It has been a while since I wrote this post, and while I still largely agree with it, I will say that it has some exceptions and caveats, and that in the end it really depends on what type of programming you are interested in.

If you want to be a career software developer like I plan to be, are interested in all different types of programming from web sites to desktop applications to low level system programming, or and really want to understand how programs work at the deepest level, I think you should absolutely learn c++ first. It has all of the benefits I outline above and many more.

Since you asked the question, I will tell you that C, C++, and Objective C, while being similar, are not the same thing. C is much harder to learn as your first language, in my opinion, as one must really understand everything a program must do, down to the tiniest detail to really be effective. It also has the drawback of not being object-oriented, which is essential experience if you plan to go into most development roles. Objective-C, like C++ is based on C, but it is primarily used for Mac OSX and iPhone/iPad development, and it does not have many applications beyond that in modern software (that I’m aware of).

Once you have learned C++, I think C is also an extremely useful thing to know, and it will be a lot easier. I use both in my development job nearly every day. When you are at that point, I think you’ll understand when I say it that you will start looking at the task at hand and choosing the right language for the job. Once you’ve gotten a grasp on one language, particularly one like C++, it will not be very hard to jump to another. It really only takes me a few days of messing around with a new language to really understand it and be functional with it.

If your main interests lie in web development and you don’t have any interest in anything else, I’d learn a language like Ruby, Python, or PHP. This doesn’t sound like where you are, but I thought I’d mention it.

I’m new to any kind of C. And I’m planning on putting in the hours for the next couple of years to learn a language that can stand the test of time. I’m not interested in an “easy-to-learn-and-start-programming-in-just-24-hours” kind of deal. I would like to learn something that will enable me to be a good programmer in a few years time, not tomorrow.

And from what I read everywhere, long term trends seem to point out that it’s either C or C++ or Objective C. (I’m not sure if these are variants of C, or if they just share similar names)

From these languages, which one would you suggest I’d learn? Again based on the fact that I’m not expecting “exciting results” tomorrow, but am instead going for a strong knowledge base, from which I can then be better prepared to specialize in other stuff.

Thanks. Any input will be great.

I’m new to any kind of C. And I’m planning on putting in the hours for the next couple of years to learn a language that can stand the test of time. I’m not interested in an “easy-to-learn-and-start-programming-in-just-24-hours” kind of deal. I would like to learn something that will enable me to be a good programmer in a few years time, not tomorrow.

And from what I read everywhere, long term trends seem to point out that it’s either C or C++ or Objective C. (I’m not sure if these are variants of C, or if they just share similar names)

From these languages, which one would you suggest I’d learn? Again based on the fact that I’m not expecting “exciting results” tomorrow, but am instead going for a strong knowledge base, from which I can then be better prepared to specialize in other stuff.

Thanks. Any input will be great.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I agree that c++ does carry with it an initial “oh wow this is a lot” factor. However, having learned c++ as my first language (and also having been a TA for intro c++ courses), I have seen that it is something that even non-technical people can learn if it is taught correctly.
The key, in my opinion is keeping things working at as high a level as possible until the syntax is properly learned. Back when I was in an intro class, for example, we learned vectors before we learned arrays. This allowed us to learn syntax and list processing without worrying about dynamic memory allocation or keeping a separate array size count.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I agree that c++ does carry with it an initial “oh wow this is a lot” factor. However, having learned c++ as my first language (and also having been a TA for intro c++ courses), I have seen that it is something that even non-technical people can learn if it is taught correctly.
The key, in my opinion is keeping things working at as high a level as possible until the syntax is properly learned. Back when I was in an intro class, for example, we learned vectors before we learned arrays. This allowed us to learn syntax and list processing without worrying about dynamic memory allocation or keeping a separate array size count.