To all the nerds out there who actually know something about this and are willing to help.

I want to pick up a scripting language and I'm torn between starting with Java or C#. I have done quite a bit of "work" in C++, but I don't know how much will translate to the scripting language except for the general programming stuff like design and mindset.

I'm tilting a bit towards C# since it has pointers which i know how to use from C++, but i believe Java is used a lot more since it's truly cross platform (correct me if I'm wrong).

Help and/or advice much appreciated.
Thanks TL!

fabiano

Brazil4644 Posts

July 03 2011 22:50 GMT

Any. Really depends on what you are going to do...

Also, if you know OO, you know Java/C#/C++, it is just a matter of learning the syntax.

skauert

Norway6 Posts

July 03 2011 22:57 GMT

C# is generally managed. If you want to use pointers, you have to enable "unsafe code", which in my experience there is rarely any point (forgive the pun) in doing.

I am also confused by your use of words. If you are looking for a *scripting* language, I don't know if C# and Java would be your best bets. They're both mainly used as programming languages like C++.

C# and Java both have a plethora of things to offer you. Java has the obvious advantage of being cross-platform. As fabiano said, it really depends on what you are going to do. Working to eventually pick up both is probably the best idea, since most of the theory you will learn is applicable to almost any programming language. Learning syntax is a matter of a day or two.

For a detailed list of differences, you should probably check out various online resources. A quick google search pointed me to this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_C_Sharp_and_Java

AntiLegend

Germany247 Posts

July 03 2011 23:01 GMT

both c# and java are not what you would call a scripting language.

if you really meant scripting language, then check out Perl, Python or Ruby. if you meant something else and still want to choose between C# and Java, I'd go for C#, since Visual Studio > Eclipse

fanta[Rn]

Japan2465 Posts

July 03 2011 23:07 GMT

I'd go with Java, i prefer the online resources of Java more than of C# (well hm that's probably not such a fair comparission as I've only picked up C# yersterday lol).

If you know Java, you'll be able to write meaningful code in C# right away. There's hardly any difference although I must say the differences that there are, are quite neat (<3 structs, ref/out, get;set;)

But as AntiLegend has pointed, if you want a scripting language you should look to something else. I hear Python is pretty popular (I've only done perl and php and they're both kinda meh.)

Edit: VS is a nice IDE and probably better than Eclipse but I'm missing auto imports, auto generate setter/getter, auto generate equals and hashcode etc or do I just don't know how to do those in VS?

berated-

United States1134 Posts

July 03 2011 23:21 GMT

On July 04 2011 08:01 AntiLegend wrote:
both c# and java are not what you would call a scripting language.

if you really meant scripting language, then check out Perl, Python or Ruby. if you meant something else and still want to choose between C# and Java, I'd go for C#, since Visual Studio > Eclipse

You were so on target until you had to go after eclipse... instant fail...

Anyway I still agree -- if op is really after a scripting language then I wouldn't go with java or c# either. I am a java programmer so I can't speak as intelligently about the c# side but I would __not__ pick up java if I wanted to run a script. While powerful, java is a pretty verbose.

I've only got to play with it a little bit but python seems like a really slick language. Don't do perl... you'll thank me later.

Aetherial

Australia917 Posts

July 03 2011 23:25 GMT

I wouldn't say Java is used a lot more, both are popular programming languages. I'm a professional developer in a financial services company and we mostly use c#, with some Java. I am a little biased towards c# as that is where I spend most of my time. What I can say is that the .NET / C# ecosystem is developing faster due to strong direction by Microsoft, and Java has fallen behind due to the mess that Oracle has brought about.

At the end of the day it depends what you want to do, but if you want to develop purely in the Windows space then I would say go c# for sure.

StRyKeR

United States1739 Posts

July 03 2011 23:26 GMT

Do neither and go with Python.

I'm familiar with both Java and Python. For any kind of solo / small-scale project or any type of quick prototyping, I'd pick Python. Java just makes you do too much housekeeping, building up the scaffolding only to take it down again when you change your mind.

Python is much slower though, so if speed is an issue, stick to the compiled languages (although there are modules in Python that bring scripts up to C speed).

rabidch

United States20287 Posts

July 03 2011 23:40 GMT

try both. they're syntactically similar languages also to C++ so it's not too hard to play with them

DeckOneBell

United States526 Posts

July 03 2011 23:46 GMT

#10

On July 04 2011 08:26 StRyKeR wrote:
Do neither and go with Python.

I'm familiar with both Java and Python. For any kind of solo / small-scale project or any type of quick prototyping, I'd pick Python. Java just makes you do too much housekeeping, building up the scaffolding only to take it down again when you change your mind.

Python is much slower though, so if speed is an issue, stick to the compiled languages (although there are modules in Python that bring scripts up to C speed).

Seriously, scripting, Python. It's user-friendly, forces you to use whitespace (tabs) and is pretty damn easy.

print "Hello World!"

Is hello world in python.

If you just want to get into high level languages, both Java and C# are good to learn. They're pretty similar, you'd pick either up quickly.

joban

179 Posts

July 03 2011 23:48 GMT

#11

Generally learn C if you want to learn bottom up, and the processes behind how coding works.

If you want to get up and running right away, just learn a higher level language like ruby or python. You won't get a deep level understanding, but they're generally more pleasant to jump into. Stay away from php.

Overall, just get really good at one language and understand it- it'll generally be pretty easy to jump to other languages if you're any good.

xarthaz

1704 Posts

July 04 2011 00:01 GMT

#12

java is pretty bad for writing client programs for windows - no win32 support is bad. so yeah, C# is the way to go, hands down.

SilverSkyLark

Philippines8437 Posts

July 04 2011 00:05 GMT

#13

are you serious sir?

Anyway, I'd recommend Java anyday since it's more used than most programming languages right now.

Craton

United States17186 Posts

July 04 2011 00:07 GMT

#14

I prefer C# solely because I hate Eclipse with a passion. You'll find both are used a lot, it just depends on what you do and where you work. The syntax for both is pretty similar. If you absolutely had to pick just one, Java is probably the better choice.

AcrossFiveJulys

United States3612 Posts

July 04 2011 00:07 GMT

#15

Go for Scala! It runs on the JVM so it gets the speed benefits of java but has cool things like type inference that make it feel like a scripting language.

joban

179 Posts

July 04 2011 00:08 GMT

#16

I agree, Eclipse sucks

I don't like ide's in general, though

prOxi.swAMi

Australia3091 Posts

July 04 2011 00:23 GMT

#17

I prefer C#, I'm a bit of a fanboy when it comes to .NET

I'm competent with both, but tbh I much much much prefer working within Visual Studio compared to Eclipse or any other Java IDE