Programmer Path

Hi there guys, so I thought about starting to learn programming. However, I don't know from where to start. So, after some research I found that a lot of people saying that it's better to learn C programming first to be able to learn other programming language. Now the problem here is, do I need to learn the three C programming languages that are the C++, C, and C#  to be able to learn .NET or I can just learn one of the the C programming language. Moreover, after I thought about it for sometimes I found that I need to learn some programming language that will help me develop some software and also I am interested in scripts. So, I thought that if I need to be a software engineer or developer I need to study C, C++, C# and .NET and if I want to make scripts I need to study Python. So, do I need to learn all the C programming languages or I can just learn one of them?

If it is true that it is better to learn C first because it is lower-level then it is true that we should learn assembly (machine) language first because it is the lowest level. I say it is better to learn a good object-oriented language first, such as C++, C# or Java, but there are others. C was designed before C++ and therefore C lacks many improvements yet the improvements do not interfere with learning.

I tried learning Python and got frustrated. There are features of OOP that Python does not do well. Python is not a good way to learn OOP.

.Net is not a language. If you need to use .Net then learn neither C nor C++. For one thing, essentially everything in .Net is a class and C has no class. When Microsoft designed .Net they did it in a way that makes it difficult to develop GUI applications using C++ with .Net.

In terms of execution, Python, C# and Java are much alike. They all compile into some kind of intermediate code that is then converted to machine language during execution. The C and C++ languages do not support that kind of execution. It is misleading to call Python a scripting language as if the others are not. Python feels more like a scripting language because execution of Python code is more cumbersome than the other languages.

Edited by SamHobbs, 11 May 2022 - 02:38 AM.

Thank you guys for the help.

Hi there guys, so I thought about starting to learn programming. However, I don't know from where to start. So, after some research I found that a lot of people saying that it's better to learn C programming first to be able to learn other programming language. Now the problem here is, do I need to learn the three C programming languages that are the C++, C, and C#  to be able to learn .NET or I can just learn one of the the C programming language. Moreover, after I thought about it for sometimes I found that I need to learn some programming language that will help me develop some software and also I am interested in scripts. So, I thought that if I need to be a software engineer or developer I need to study C, C++, C# and .NET and if I want to make scripts I need to study Python. So, do I need to learn all the C programming languages or I can just learn one of them?

I would recommend starting with Python. It is much easier to learn then C. And much more fun! You can see results much faster!

No, don't learn Python, no one is using it for "serious" applications outside of data analysis and data mining. It's a good tool to have when you need to write some quick scripts otherwise I would focus on learning C or C#. C is helpful for understanding the foundations of other languages and what they're doing underneath, but C# has a less steep learning curve and the .NET framework/runtime has many useful and optimised methods to use.

If you ask my experience, I was good at Python, and yes, it was one of my earlier languages after PHP. Later, if must learn Java if you want to work on enterprise-grade projects. 

There is one, new point against python vs. compiled (properly) languages (like C) is that anyone can see your python code (relatively easily) - and therefore: take, re purpose, patent/trademark your code.

Ps. Also, I wouldn't pick up C++ unless for specific project, and C# + .NET suffer from issue called MS short attention span (they also act like jealous girlfriend constantly trying to control you at every step).

Edited by RexvimilZuzakzmo, 22 November 2025 - 11:12 PM.