[mustang fanatic]

I have been kind of perplexed lately, trying to figure out the relationship between and or the use for many different computer programs. Any computer gurus out there, this thread is for you. There is just so much info on the internet. I just want some basic definitions and maybe some examples of what you would use them for. Also which ones do you need special programs for. Here is the list:

1. c++
2. SQL
3. Access
4. Java
5. C#
6. Oracle
7. Perl
8. Visual Basic
9. Microsoft Visio
10. ASP.Net
11. PHP
12. MySQL

Thanks!

James

[atlacatl213]

1. c++ (general purpose programming language, probably one of the most complex/hardest one to learn)
2. SQL (Language used for retrieving and managing data in database management systems)
3. Access (same as above but its Microsoft based)
4. Java (derived from C++ and its a programming language, mostly familiarly found on websites as part of networking)
5. C# (similar to C++)
6. Oracle (produced by Orical Corp, its a relational database management system)
7. Perl (Personally I wan to learn this language, its used as a general Unix scripting language that takes features from other programming languages)
8. Visual Basic (Microsoft based programming language thats used to make GUI interface applications, and work with active x)
9. Microsoft Visio (microsoft based program using vector graphics for the creation of diagrams)
10. ASP.Net (a web application framework that programmers use to build websites or any applications or services provided on the web)
11. PHP (originally for the same purpose as ASP.Net but eventally became a command line interface used in graphical applications)
12. MySQL (same as Oracle but developed by MySQL AB)
13. Python (higher end programming language used to enphasize programming productivity and code readability, pretty much to make code more readable and understandable. Similar to Perl)

Most of these language are cross platform meaning can be done in a windows environment or any other kind of Operating System that you might have. Depending on your OS, there are programs you could use to write, program, and execute the languages.

Down to it, each language influence each other and creates other languages like perl which was influenced by C and C++ which later down the line influenced to create Python and PHP.

What I love about Linux as well is that some distro flavors of Linux have some of the programs built to program in those languages.

Tutorials are always great to get a basic understanding how these languages work.

C++ Language Tutorial

SQL Tutorial

The Java™ Tutorials

C# Station: C# Tutorial - Introduction

Perl.com Home Page

Visual Basic Tutorial

Python Programming Language -- Official Website

PHP: Downloads

The best way is not to learn by buying a book since these languages tend to change as the years go. Though if you do go down that route, check out basic books written by O'reilly

O'Reilly Media | Spreading the knowledge of innovators

[mustang fanatic]

Cool, Thanks for all the info. That definitely helps a little.

[zers]

What I love about Linux as well is that some distro flavors of Linux have some of the programs built to program in those languages.

All of them do, a text editor and a compiler (usually gcc) come standard on all linux desktop distributions.

also, c/c++ is not hard to learn, it's hard to master. And easily the most fundamental language to understand the rest of them.

[gooberhead320]

i took a problem solving with C++ class my first semester freshman year in high school and it was kind of easy to learn. there's a lot of shit that you need to know to make a program work and we were always using the book for help and always going back in chapters to see how to get a button to work or something

[Safi]

so what exactly are you wanting to program....I can tell you what program language you need for what your wanting to do

[Notcho]

I just started taking a class this semester that teaches Fortran 90 and Matlab.. so far we have been logging onto a remote Solaris box and writing the programs in a text editor and then compiling them...

[ReverendDexter]

Java isn't C/C++ derived, though it does have (frustratingly) similar syntax. The "big deal" about java is in the way it's compiled. It's not compiled down to machine-specific code, but instead to "bytecode", which is then run on an interpreter. The advantage to that is that any machine you can write a bytecode interpreter for can run any "compiled" java; so you don't have to compile specific versions for 32-bit x86, 64-bit x86, PowerPC chips, Alpha chips, Sparc, etc, etc. like you do with a true compiled language like C++. The disadvantage is that the interpretation makes it run slower (though not as much as people like to think).

There's other little details that aren't quite right with atlacatl's response, but it gets the gist across.