Want to pick up a new programming language.

bigpanda

I'm getting back into the programming game after a 5-year hiatus or so. Background includes C++ and VB. I'm looking at picking up a scripting language. Say either Python or Ruby and need to learn bash scripting as well.

I want to get back to doing some graphics programming and used OpenGL in the past but I'd imagine that's pretty antiquated now.

Recommendations?

Yar

Perl?

Hlubocky

I have a soft spot for Python, and there are some graphics libraries you can use. PyGame is a wrapper around SDL that allows you to use OpenGL. Also, if you don't mind being tethered to Microsoft stuff, the XNA Framework combined with Game Studio Express (special free edition of Visual C# 2005) and C# looks like it is really on a roll and has a fairly large following for being around less than a year. Plus, you can develop for the XBox 360 as well if you sign up for the Creators Club membership. C# is a neat language that has really taken off in the enterprise world and would make a good addition to your professional toolbox.

Jimmy King

Well, the Bash should take you all of 10-20 minutes to get sorted as you've already got programming experience. There's just not that much to it.

For higher level scripting languages Perl is my poison of choice and what I do for my job. It's not one of the latest and most popular buzzwords, but it's solid, has good support, and so far has always been able to get the job done for me.

I would honestly recommend looking into C#, too. I played with it some over the summer while I was between jobs, played with XNA which handles most of your low level graphics, sound, etc. stuff for you, wrote some standard windows forms, and wrote some ASP.net stuff with it and overall found it to be a pretty neat language. My only real complaint with it is fairly specific to only a few situations which you may never encounter in how it handles null values which can be a hassle when writing a SOAP client for a service which can validly have null values passed into it.

Janin

bigpanda wrote: »

I'm getting back into the programming game after a 5-year hiatus or so. Background includes C++ and VB. I'm looking at picking up a scripting language. Say either Python or Ruby and need to learn bash scripting as well.

I want to get back to doing some graphics programming and used OpenGL in the past but I'd imagine that's pretty antiquated now.

Recommendations?

OpenGL is not antiquated, and I'm not sure where you got that idea. As for languages, try Python - its OpenGL bindings are very good.

bigpanda

For some reason I don't want to reveal my hand just yet, but back in college was turning towards graphics programming and had I stayed in Mich, would probably have gone back and gotten my MBA in graphics programming. While pursuing my bachelor's I ran out of classes during my senior year and was able to get into some of the upper level graphics programming classes and did quite stellar in them (highest grade in the class). Unfortunately I burnt myself out and ended up in a sys admin job and have been doing that for the past couple years.

I'm wanting to do something more creative now and am looking back to graphics for that. Even so far as learning 3DSMax and Maya. Now that I've relocated to the west coast it seems a lot more feasible to turn the graphics thing into something fun (i.e. TV/Film) rather than using it to design car parts back in Detroit.

So in a nutshell, I'm looking to learn these in pursuing a career with either a game or graphics/digital effects company.

Janin

If you want to make games, you'll be better off learning how to use existing engines, which usually come with their own scripting languages. Popular scripting languages are Python and Lua. If you want to work on game engines, start learning C and Assembly.

bigpanda

Assembly. Sends shivers down my spine. Was never a favorite.

My desire though is graphics. Shaders, lighting, all that fun stuff. I guess I never really cared for assembly because I wasn't able to see visual results unless I piped something to the terminal.

Janin

If you intend to work on the graphics pipeline of a game engine, you'll have to learn assembly, or at the absolute minimum C. Most shaders are programmed in an assembly-like language, unless you want to use something like the OpenGL SL, which is only supported on high-end video cards. That's why I don't work on graphics any more.