The best place to learn programming languages?

So many of the tutorials out there are difficult because they aren't geared towards beginners, mostly this is because the writer has quite a bit of programming experience and floods their poor apprentice with reams of jargon, complicated terminology etc.

These are the languages I'm looking for:
C++ (because everyone says it's the best for games programming)
Java (very popular language)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Ioannes on January 29, 2009 at 2:28pm: Cool right well the best place to learn stuff depends on how you learn. If your the sort that can learn independtly then maybe college/uni is a waste of time unless you need the degree.

I would say that you should probably start out on Java and learn that lanaguage first, for you own study theres a whole loads of info on sun's web site regarding Java. Once you learn the basics of OOP and can make some nice Java apps, try a simple 2D game, once you mastered that you can move to C++. I'm saying start in Java because compared to C++ java is alot easier to learn. Plus once you get to grips with principles like OOP you can start to see what parts of C++ code are OOP and what parts are more functional.

The reason I'm saying this is that C++ is diffrent from C however most C++ compilers are backwards compatible with C which can make it hard when you look at code samples to differenciate between the diffrences in methodologies that the langauges and code uses. I personally thought I had learned C++ when I had learned C and then learning java helped me understand C++ concepts better.

One very good book for C++ programming is the C++ Programmers Bible. Once your ready to start C++ I'd recommend getting it as it comes in handy loads. Plus It's got loads of examples.

If your more a class rooms learner try night classes in programming. They can be good because you can ask your teachers questions like this and get diffrent oppinions on what might be useful. It will probably cost you more but if you find youself struggeling on your own it might be a very good idea.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sak Sun on July 11, 2009 at 2:53pm: Well after much deliberation I've started working on the tutorials by www.learncpp.com
I find them easy to follow, and there's enough opportunity to practice as most sections have a quiz at the end where you can see how much you have learned. I decided to use the tried and tested technique of getting a pad of paper, some coloured pens, and writing things down. However, this might not be a way of learning things that suits you...; ▶ Reply to This