LogFAQs > #892622407

Zangulus posted...

kind9 posted...

Since this is an "I want to learn programming" topic let me ask experienced programmers a question: Is it better, when self-teaching, to start with a low level language like C, or a high level language like Java?

I always felt the former was better because you have to also learn about the workings of the underlying system, like processes, threading, memory management, and file I/O. In higher level language such things can be obscured by the language and you don't have to worry about it, which leaves you with a huge gap in knowledge.

It really doesnt matter, as you should learn how to Learn. Youll never know every last thing about programming, so learning how to look things up and debug code will still be a thing regardless.

And it wont tske you too long to find your first seg fault if you switch to a low level language from a high one, thus leading you down the never ending shithole thats is pointers, double pointers, memory allocation, freeing, and random access lists...

I think the reasoning I've heard about learning low level stuff first is that when using a high level language you could encounter situations that actually require lower level knowledge. I don't know of any examples though, maybe it's not really an issue like I thought.

I guess you're right though. In such situations you can search for a solution to the problem and thus your knowledge grows.
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