Xcode works as well if you don't want to spend upward of $200 to learn to program…

Quote: Originally Posted by SteveJobs And is XCode ok even in the long run or would Eclipse (or something else?) be a better choice? -- Or should I try to start getting going in…

If you're still in school, and future classes will be taught in Java, I would personally recommend sticking with Java...at least for awhile longer. IMHO, it is a real good idea to…

Steve, I'm coming from an academic standpoint. I'd say learn Scheme or LISP as a first language, because they are truly excellent, beautiful languages. After spending some time wit…

Hey everyone, thanks for all the answers. I'll specify my point of view by commenting on some of your remarks. I am no longer attending any kind of school, so I don't get any Java…

a few weeks have passed since the last post but i will still post for what it is worth... what language you want to learn depends on what you want to acheive. why do you want to l…

Quote: Originally Posted by phoenix78 what language you want to learn depends on what you want to acheive. why do you want to learn programming? with anything a person does in l…

Quote: Originally Posted by SteveJobs Other than this, which compiler should I use in order to get into Java? java sdk comes with javac. This is a good one. There is also…

yeah java is a good place to start.. it comes built into the OS? or do you have to install the developer packages yourself from the OS cd/dvd? lol.. i cant remember it has been age…

Cocoa/Objective-C. There's really no other option for great OS X apps. Sure, Java is popular, but you don't need to learn it as a first language. It's really something you learn la…

I've found the best way to learn a language and its API is to sit down and give yourself goals/projects to do. For example, work on writing a simple calculator or a really simple 2…

SteveJobs, If you want to write applications for Mac OS X, Objective-C/Cocoa is definitely a great place to start. However, I suggest that you take daily supplements of learning L…

How does learning LISP make you a better programmer than learning Python or Smalltalk?

I have been a switcher for about a 1 1/2 years, and am intested in taking some courses on computer programming. There is a course on Perl at the local community college. A six week…

Stick to the cross-platform languages (i.e. take ANSI C instead of Visual C) and you should be able to program in any language on your Mac.

Quote: Originally Posted by larrinski I have been a switcher for about a 1 1/2 years, and am intested in taking some courses on computer programming. There is a course on Perl a…

I've got a Mac (and only a Mac), and I'm currently a student of Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. All the work I've done so far has been easily accomplished on any…

I recently found a local community college that is offering an intro course on perl, and I thought I might try it out. Now, the various languages are not too obvious to me, as to w…

C is popular, it's everywhere. It's offshoots are C++, which is immensly popular, and on the OS side of things: C# for windows and Object C for macs. Java is the most portable, b…

I second the php idea. Basically php is a scripting language that runs on web servers to produce web pages. It is similar to c in syntax. The basic concepts are identical to any l…

Quote: Originally Posted by larrinski I know I have perl installed, so it must be more mac specific, but which ones should I focus on if i get more interested in programming? Ca…

I say go with the PHP idea as well. You learn C syntax, can learn OOP concepts if you'd like, and also acquire the knowledge of a really useful language.

I'm updating a small screensaver I wrote to universal Binary, and I'm wondering about backwards compatiblity. I wrote it origionally on 10.3 and found it works on 10.2 as well (so…

If you compile as universal binary, you must use the 10.4u SDK. This makes it incompatible with anything less than 10.4. So "no", it will not work with 10.2, but even more signif…

I'll preface this with the caveat that I have no Macintels, so I haven't tested any of this myself. That said, it should be possible to create a 10.2-compatible universal binary. F…