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Offline Offline Hi. First of all, thank you so much for your comments about the site. I'm a bit confused what you mean by the most widely used software. Are you referring to development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio .NET? Do you want to know which programming language to go with? Or what are some small programs you can start off writing?
I would recommend learning using a language that at least still has some use in real world environments, ie, perl, c, visual basic (if you must), pascal (although it is mostly dead, delphi as a better alternative).
I don't think C++ will ever die completely, and I don't think Java will replace it, both language have their place and will be required even if it is just to maintain old applications, if C++ is the language you want to learn I recommend getting a couple of good books of the top of my head the best I have found are, Practical C++ Programming, published by O'Reilly and The C++ Programming Language, follow a few of the examples in the books, and then play, figure out something you would like to do and do it. Also if you are just beginning there is no need to drop hundreds of dollars on visual c++ I would recommended bloodshed dev-c++ for windows or even better g++ for unix environments.
the software that is eesential for hardcore c++ is Microsoft Visual C++. It would be hard to find a major programming firm or company without it. As for programming, its not for everyone, it gets really frustrating at times and is fairly monotonous. the choice of whether or not its for you, is one that only you can make!
Offline The thing about programming is that it is 30% coding and 70% socializing with the person/group who wants something done. Think of a carpenter building a house. The tough part of the job is NOT deciding which hammer to use; its reading the blueprint. A good carpenter can see issues and discuss them with the owner/architect, and use the right tool for the job. The tool part comes with experience, and you can use the 'perfect' hammer or not, and with a good carpenter it doesn't matter; they can pick up almost any hammer and do a good job. They also know which hammer is 'right' for a job.
So, pick ANY language. You see ads for Visual Basic, so fine, use that. C++? use that. The language is the EASY PART. The hard part is figuring out what the customer needs and wants.
In my experience, customers have their preferred languages, and you adapt to them. The interesting/fun/hard part is figuring out what to DO with the language.
Remember, if you chose programming as a career, you can have FOURTY YEARS of doing it, so make it fun! Don't waste 2,000 hours a year on something that isn't fun.
Oh, yes, and by the way, in my experience people are worth spending time with, machines are worth making money on. Don't confuse making money with fun. Humans == fun, machines == money.
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