I dont know what to do. We are currently studying Delphi at school, but it is not a language I am particularly interested in. I have been programming VB for a little while, and it is my strongest language. I have also recently started C++ at home, and i am getting Java soon. I also tinkered a little with HTML, but thats just to get a very small understanding of it. My question is: Which one should I make my "first language"? I know C++ is probably the most powerful of those, but I've also heard that its getting outdated because of c-sharp (is this the same as C#? What is C# used for mainly?), which i understand is like OOP c++. If i do anything with programming in the future, it will probably be to do with game-type applications. Also, what is the primary use of Java? Any suggestions/help appreciated. Athlon XP 1800+ 512Mb DDR266 RAM Leadtek Geforce 6800 Thermaltake 360W PSU 56X CD-ROM 52x24x52 Samsung CD-RW 20 GB Maxtor HDD 80 GB Hitachi HDD Gigabyte GA-7DX+ mobo

learn standard C++. its a standard language.... i havnt used c# yet.. but i think its just the .net version of C++. java is nice because its not platform independent. if you write code in java... it will run exactly the same on a mac, windows, or linux. A+ Certified MCSE soon

"which i understand is like OOP c++. " C sharp is object oriented, but so is C++. C sharp is basically microsofts solution to programmers needing a language with the flexibility of C and C++ but with more rapid development. heres a website with a more full description of the language and its uses: http://www.csharphelp.com/what.html. Java is an object-oriented language similar to C++, but simplified to eliminate language features that cause common programming errors (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/J/Java.html). that website has a more robust description of the language. hope this helps.. ::tim

on another note, i'm talking to my friend who's currently attending college to become a gamind developer and he said that games are written in C++ (i'm guessing this is generally). but i also remember seeing a hard core flight simulator on TechTV and it was written in C++ so if your going to be writing games and such, get crackin ;)

OK, thanks. Sorry about the OOP thing, I misunderstood what it meant before, but i've cleared it up. What i meant was is c-sharp the same thing as C#, and is it event driven, ie with a form to visually place components on like VB. According to the article tImmaY posted, it seems so. Thank you. Athlon XP 1800+ 512Mb DDR266 RAM Leadtek Geforce 6800 Thermaltake 360W PSU 56X CD-ROM 52x24x52 Samsung CD-RW 20 GB Maxtor HDD 80 GB Hitachi HDD Gigabyte GA-7DX+ mobo

" is c-sharp the same thing as C#, " Yes. "is it event driven, ie with a form to visually place components on like VB" Yes.

Great, thanks guys. I think i'll go with C++ primary language, Java\VB second. Athlon XP 1800+ 512Mb DDR266 RAM Leadtek Geforce 6800 Thermaltake 360W PSU 56X CD-ROM 52x24x52 Samsung CD-RW 20 GB Maxtor HDD 80 GB Hitachi HDD Gigabyte GA-7DX+ mobo