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NexesDev

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 12, 2008
14
0
I was just a little curious on what everyone preferred to write in (what's still popular)...

C
C++
Java
etc etc

or if you are strictly an Objective-C kind of a guy.
Personally I use Objective-C and some C for some stuff.
 

laprej

macrumors regular
Oct 14, 2005
108
2
Troy, NY
Depends on what I'm doing, time constraints, etc. I feel like it's quicker to put stuff together in Objective-C, especially with the garbage collector, than to mess around with memory issues. I have 14 years of C experience, 12 of C++, < 1 of Objective-C :)
 

toddburch

macrumors 6502a
Dec 4, 2006
748
0
Katy, Texas
C. But that is only because it is the only language I have any competency with :). I've just started learning Python and am impressed it.

You think Python is good? Just wait 'til you try Ruby!!

My preference, strangely enough, is mainframe assembler - I've been coding in it almost daily since 1990. After that, Ruby. Then REXX and C. After that, C++ and Java.
 

themoonisdown09

macrumors 601
Nov 19, 2007
4,319
18
Georgia, USA
I program in C and C# at work. I am learning Objective-C (using Cocoa and Xcode) right now. I am beginning to wish that I developed software for Mac OS X instead of Windows.
 

lee1210

macrumors 68040
Jan 10, 2005
3,182
3
Dallas, TX
I guess I'll be the one to say "The best tool for the job". If I was writing system-level code, I would choose C. If it was higher level application code I'd say Java. If I had as much time as I needed for the project I'd learn something new for it because that's what I enjoy.

-Lee
 

italiano40

macrumors 65816
Oct 7, 2007
1,080
0
NY
my favorite Programming languages

1)Java-because it lets you develop quickly and plus i use it at work
2)Objective-C Cocoa-because i like to develop for mac OSX
2)PHP- I like creating web apps
 

Columbo X

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2007
62
0
UK
Favorite languages are Objective-C, C++ and Lua. As far as functional programming languages go, I really like LISP and looking to try out Haskell when I get a chance.
 

foidulus

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2007
904
1
Depends on what I am making

If I want to make a GUI app - Cocoa
If I want to make an enterprise app - Java
If I want to get something done quickly - Perl and/or Bash

I've dabbled with Ruby and am impressed by it, but unfortunately haven't played with it as much as I would have liked to.
 

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,799
3,094
Shropshire, UK
Here are mine, in descending order of preference

C++
PHP
Java
Obj-C
C#
C
Pascal
Perl
Python
Ruby
VB.Net

Been programming in C++ for 20 years and absolutely love it. PHP is definitely my favourite tool for website development. I tend to use Java for cross platform enterprise apps. I must admit to a slight ambivalence towards Obj-C (I find the syntax a bit "messy"). C# makes me lots of money so I can't complain about that :)
C and Pascal are something I don't really use any more, but occasionally dabble for nostalgia. Perl is something I enjoy "playing with" occasionally. Python is OK, but nothing special. Ruby is a waste of time to my mind: It does nothing that PHP doesn't and doesn't do a few things that PHP does.
VB.Net is something I absolutely loathe and use only when a customer will pay me enough money :D
 

szark

macrumors 68030
May 14, 2002
2,886
0
Arid-Zone-A
Right now, I generally prefer Java for any new projects. I also have a lot of C experience and would consider that my second preference. I also use a bit of Perl here and there.
 

yeroen

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2007
944
2
Cambridge, MA
Questions of this sort, or rather this particular question, invariably boil down to a defense of whatever languages the respondent knows best.
So, keeping that in mind, I submit:

C++
C
Objective-C (without Garbage Collection)
Perl
Ada95/2005 (honorable mention)

My professional experience is UNIX development in the scientific/engineering and aerospace fields, so my list of favored languages reflects my experience.
C++ tops the list, thanks to the STL and Boost. C because despite my C++ excesses I'm a minimalist at heart, Objective C is the happy medium, Perl is simply fun, Ada deserves to be better appreciated, and perhaps would be had compilers been easier to come by.

If I did "enterprise" (== corporate) computing or any kind of Web-centric stuff, Java may have made the list. Or maybe not. My hesitance towards Java is primarily cultural rather than technical. To make a long story short, I'd like Java much better if the language was allowed to flourish on its own merits rather than have been the cudgel of Sun's marketing department.
That and the overpopulated zoo of vaporware-ish acronyms that Java must, by law, add to every month.

With the exception of F#, none of the .NET languages hold any particular interest for me. As a UNIX programmer, it's hard to move over to Windows without tripping the gag reflex.

I've only done tinker toy experiments in Python and Ruby, nothing substantive enough to form an opinion, much less a preference. Perhaps someone will enlighten me on why either are better than Perl (besides code clarity)?
 

NT1440

macrumors G5
May 18, 2008
14,620
20,797
You think Python is good? Just wait 'til you try Ruby!!

My preference, strangely enough, is mainframe assembler - I've been coding in it almost daily since 1990. After that, Ruby. Then REXX and C. After that, C++ and Java.
as a soon to be senior in HS, who is looking at colleges around new england and a little further sout for majoring in Computer Science, im wondering how you guys enjoy coding on a daily basis. Ive always been "the tech kid" to everyone i know and im constantly reading up on tech sites but what i really want to do is coding/software development. Ill be taking my very virst class (AP computer science) during my upcoming senior year. Can anyone give me there experiences/stories/ tips/warnings?

thanks guys:apple:
 

lee1210

macrumors 68040
Jan 10, 2005
3,182
3
Dallas, TX
as a soon to be senior in HS, who is looking at colleges around new england and a little further sout for majoring in Computer Science, im wondering how you guys enjoy coding on a daily basis. Ive always been "the tech kid" to everyone i know and im constantly reading up on tech sites but what i really want to do is coding/software development. Ill be taking my very virst class (AP computer science) during my upcoming senior year. Can anyone give me there experiences/stories/ tips/warnings?

thanks guys:apple:

Don't make a career of software development if you don't love to program and solve problems. If you think "This is something I could do for a job, but I'd never do it in my free time" it is not a good career choice for you.

I WISH i was programming more every day. I code because i love to code. I go to an office, and deal with meetings and politics because they pay me to. I code more out of the office than in the office for my own enjoyment.

I'm not sure if AP CS is still C++ or if it has moved to Java, but you will know pretty quickly if it is something you love to do. Systems engineering is not the same, and chances are that's the sort of thing you are used to, even if it is at an amateur level. Building machines, making them run, setting up efficient ways to keep them updated, cleaning them up after users make a mess of them, etc. are a good start to system administration/engineering. If you don't love programming and the other aspects of computer science (hint: what they taught me in AP CS was not much CS, but plenty of programming) you may consider systems work instead. You can still do a little coding for scripting things, and making your job easier, but coding wouldn't be your primary responsibility.

I don't want to discourage you, quite the opposite, but I work with a number of people who do not love to program, and scarcely use a computer outside of the office and I can feel their misery seeping from them while they are there.

-Lee
 

NT1440

macrumors G5
May 18, 2008
14,620
20,797
Don't make a career of software development if you don't love to program and solve problems. If you think "This is something I could do for a job, but I'd never do it in my free time" it is not a good career choice for you.

I WISH i was programming more every day. I code because i love to code. I go to an office, and deal with meetings and politics because they pay me to. I code more out of the office than in the office for my own enjoyment.

I'm not sure if AP CS is still C++ or if it has moved to Java, but you will know pretty quickly if it is something you love to do. Systems engineering is not the same, and chances are that's the sort of thing you are used to, even if it is at an amateur level. Building machines, making them run, setting up efficient ways to keep them updated, cleaning them up after users make a mess of them, etc. are a good start to system administration/engineering. If you don't love programming and the other aspects of computer science (hint: what they taught me in AP CS was not much CS, but plenty of programming) you may consider systems work instead. You can still do a little coding for scripting things, and making your job easier, but coding wouldn't be your primary responsibility.

I don't want to discourage you, quite the opposite, but I work with a number of people who do not love to program, and scarcely use a computer outside of the office and I can feel their misery seeping from them while they are there.

-Lee

Thank you so much for the response. As it stands i hope ill love doing the coding, but i wont know until i take the class, which focuses on Java currently, but if i love the coding, then ill be learning other languages to i can (here comes naive youth dreams, albeit nerdy) one day develop for macs.

thanks for your response.

anyone else?
 
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