Programming

Programming isn't just for hard-core geeks anymore. With IDEs, garbage collectors, inheritance, huge APIs, and a bunch of other handy tools attached to modern-day programming languages, you can write code in mere minutes that will amaze all of your friends.

Resources ¶ 

Text-based Languages ¶ 

Python ¶ 

Python is quick to learn and very flexible, but for more advanced programmers, Python is optionally object-oriented, and can do very complex things.

Java ¶ 

Java is an object-oriented high-level language, originally planned to be for web applications at its start. Today it is commonly used for many other things, such as game creation or utilities.

C++ ¶ 

C++ is an object-oriented low-level language that makes more heavy use of pointers than languages like Java. However, in terms of basic syntax, Java and C++ are very similar.

Non-text-based Languages ¶ 

Scratch ¶ 

Scratch is a programming language that is programmed by stacking blocks in a GUI (graphical user interface). The computer reads down the stack of blocks, doing each instruction from top to bottom. A 2D window shows "sprites" (characters, sort of) which have been programmed by the blocks moving around. This is usually only used as a starter language, but I have seen some pretty advanced projects on their website.

Alice ¶ 

Alice is probably the half-way point between non-text-based languages and text-based languages. Alice is also block-based, like Scratch, but controls a 3D environment this time. The syntax is a little more like that of a text-based language, and so I'd find this language to be a great transition between these two types of languages.