What is your most prefered programming language?

[bludstayne]

C++ most definitely. I've been using it for a long time and it is nice and clean and elegant. I've been using it and OpenGL a lot here lately.

[Team852 (DB)]

Well, I think we're all subjected to opinions, but my view of C++ takes it as inelegant, hard to debug, and slow.

Furthermore, Microsoft has sort of branded C++ as a poor language by their definition of it (which is slower than C/Obj-C), their use of hidden interfaces (I couldn't find developer documentation on internet interfaces that was readily available), and the flaws in the Windows OS itself. Also, there are SO many worms and security problems relating to Windows.

Also, Objective-C offers a more open approach to object orientation. C++ requires strict typing, where Objective-C is very free in its laws. Objective-C allows you to request an object to do something, even though the reciever may not be able to do it.


Of course, it's very hard to beat something like plain, procedural C for simple tasks. It's very fast, very easy to understand, and relatively easy to debug.



Most who start off on learning Objective C find it incredibly intuitive and easy to use. I looked at C++ initially, and things were unnecessarily confusing. I then looked at Obj-C (coupled with Apple's Cocoa Libraries), and suddenly, things made perfect sense. I could see how to use the language very effectively, very quickly.

Also, Objective-C adds the minimum of what is required to provide object orientation. C++ I believe, attempted to 'improve' C. Obj-C took C, and added things to it, leaving C itself alone.

[wun]

Ide have to go with python.
C and pascal are also not that bad.

[Jay Lundy]

Favorite language: C++

Java is high up there, but I think they oversimplified it. I like the added OOP, but why they removed operator overloading is beyond me (anyone know why?). When I write games in C++, I have a Vector class and a Matrix class and I can do nice, simple statements like:

position += velocity * deltaT + .5 * (sumOfForces / mass) * deltaT * deltaT;
velocity += (sumOfForces / mass) * deltaT;

But in Java, you get ugly statements that force you to create temporary variables to store things as you go.

That's why I'm starting to look at C# a lot. It's a lot like Java except they brought back all the good stuff from C++ that Java left out, and then some.

I also used to love PHP, but now I don't like it that much. The lack of strong variable types makes it easy to write programs, but impossible to go back and read what you wrote a week later. Perl is the same.

C is pretty fun. I like working with pointers and making sure you keep track of everything, especially on embedded systems. Writing stuff for the Palm in C really gives you an appreciation for memory management. If you leak one byte of memory or go beyond your allocated memory by one byte, you get a fatal error (or at least it seems that way).

asm is pretty interesting to use, but only in small doses. I'd like to see someone write their entire robot code in asm (it doesn't count if you just disassemble the C code).

[Pelan Power]

How could you all be forgetting FORTRAN? The only programming language that I've really used is Visual Basic, but I'm in the process of a learning javascript and of course, C for our controls system.

[Tridelvior]

Hey Pelan Power- This is your cousin. Hahaha.

As for the language, I went with C++. Fun stuff. And java i hate.

Good old FORTRAN. Isnt that what they use on calculators?

[WeAz]

I'd have to go with PHP. It's the first language I really sat down and learned. Aside from that, I'd go with C/C++/C#. C# is really morphing into an awesome language and I'm looking forward to seeing where this language goes. I'm teaching myself Perl right now, and that seems like a pretty cool language as well.

-WeAz

[steven114]

Obj-C and Java are really great, with straight C coming in close behind. Java for the ability to run on many platforms, Obj-C just because it's cool and really easy to use, while being very powerful at the same time, and C for command-line stuff. (Although Obj-C is cool for command-line stuff too, but it adds a bit of overhead)

One main problem with C-based languages that Java solves is memory management. I'd much rather create objects and have the system sweep up after me than worry about when I should free something.

[ShadowKnight]

c++ is currently my favorite with c being a neccesity at times...I love messing with linux

C# most definately though is something to look at...very much liek java but with all the c++ goodies that we like.

[Ryan M.]

Originally Posted by Jay Lundy

Favorite language: C++

Java is high up there, but I think they oversimplified it. I like the added OOP, but why they removed operator overloading is beyond me (anyone know why?).

Totally agree. Java is nice, but I really use some of the advanced features of C++, which, unforunately, removed from Java.

[Astronouth7303]

VISUAL BASIC EE 6!!!

Not that that helps the robot any...

[Rhs953]

4-tran

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I didn't break it!

[Alan Anderson]

I use Tcl http://www.tcl.tk/ for quick prototypes and easy user interface development. The syntax is minimal and clean. I've programmed in everything from bit-slice microcode to PL/I, and I think Pascal is among the easiest "true high-level" languages to learn and use. C is good, but too cryptic for my tastes.

[kristen]

All I speak is Java... therefore its the best

[Raven_Writer]

Originally Posted by kristen

All I speak is Java... therefore its the best

hehe. YA!!!! Java is pretty cool. C is the best though, it drives our robots wild