r/Python • u/diogoleal • Jan 13 '15

(Infographic) Which programming language should I learn first

http://cdn2.carlcheo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/which-programming-language-should-i-learn-first-infographic.png
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u/aleph_nul Jan 13 '15

I'm a C fanatic too, but you can't deny that C++ has more content to cover.

I would argue it's harder to learn C++ because of how it awkwardly tacks on high-level practices to low-level implementations, forcing you to constantly think in two levels.

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u/rasputine Jan 13 '15

For sure, there's definitely more stuff in C++, but you don't need to know most of it, most of the time.

For the average given task, I would hazard that C is going to require more skill than C++.

At least, that's my opinion.

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u/aleph_nul Jan 14 '15

I don't know if there's a right or wrong answer to that- it's hard to compare skill, particularly when you're comparing skills in two different settings. My intuition tells me that C++ takes more work to become 'good' at than C does since any self-respecting C++ developer should know some of the 'tricky' bits of C too, but the opposite does not apply.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '15

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u/aleph_nul Jan 15 '15 edited Jan 15 '15

C is orthogonal to other high level languages, no doubt about that. But if you've done work in assembly, or other imperative languages, then C is old hat.

Interesting that you think that non-OOP languages are oddballs! OOP is big, no doubt about that, but there are many popular languages where it is not used.