Should I learn Visual C# or Visual C++?

aomarlow

I am just getting started with programming. I'm working with Visual Basic.Net 2003 now, but planning to purchase the special edition of Visual Studio Pro 2003 that is selling for such a good price right now. My question is, for progamming games, should I learn the C# language first, or should I jump right into C++? I've been told that C++ is the most difficult language to learn, but that it's also more powerful than C#. Please understand that I'm going to continue with Visual Basic.Net as my primary language until I am really ready to move ahead, but there is not very much material out there for learning how to program games with VB.NET, and I know it's not really the best language for some games (like first person shooters. So, I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know what you all think, regarding C# vs. C++. One more statement: I've already worked my way through two books about C++ (C++ for Dummies, and a C++ text book), but I still can't make a game with the language. There is a lot about C++ that I don't understand yet. Thank you, BeaglepackGP

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soman21y ago
Its bit difficult to say, which language is best to program games unless u dont have the deep working knowledge of programming languages, Better u start with the C its really easy to do the small games, then u can switch to C++ because almost all features C are there in C++, just added object oriented concepts. It takes much time also, try these things then u switch to C# because its very easy to learn If u know C n C++, also If u really want to program in .NET, C# is most prefered language. Good Luck
alobiuc21y ago
Oh, almost forgot. Here are some nice tutorials on C/C++: http://cplus.about.com/od/beginnerctutorial/l/blcplustut.htm http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/index.html http://www.cppreference.com/ http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html And, of course, google.com
alobiuc21y ago
If you're at the beginnings of your programming "career" maybe you shouldn't jump straight to game creation. First things first. Read (and learn) a bit about the programming languages and their history. Some are suitable than others for certain things and viceversa. Take for example Matlab vs PHP. Each has its own goal. Then you can start off with C (maybe even ANSI C), and gradually learn the "new" features of C++. After a while (when you'll be able to write on your own a program that implements a basic algorithm, something like a binary search) you can switch to C#. Some would say to go directly with C# but I disagree with them. If you do that, you'll eventually find your way through with C# and if you'll desire to learn C/C++ afterwards it would look like a monster to you. VisualStudio (hence C#) is nicely wrapped and you might get amazed with all the graphic controls, etc. and forget what you're really after: real programming. Now I'm not saying that C/C++ is better than C# but it makes you "feel" what you're programming by getting you to hit the head against the table a few times. Anyway, try whichever you want first but consider that if you want to write "first person shooters" you should write first, as practice...a tictactoe game (in text mode user interface)! Don't laugh, this should be the right way to do it. First learn the algorithms then put them in practice. Good luck!