructions coded in will look more like regular sentences such as “INPUT NAME” to instruct the user to type in their name). Languages based on BASIC are usually the stepping stone to something bigger.
Once you’ve tested the waters enough, you’ll probably want to go with something more specific. Now perhaps you have a specific goal in mind. Do you want to manipulate and order lists of records? Then a database programming language based on SQL is for you. How about making your own website? At the very least you’ll want to know HTML. Maybe you’d like to make a game. In that case you’d be better off with C.
Whatever it may be, make sure to do your research on what will work best, and have fun coding!Can’t get enough? There’s more: What You’ve Missed With C: 2011 So Far