JAVA, C, C++ or C#?

[jeoff_b]

Hey I'm taking a bunch of classes for a bachelor in computer information systems (just started) and I have to take a bunch of coding classes. I have to choose between Java, C, C++ and C#. I can really only take one of them (plus all the classes that expand and add onto it) and was wondering what your recommendations are?

After school I really don't know what kind of field I want to go into, but I do want to learn to code video games and have been leaning more toward the C# route. Any advice would be great as I have no idea which would be most beneficial.

Also, as a side note, how hard would it be to learn C and C++ if I was to learn C# initially? Thanks.

 

[dogbert_2001]

C++. You can learn procedural and object oriented programming at the same time.

And once you understand C++, you can pickup the other languages easy.

 

[schenks]

If you want to get into games, then starting at C/C++ is a good place to go. At this point, games are still largely C/C++, but are increasingly moving to C# for tools, and in some cases, large parts of the engines. Either way, C/C++ will give you a super strong foundation to branch out into any other language with relative ease.

Another route that you can go is to go with something like ActionScript in Flash. I know a bunch of colleagues that have been hired straight into game-related positions simply because they know ActionScript. A lot of companies have entire divisions dedicated to portal-based Flash games (Facebook, etc.). There's also a lot of middleware being written that requires Flash knowledge, such as Scaleform for UI stuff. Either way, knowing ActionScript won't hurt your chances at getting jobs.

 

[Elledan]

C++. As said it gives you the benefit of learning the skills you need with C, C# and Java as well.

@schenksmill - why would any engine or tools move to C#? C# is limited to Windows due to the .Net runtime only really working on this platform, even ignoring platform-specific constructs in C#. It seems rather foolish to give up the portability of C/C++ for some imaginary benefits in C#. And yes, I have experience with C#, plus I run a game company

 

[schenks]

C++. As said it gives you the benefit of learning the skills you need with C, C# and Java as well.

@schenksmill - why would any engine or tools move to C#? C# is limited to Windows due to the .Net runtime only really working on this platform, even ignoring platform-specific constructs in C#. It seems rather foolish to give up the portability of C/C++ for some imaginary benefits in C#. And yes, I have experience with C#, plus I run a game company

Most tools are largely internal only, so it doesn't really matter if they're portable or not. As it stands, most companies are going to be developing on Windows-based PCs. There's a lot to be said about the speed of getting tools up and running in C# relative to C++ (though Microsoft CLR helps alleviate some of this...) to be used for internal work.

Granted, as a larger example, parts of the Unreal Editor and its associated toolset are done through C#, simply because it works. For tool sets, you're not often looking for the performance gains of C++, but looking for ease of setup and ease of use for the end users (IE: Artists...) to get things working properly.

 

[Elledan]

Well, there exist C++ bindings for virtually every library out there, allowing one to set things up really quickly as well. Having used C# and having had to suffer through its horrific standard library documentation (seriously, since when does throwing stuff together count as 'documentation'?!), I'd say that the benefits of C# over C++ are at best a toss-up, if only because the languages are so similar.

 

[schenks]

Well, there exist C++ bindings for virtually every library out there, allowing one to set things up really quickly as well. Having used C# and having had to suffer through its horrific standard library documentation (seriously, since when does throwing stuff together count as 'documentation'?!), I'd say that the benefits of C# over C++ are at best a toss-up, if only because the languages are so similar.

For sure, cases could be made for either one, and Microsoft's bindings between the two through CLR make the distinction a lot muddier. However, going with what is the pretty standard setup in a dev house of Windows+Visual Studio, at least here in the pacific northwest, there are a lot of gains to getting tools put together and out the door through .net and CLR, unless it's a tool that has needs that tie specific libraries in C/C++.

Edit: I suppose my point being, C/C++ is a good foundation, but being comfortable with C# has its benefits.

 

[Elledan]

I agree, being comfortable with both is a good thing I have noticed that using C++ primarily, and having learned C++ first has given me a good foundation to learn C# (<1 day to get used to the @#$# lack of good documentation ).

Learning Java first and then learning C++/C# has got to be somewhat of a leap, though. It's like going from doing web apps to programming ASM on an S/400 mainframe or so.

 

[noobman]

If you do get into the Information Systems field, you're likely to spend most of your code-writing time in Java or C#. If you want to get into game development, you'll need to learn C++ unless you want to limit yourself to Microsoft's XNA framework (C#).

With that being said, it never hurts to know some C++, even if you're not a guru of the language. Given the choice, I'd take C++, simply because you'll learn some transferrable skills that will come in handy when you're ready to learn Java/C#, C, or something else.

Also, what school are you at and what program are you taking? I'm in a Canadian CIS program, and we were never given a choice as to what language we could learn. Java was forced on us, but I fortunately know a bunch of other languages from my own projects and internships.

 

[jeoff_b]

If you do get into the Information Systems field, you're likely to spend most of your code-writing time in Java or C#. If you want to get into game development, you'll need to learn C++ unless you want to limit yourself to Microsoft's XNA framework (C#).

With that being said, it never hurts to know some C++, even if you're not a guru of the language. Given the choice, I'd take C++, simply because you'll learn some transferrable skills that will come in handy when you're ready to learn Java/C#, C, or something else.

Also, what school are you at and what program are you taking? I'm in a Canadian CIS program, and we were never given a choice as to what language we could learn. Java was forced on us, but I fortunately know a bunch of other languages from my own projects and internships.

I'm taking it through Devry in Calgary http://www.devry.ca/degree-programs/computer-information-systems/about-cis.jsp . I do plan on learning as many coding languages as possible, just wondering which one would be a good one to base it off of. The general consensus I'm seeing is C++. The reason I was leaning toward C# is because as someone said Unreal Editor uses C# I believe. A friend and I are in the process of creating a video game using that engine and are finding it somewhat limited as neither of us are too great at coding yet. Also we plan on releasing it through XNA possibly and see how well it does (another reason to learn C#). Plus if as you say noobman, most of my coding will be in either C# or Java I guess there is another reason.

How much effort would it be for me to learn C# first and then jump to C/C++? In this case would it be better to get C++ and then learn C#? So many things to think of, thanks for your input so far.

 

[schenks]

I'm taking it through Devry in Calgary http://www.devry.ca/degree-programs/computer-information-systems/about-cis.jsp . I do plan on learning as many coding languages as possible, just wondering which one would be a good one to base it off of. The general consensus I'm seeing is C++. The reason I was leaning toward C# is because as someone said Unreal Editor uses C# I believe. A friend and I are in the process of creating a video game using that engine and are finding it somewhat limited as neither of us are too great at coding yet. Also we plan on releasing it through XNA possibly and see how well it does (another reason to learn C#). Plus if as you say noobman, most of my coding will be in either C# or Java I guess there is another reason.

How much effort would it be for me to learn C# first and then jump to C/C++? In this case would it be better to get C++ and then learn C#? So many things to think of, thanks for your input so far.

You will learn a ton about proper memory management and proper program structure if you start in C++ that you simply won't learn in C#. It's not a hard jump, but I find that people starting in Java/C# have trouble jumping to C++ when they lose some of the inherent advantages of the class structure of C#/Java.

Writing games in C# through XNA or UnrealScript through the Unreal Development Kit will give you some experience with games, but you're learning stuff at a high level where you're mainly writing gameplay code, and not writing any of the architecture behind the games. If that's what you want to do, then that's generally fine, but if you want more experience writing core technology in games, it's not going to help you.

Also, if you do intend to get into games, don't ignore your math. Get comfortable with your Linear Algebra now. Be used to manipulating n-dimensional vectors and matrices now. If you're comfortable with this early, you'll have an easier transition into doing things like writing shaders, figuring out why the physics engine you chose is breaking (or even writing your own...), etc. It's easy to ignore this side of game development, but you're going to be so much better off if you have a super strong math foundation as well.

 

[Bviper]

I recently transferred from a university that exclusively teaches Java in the early courses, to a university that exclusively teaches C++. I had two semesters of Java before transferring. Neither of those transferred, so I had to start back at the bottom.

I had no trouble whatsoever picking up C++. My opinion is that Java is easier to start with. It's quite verbose compared to C++, but it definitely makes more sense to someone who's never programmed before. Plus I feel the documentation is fantastic. It always answered whatever question I had.

Now I totally agree with everyone above that C++ is probably more useful right now. Definitely for game programming, but don't believe that learning Java will somehow mess you up in the future.

 

[jeoff_b]

Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Looks like I might have to call my school and have them switch me from the C# class to C++. I have a lot of learning ahead of me, but at least I feel like I can make an informed decision now, Thanks all!

Oh and schenksmill I'm pretty good at linear algebra although I have no idea what manipulating n-dimensional vectors and matrices are. Guess that's another thing I'll be learning. Good thing I'm good at math then haha.

 

[william_fontaine]

If you want to do any game development at all, C++ is the way to go. Plus, all the languages you learn after C++ will look beautiful compared to the ugliness that is C++.

 

[GoldenTiger]

I recently transferred from a university that exclusively teaches Java in the early courses, to a university that exclusively teaches C++. I had two semesters of Java before transferring. Neither of those transferred, so I had to start back at the bottom.

I had no trouble whatsoever picking up C++. My opinion is that Java is easier to start with. It's quite verbose compared to C++, but it definitely makes more sense to someone who's never programmed before. Plus I feel the documentation is fantastic. It always answered whatever question I had.

Now I totally agree with everyone above that C++ is probably more useful right now. Definitely for game programming, but don't believe that learning Java will somehow mess you up in the future.

Spot-on post... although one can easily make an argument for using middleware when creating games instead of reinventing the wheel a thousand times over, that will take C# code or whatnot (there's a few good ones out there) in terms of efficiency.

 

[Cyrilix]

Well, to be honest, I think C++ and C# attempt to enforce different programming paradigms. The idea with C#, as opposed to C++ (IMHO), is that you shouldn't have to think about performance in terms of optimizations, but rather as part of the whole design, including algorithm design. The idea with C++, is that you should have a better idea of performance, since you should have a better idea of how it's implemented under the hood, and therefore can do things to optimize cache usage, to optimize memory allocations, etc.

Of course (what I call) the C# paradigm is more enticing, since it is beautiful, very beautiful. We can design applications and scale them based on algorithmic concepts only, for instance, the time and memory complexity of an algorithm, as opposed to optimization details, which are quite a messy thing to deal with. In the real-world, however, you'll definitely find applications where applying this paradigm is simply not enough to create your intended product, which is why we have the C++/C# duality that we see now.

IMO, C# will only get better with age. C++ will only be less useful with age, since it's a language with limited (IMO) complexity scalability. It becomes more complex faster than a similar C# program, and therefore the maintenance costs increase much more rapidly, and it becomes far less viable to create huge huge frameworks around it, the likes that we may not ever see in our lifetime.

 

[Elledan]

If you want to do any game development at all, C++ is the way to go. Plus, all the languages you learn after C++ will look beautiful compared to the ugliness that is C++.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder personally I feel like running away screaming if I encounter VB, followed by COBOL. Pascal and Fortran make me twitch

Also, C++ will get a really big overhaul soon with the publication of the new standard (C++0x... well, C++ x0 now, I guess). Many of the features now found in Boost and other libraries will be merged into the STL and the core language, including smart pointers, multi-threading awareness and many other things which will make it easier to not be forced to resort to external libraries for many common tasks. It should be nice

 

[some1x]

I've been doing C++ for a while, but am switching to C#. Basically, more opportunities in consulting / finance Windows development using .NET framework is a lot cleaner than the old Win32, MFC, ATL, etc. Don't know anything about game development though.

 

[-BokkeN-]

I'm taking it through Devry in Calgary

Take it from my first hand experience: drop out of DeVry and go to a non-profit university. You'll get a much better education at a tenth of the cost. I went for one year, and it ended up costing me more than an entire bachelors at the local state university.

How much effort would it be for me to learn C# first and then jump to C/C++? In this case would it be better to get C++ and then learn C#? So many things to think of, thanks for your input so far.

This is my opinion on learning programming languages:

Starting out, learn a language because of idioms and techniques it teaches you, not because you want to use tool X. Studying a variety of languages in depth can be a pretty comprehensive Computer Science education in itself. This is because different languages were designed to meet different needs, solve specific problems, and work with different patterns and paradigms.

Knowing different paradigms is essential effectively to solving real-world problems because some problems are extremely well suited to a particular approach. But, if you're unaware of that approach, you may end up at best, reinventing the wheel, and at worst, wasting a lot of time.

For example, C was designed the way it is to solve a particular problem. That problem was that most system software at the time had to be written in assembly language. Since assembly programs are not portable between architectures, C was designed to have a very small vocabulary, so that writing compilers for different architectures is easier. Since assembly language was predominantly used for low level programs, C allows for nearly total memory management control. So, learning C will teach you about memory management, low-level data manipulation, and (approximately) how computers fundamentally operate.

C++ was designed to maintain the nice features of C (portability, robustness), while encouraging better program design an flow by adding classes and templates (or generics). Classes encourage better data organization, while templates are necessarily to overcome a fundamental flaw in statically typed, object-oriented languages. So, learning C++ will teach you about data encapsulation through object-oriented programming, as well as generic programming, through templates.

Java was designed to be C++, but with better compiler warnings and (ideally) better platform support ("Run once; debug everywhere!"). The language itself is almost syntactically identical to C++. Java is capable of teaching OO and generic programming, but (IMHO), not as well as C++. However, Java is a lot easier to learn. Java can also teach meta-programming as well as threading, but that's probably not something to pursue for a while.

C# was designed to be like Java (are you seeing a pattern yet?), but better, while simultaneously superseding VB. However, Microsoft is much better about improving C# than Sun is with Java. Microsoft started out in 2001 with the goal of being competitive to Java. By 2004, it has basically succeeded, and by 2007 C# was well ahead of Java in terms of features. C# can teach everything that Java can, as well as some things it can't.

If you notice, all of these languages are basically improvements upon each other. They don't really teach any paradigms outside of OO and imperative. Because of their extreme similarities, you only really need to learn one of C#/C++/Java. It's pretty easy to hop between them, I went from C++ to Java without issue, and many of my coworkers have as well. The biggest difference are the libraries.

As far as languages to learn, you should definitely learn: one of Python / Ruby; one of Haskell / Scheme / Ecma (javascript) / Erlang; C; one of Java / C++ / C#; one of Perl/PHP/{generic scripting language x}. While, there is a lot of overlap in features, each of these language groups will teach a fundamental programming paradigm that you will use far more than simple syntax. Once you're at that level, then you should go try to master a language for fun and profit.

 

[Whatsisname]

Regardless what you eventually want to do, if you want to be good at programming, learn c++.

 

[mikeblas]

You'll learn programming, not a specific language. You should learn all of these if you're serious; you should learn fewer if you're not.

 

[Elledan]

I really doubt that Sun just wanted to make a 'better C++' when they designed Java, or that MSFT thought that Java was a good starting point for C# beyond the concept of a universal, portable runtime...

Having used C++ through Java and C# in a commercial setting, I would call C# C++-like, in the sense that a C++ programmer can switch over to C# and feel quite at home. Java is a much bigger shift, especially with it adding so many super-high-level abstractions and the limitations which come with it. Want to use pointers or references in Java? Be prepared to jump through a lots of hoops to get anything working like it while this comes naturally in C++ and relatively easily in C#.

Java not having header files also means that separating interface from implementation gets a lot messier too, making it less suitable for serious projects. Not impossible, just a lot harder

 

[jeoff_b]

Take it from my first hand experience: drop out of DeVry and go to a non-profit university. You'll get a much better education at a tenth of the cost. I went for one year, and it ended up costing me more than an entire bachelors at the local state university.

I actually look into taking the same courses through the university of Calgary (the only other place nearby that offers something similar) and their prices were comparable. Through Devry I am getting the same education as the local University for relatively the same price, online (not offered at UofC) and through an extreme reputable school. For the amount of time they have taken with me to help me fill out financing forms and getting registered and such (They actually let me start school while waiting for my financing, knowing that if it didn't go through I had no way to pay for it). So basically this is probably my best option. Did I mention that I can also finish in 2.5 years what will take anyone at UofC 4 years to complete!!

Thanks for all the info though. Very informative.

 

[BDV]

Java not having header files also means that separating interface from implementation gets a lot messier too, making it less suitable for serious projects. Not impossible, just a lot harder

I suggest you read up on interfaces in Java before speaking on the subject

Less suitable for serious projects? lol, just lol.

 

[BDV]

I actually look into taking the same courses through the university of Calgary (the only other place nearby that offers something similar) and their prices were comparable. Through Devry I am getting the same education as the local University for relatively the same price, online (not offered at UofC) and through an extreme reputable school. For the amount of time they have taken with me to help me fill out financing forms and getting registered and such (They actually let me start school while waiting for my financing, knowing that if it didn't go through I had no way to pay for it). So basically this is probably my best option. Did I mention that I can also finish in 2.5 years what will take anyone at UofC 4 years to complete!!

Thanks for all the info though. Very informative.

Just some food for thought, Devry is a TTT school, does it even have proper accreditation?

Going to an accredited public university > going to Devry x11ty billion.

 

[jeoff_b]

Just some food for thought, Devry is a TTT school, does it even have proper accreditation?

Going to an accredited public university > going to Devry x11ty billion.

Wow, don't know where you get your information, but Devry is a completely accredited University. I don't know what it is like in the states, but in Canada (Calgary especially) they are probably one of the top schools.

 

[mikeblas]

but in Canada (Calgary especially) they are probably one of the top schools.

When will you know for sure?

 

[GoldenTiger]

When will you know for sure?

I assume by "probably one of the top schools" he meant it as a statement.

 

[Zerikin Loukbel]

I'd day learn C. C is still used all over th place and many high level langues are implemented in C.

 

[-BokkeN-]

Wow, don't know where you get your information, but Devry is a completely accredited University.

In America, national accreditation is actually pretty worthless because you just have to know the right people to pay off. All high-quality schools in the U.S. opt for regional accreditation. This may be different up there, but I doubt it.

Also, he's probably getting his information from the news, as DeVry has been involved in class action lawsuits multiple times, in both the U.S. and Canada, siting the extremely poor education quality. Not to mention how many times they've been fined for fucking over people financially.

Unfortunately, I was one of those people that they duped. They came to my high school and did the hard-sell to the entire senior class. What ended up happening is, they knowingly requested more financial aid than I could get, but allowed me to take the classes before it came through. Then, when the money didn't come, they told my parents they had to apply for loans or they were going to sue me for the $8,000 that wasn't covered.

I left there after one year with $20,000k in debt and no education what-so-ever. Luckily, I'm a fairly driven individual, so I managed to get a job as a software developer and work my way up the chain, despite having no formal education, while paying out-of-pocket for night classes.

However, my cousin, who fell for the same gimmick, was not nearly as lucky. They did the same thing to him, but his mother couldn't get the private loans to cover the costs. So, they did actually sue him. Five years after leaving DeVry (and only going for a quarter), he can't find a job because they've garnished his wages, and he can't bankruptcy it away because they are student loans. He's a member of [H], maybe I can convince him to speak up and try to save you.

Since all of this went down, I've made it my personal crusade to stop DeVry from fucking over another persons' life, like they did to mine and my family members. I've called my old high school and told them my story to try to convince them not to let those snakes anywhere near their classrooms. I also frequently tell my story to others who are looking at going to college, as, most of them don't understand how terrible for-profit universities really are.

 

[ameoba]

As far as languages to learn, you should definitely learn: one of Python / Ruby; [...]one of Perl/PHP/{generic scripting language x}.

Why do you separate them? I'd say one of Python/Ruby/Perl & avoid learning PHP until you've actually learned what you're doing. The catch with Perl is that you have to jump through some hoops to get it set up as a 'modern' language.

 

[jeoff_b]

In America, national accreditation is actually pretty worthless because you just have to know the right people to pay off. All high-quality schools in the U.S. opt for regional accreditation. This may be different up there, but I doubt it.

Also, he's probably getting his information from the news, as DeVry has been involved in class action lawsuits multiple times, in both the U.S. and Canada, siting the extremely poor education quality. Not to mention how many times they've been fined for fucking over people financially.

Unfortunately, I was one of those people that they duped. They came to my high school and did the hard-sell to the entire senior class. What ended up happening is, they knowingly requested more financial aid than I could get, but allowed me to take the classes before it came through. Then, when the money didn't come, they told my parents they had to apply for loans or they were going to sue me for the $8,000 that wasn't covered.

I left there after one year with $20,000k in debt and no education what-so-ever. Luckily, I'm a fairly driven individual, so I managed to get a job as a software developer and work my way up the chain, despite having no formal education, while paying out-of-pocket for night classes.

However, my cousin, who fell for the same gimmick, was not nearly as lucky. They did the same thing to him, but his mother couldn't get the private loans to cover the costs. So, they did actually sue him. Five years after leaving DeVry (and only going for a quarter), he can't find a job because they've garnished his wages, and he can't bankruptcy it away because they are student loans. He's a member of [H], maybe I can convince him to speak up and try to save you.

Since all of this went down, I've made it my personal crusade to stop DeVry from fucking over another persons' life, like they did to mine and my family members. I've called my old high school and told them my story to try to convince them not to let those snakes anywhere near their classrooms. I also frequently tell my story to others who are looking at going to college, as, most of them don't understand how terrible for-profit universities really are.

I'm curious as to why both of you started without actually being accepted financially. When I say that I started without having my finances gone through yet, I mean that I applied so late that they didn't officially come through until a month after starting, but before I had started my form was "unofficially accepted", meaning, I was basically guarenteed the funding, they just hadn't made up the paperwork yet.

I do know that the money thing in the states is a lot different than in Canada. I know exactly how much each term is, how much I've applied for. As a matter of fact, every check the government sends for my loan comes to me first, and then I pay the school as I take my courses. There is no possible way they could screw me around this way.

I also know quite a few people and have talked to a lot of people who have gone through Devry and now hold positions in their respective fields. I've also talked to numerous employers who recommend Devry students as (for them at least) each person they have hired has been extremely well trained and has benefited the company immensely. Perhaps it's the difference between USA and Canada, but I hear more good about the school than bad... Besides that, I looked yesterday and had a heck of a time finding another school nearby that offered the same courses I'm taking. I don't plan on moving across the country just to take a few classes.

Thanks for the story though, I really hope they continue to be the way they are now and don't try any of the crap they pulled on you.

 

[f(r)iend]

c++ for sure dude, thats were I started and it hasn't let me down yet

 

[GFreeman9]

You'll learn programming, not a specific language. You should learn all of these if you're serious; you should learn fewer if you're not.

QFT. Learning more languages will teach you different ideas on how to code and you will learning programming in general. However, I think C/C++ is a good starting language.

 

[william_fontaine]

When will you know for sure?

You tried to be funny there, but it didn't work.

 

[Volume]

Not to derail, but just be careful with DeVry. I went there for a semester and realized their classes were taught by teachers who just want some extra beer money after retirement or are trying to pay off DeVry loans themselves. My friend got hit with bogus charges when he went there, and those still have not been resolved. I'm told a lot of employers look down on DeVry (not the case with ALL tech schools by the way). I decided to stick to community college and transfer to a "real" university.

And about the whole language thing... learn whatever language you want but just pay attention to the logic and concepts. The most important concepts are usually transferable to just about any language you want to pick up later on. Logic and problem-solving are a lot more important than memorizing syntax when you're learning programming. I took a Java class and it was pretty enjoyable. I'm sure if I took a C++ class I'd like it as well. It's just a matter of wanting to learn to program and diving in to the subject and absorbing information, regardless of language/syntax.

 

[1.1.2.3.5...]

Hey I'm taking a bunch of classes for a bachelor in computer information systems (just started) and I have to take a bunch of coding classes. I have to choose between Java, C, C++ and C#. I can really only take one of them (plus all the classes that expand and add onto it) and was wondering what your recommendations are?

After school I really don't know what kind of field I want to go into, but I do want to learn to code video games and have been leaning more toward the C# route. Any advice would be great as I have no idea which would be most beneficial.

Also, as a side note, how hard would it be to learn C and C++ if I was to learn C# initially? Thanks.

I think going from C# or java to C or C++ would be very hard to do. C++ is nice because it is kind of in between. C# is very similar to java, but java is much more portable so if you really want a more oop oriented language I say go with java.

Overall you can't really go wrong with learning C++. It is very fast and powerful. It is a bit harder to learn, but I feel that struggling is worth it and will help you be a better programmer.

C is ok, but not as common today. C is not an oop language so working with a team to develop software is hard to do with C as compared to oop languages. I like C since I use programming for mathematics and C works well in Linux gcc and openmp and mpi. Actually I usually just use g++, but ignore most of the oop features of C++, but I do like some of the standard library functions in C++.

C# is nice if you are only programming in windows and want to create powerful GUIs in no time flat. It is pretty much drag and drop in VS and you just add code to the gui to get things working. It is a terrible way to program, but if you just want to get it done quick, it will get the job done.

 

[1.1.2.3.5...]

You will learn a ton about proper memory management and proper program structure if you start in C++ that you simply won't learn in C#. It's not a hard jump, but I find that people starting in Java/C# have trouble jumping to C++ when they lose some of the inherent advantages of the class structure of C#/Java.

Writing games in C# through XNA or UnrealScript through the Unreal Development Kit will give you some experience with games, but you're learning stuff at a high level where you're mainly writing gameplay code, and not writing any of the architecture behind the games. If that's what you want to do, then that's generally fine, but if you want more experience writing core technology in games, it's not going to help you.

Also, if you do intend to get into games, don't ignore your math. Get comfortable with your Linear Algebra now. Be used to manipulating n-dimensional vectors and matrices now. If you're comfortable with this early, you'll have an easier transition into doing things like writing shaders, figuring out why the physics engine you chose is breaking (or even writing your own...), etc. It's easy to ignore this side of game development, but you're going to be so much better off if you have a super strong math foundation as well.

Good post...I say this is spot on advice.

 

[Recursion]

Want a tip?

Get an engineering degree. It will take you a lot further in life. Now there will be a number of people below me who call me crazy. They are nuts. Look into it. Its well worth the work put in.

 

[PTNL]

Want a tip?

Get an engineering degree. It will take you a lot further in life. Now there will be a number of people below me who call me crazy. They are nuts. Look into it. Its well worth the work put in.

An engineering degree is good, but certainly does not guarantee a thing. Some of those calling you crazy are unemployed engineers.