-- Posted by RossTheHoss69 at 1:43 pm on July 21, 2008 Is ASM worth learning now? I'm just curious, and bored. The only reason I say 'now' is because I know that I'll take a class on it in College, because of my plan to get a degree in Computer Science. -- Posted by DefaultTo0 at 9:08 am on July 30, 2008 Assuming you mean assembly code? It's very useful in that you get to learn exactly how the processor interfaces with other hardware such as memory and registers, and it can also teach you about program efficiency in terms of both file size and execution time. If you're going to be taking a class on it in college, it's always good to get a bit of practice in first. -- Posted by paganinio at 10:59 am on Aug. 26, 2008 trust me, NOT worth learn9ing now. ASM courses come late in college please learn your C, C++ first -- Posted by telomere13 at 9:45 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from paganinio at 12:59 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 trust me, NOT worth learn9ing now. ASM courses come late in college please learn your C, C++ first Actually, C/C++ are pretty lame, too.  There's plenty of better languages for learning the theory behind algorithms. -- Posted by Narfle the Garthok at 10:00 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from telomere13 at 9:45 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from paganinio at 12:59 pm on Aug. 26, 2008 trust me, NOT worth learn9ing now.    ASM courses come late in college    please learn your C, C++ first Actually, C/C++ are pretty lame, too.  There's plenty of better languages for learning the theory behind algorithms. How can you say C/C++ are pretty lame when once you learn C you can virtually make the jump painlessly to several other languages. Also C has the highest availability for jobs (including its derivatives). -- Posted by telomere13 at 10:45 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from Narfle the Garthok at 12:00 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 How can you say C/C++ are pretty lame when once you learn C you can virtually make the jump painlessly to several other languages. The whole point is that you could start with, say, Python (or even Java) and you'd have just as good of an understanding of the actual algorithm's you're implementing, but you'd waste less time doing things like fixing dangling pointers, garbage collection, and all of the other lame stuff that you have to do in C/C++ for no reason. Also C has the highest availability for jobs (including its derivatives). This, as it turns out, is probably the only reason C and C++ are even still around: lots of code written in these languages still needs to be maintained, lots of people stick with it because it's been a "standard" for so long, and there's arguably better documentation about it.   However, if you're learning programing on your own before college, you're not going to be getting a traditional "job" right away so this is basically meaningless.  Even if you're an amazing prodigy, you'll succeed by making stuff on your own (in which case it doesn't matter what language you use), because companies generally look for either a degree or experience. And really, if you start with an "easy" language like Python or Java and actually gain a deep understanding of the algorithms you're implimenting, you shouldn't have much problem switching to C/C++ later but you've saved lots of time by learning in a slightly more reasonable setting. I initially learned C and C++ on my own, but now I almost exclusively use Java when I have the opportunity to do so.   -- Posted by Narfle the Garthok at 10:55 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from telomere13 at 10:45 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from Narfle the Garthok at 12:00 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 How can you say C/C++ are pretty lame when once you learn C you can virtually make the jump painlessly to several other languages. The whole point is that you could start with, say, Python (or even Java) and you'd have just as good of an understanding of the actual algorithm's you're implementing, but you'd waste less time doing things like fixing dangling pointers, garbage collection, and all of the other lame stuff that you have to do in C/C++ for no reason. Also C has the highest availability for jobs (including its derivatives). This, as it turns out, is probably the only reason C and C++ are even still around: lots of code written in these languages still needs to be maintained, lots of people stick with it because it's been a "standard" for so long, and there's arguably better documentation about it.   However, if you're learning programing on your own before college, you're not going to be getting a traditional "job" right away so this is basically meaningless.  Even if you're an amazing prodigy, you'll succeed by making stuff on your own (in which case it doesn't matter what language you use), because companies generally look for either a degree or experience. And really, if you start with an "easy" language like Python or Java and actually gain a deep understanding of the algorithms you're implimenting, you shouldn't have much problem switching to C/C++ later but you've saved lots of time by learning in a slightly more reasonable setting. I initially learned C and C++ on my own, but now I almost exclusively use Java when I have the opportunity to do so.   I learned programming on my own before college (I didn't go to college) and I have a "traditional" job that I started with 0 experience and without a degree. I now have 6 years experience and make over $50,000 a year. C was one of my starting points. -- Posted by telomere13 at 11:04 am on Sep. 2, 2008 And so that suggests that you'd be worse off if you'd started with, say, Python, how, exactly? -- Posted by Narfle the Garthok at 11:13 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from telomere13 at 11:04 am on Sep. 2, 2008 And so that suggests that you'd be worse off if you'd started with, say, Python, how, exactly? No but without that I doubt I would be where I am at now. Many languages build off C. -- Posted by telomere13 at 11:14 am on Sep. 2, 2008 Quote: from Narfle the Garthok at 1:13 pm on Sep. 2, 2008 No but without that I doubt I would be where I am at now. Many languages build off C. Can you be a bit more specific in this regard?