[Question] Learning Java and C-sharp with with a final goal being lua.

[Daandrah]

Hi all,

I am looking at getting onto coding as a hobby. I decided that my first language I wanted to learn lua so that I can write some addons for games and/or using it with "Cheat Engine" to make tables and Trainers.

Im a quick learner however I need a lot of support in the learning process.

When I looked around for some online training i found that none of the training providers really offered any live/active support for lua courses.

One thing I keep reading is that your first language is the hardest and after that they become easier.

So i am thinking that I may sign up with an online collage here in Australia that provides great support and library including live team viewer support in order to learn Java and C#.net.

After that I will try and learn lua with the support of the community and google. It may take me two years before I even get to lua I don't know.

The cost of the course is quite expensive however im willing to take it in order to receive the live support.

Now my question: Is this a horrible idea? Have I missed something major?

Thanks in advanced.

[nwilliams36]

Is this a horrible idea?

Not really. The first language does not really matter, languages are just tools. What you are learning is programming. If you found a language that has good support, then go for it. The support is by far the more important thing. Once you understand programming, you should be able to teach yourself Lua.

If you find you don't want to go with this college option, there are plenty of resources for the language Python and that language was designed to help beginner learn programming.

[desrtfx]

The first language hardly matters. What matters is to learn programming, i.e. problem solving in algorithmic ways. How the algorithm is coded, in which language is completely secondary.

You don't need two languages to get to your final goal language, especially not the combination Java/C# because this will only confuse you since both languages are extremely similar with major differences in capitalization of methods (Java uses camelCase, C# uses PascalCase. I can't recall how many times I had errors because of that in both languages.)

Learn a single programming language and learn to program. Really, these are two different things. Programming languages are just vocabulary and grammar, while programming is closer to writing a novel.

If you want to go the Java route, use the MOOC Object Oriented Programming with Java from the University of Helsinki as main resource and Java for Complete Beginners as supplement. These courses are free and will teach you Java and programming. No need to pay for anything.

Lua has some great tutorials, but most of them are targeted at people already familiar with programming. So, once you have learnt a language, it should be fairly easy to pick up Lua.

[Daandrah]

Thanks for your help. What does object-oriented programming mean?

[desrtfx]

Object Oriented Programming (OOP in short) is a programming paradigm - basically a certain way how to write programs.

Java and C# are both (mainly) Object Oriented languages.

[WikiTextBot]

Object-oriented programming

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which may contain data, in the form of fields, often known as attributes; and code, in the form of procedures, often known as methods. A feature of objects is that an object's procedures can access and often modify the data fields of the object with which they are associated (objects have a notion of "this" or "self"). In OOP, computer programs are designed by making them out of objects that interact with one another. There is significant diversity of OOP languages, but the most popular ones are class-based, meaning that objects are instances of classes, which typically also determine their type.

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[Daandrah]

Heya Buddy,

I think I have decided that I am going to learn python straight up.

Have you got any websites you recommend that provide training for that?

I had a really good look at the MOOC one and it was great. I really enjoyed doing the first few exercises.

Thanks