Any programmers here?

[gusc]

I'm wondering what languages any programmers may use. I want to improve on my skill set and get more involved in programming. I'm looking at Python however I want to make sure to work in something I can connect to my interest in audio and music. I'm looking for suggestions.

If I had to just stick with one it would be C++. There are so many great resources out there it's easy to spend a week with a different language and get a feel for each one, but I'd just jump in at the deep end with C++

I'd stick to vanilla C, just one abstraction layer over RAW POWER!

[estevan carlos benson]

I'm wondering what languages any programmers may use. I want to improve on my skill set and get more involved in programming. I'm looking at Python however I want to make sure to work in something I can connect to my interest in audio and music. I'm looking for suggestions.

If I had to just stick with one it would be C++. There are so many great resources out there it's easy to spend a week with a different language and get a feel for each one, but I'd just jump in at the deep end with C++

I'd stick to vanilla C, just one abstraction layer over RAW POWER!

Unfortunately I'm not that good yet.

Is anyone here familiar with Python?

[Ryanmf]

Mobile Safari crashed, stupid fucking iPad. I wrote a really thorough reply with a bunch of links, not doing that again, now you get the abridged version. Sorry man.

Python's great, check out Learn Python the Hard Way, it's excellent for beginners. Despite being a high level language, Python also does a much better job of preparing you for the heavy-duty languages than, say, ruby. Python is also relevant to the Live API/custom remote scripts, if that's something you're interested in. If for whatever reason ruby does pique your interest, _why's (poignant) guide to ruby is probably the most awesome/weirdest programming book ever written.

Edit: Ignore Python 3 at this point. Three years later, Python 2.7 remains the standard. If you own a Mac, it's already installed.

Eventually you likely want to end up at C/C++, as it pertains to music. Most pro DSP code is written in C++. As gusc noted, C is just a step away from assembly, which will be of tremendous value if you go down the hardware hacking road. You can also execute C code in Objective-C, potentially useful if iOS app development is something you want to pursue.

Don't ignore platforms like Max/MSP, Pure data, Supercollider, Processing, etc. You won't do much real programming with those, but they may help illuminate some general concepts you'll need to understand. They're also easier to pick up, which means you'll be building things faster, which hopefully means you'll be less likely to get discouraged/give up.

Have fun.

[Davo]

I'm wondering what languages any programmers may use. I want to improve on my skill set and get more involved in programming. I'm looking at Python however I want to make sure to work in something I can connect to my interest in audio and music. I'm looking for suggestions.

I suggest you try Max for the trial period of one month. It's very different to the usual text-based programming but the tutorials explain it well. It allows you to write code in JavaScript and java and other languages too if you want or need. The Big benefits of using Max are that it makes it easy for you to access sound hardware and user and provides useful tools for dealing with handy things like timing and sequences and more. It even does video and other things as well, but not sandwiches.

[ark]

I'm mostly retired from programming these days, but I've done quite a bit of C++ programming in the past. I was a founding member of the C++ standards committee, and my wife and I wrote a C++ textbook and a book of essays about C++ together. She also wrote another textbook with some other coauthors.

More recently, I've been blogging about C++ for Dr. Dobb's Journal.

I've also done a little Python programming. Here's an archived copy of a conference paper in which I described some of my experiences.

[Tone Deft]

I'm mostly retired from programming these days, but I've done quite a bit of C++ programming in the past. I was a founding member of the C++ standards committee, and my wife and I wrote a C++ textbook and a book of essays about C++ together. She also wrote another textbook with some other coauthors.

More recently, I've been blogging about C++ for Dr. Dobb's Journal.

nice.

did the usual languages for a BSEE (C, Fortran, x86Assembly, whatever) write in Verilog these days (love it.) learning to code FIR filters for SRCs and whatnot. as a hobbyist you can get development boards for a few hundred from Xilinx or Altera.

good point about M4L and java although Max itself is one crazy mother of a language. being a hardware guy Max's schematic like GUI is kind of familiar territory. if the OP goes that way, keep the Max stuff really really simple and focus on java, it will translate MUCH more directly to learning other high level languages. Max doesn't translate into other popular languages, it's very unique.

[ark]

if the OP goes that way, keep the Max stuff really really simple and focus on java, it will translate MUCH more directly to learning other high level languages. Max doesn't translate into other popular languages, it's very unique.

Also let me point out that there's a Python implementation written in Java, which gives you a way to write Python programs that run under Max. I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know how well it works in practice.

[Moody]

Your language choices should be somewhat defined by the systems you will interact with. If you are going down the Microsoft path you would want to stick with VB, C# and Powershell (One should understand that the next platforms to be released by MS will be implementing a new run time environment. This means .NET will be “legacy”, so if MS is your path then focusing on what is happening over on MSDN the next couple of years will be critical in your adoption of new languages. They have already mentioned that Powershell will be an even more powerful development tool. Very exciting stuff.) If you are looking at working with any of the *Nix (this includes Mac) platforms the C, C++, PERL, Python and JAVA are good skills to possess. With that said, my experience has been that C (a linear language) and C++ (an object orientated [though one could use it in a basic linear fashion]) are the best languages for cross platform functionality and serve as a foundation that allows one to easily pick up other languages. I hope that helps.

[Mage2k]

Outside of whatever programming language you use, a large part of writing code for audio applications requires extensive under standing of digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms. For learning that, I can't recommend this free book enough: http://www.dspguide.com/

I hope you like math...

[8O]

I'm mostly retired from programming these days, but I've done quite a bit of C++ programming in the past. I was a founding member of the C++ standards committee, and my wife and I wrote a C++ textbook and a book of essays about C++ together. She also wrote another textbook with some other coauthors.

More recently, I've been blogging about C++ for Dr. Dobb's Journal.

I've also done a little Python programming. Here's an archived copy of a conference paper in which I described some of my experiences.

Reading your blog now... great stuff...

[ark]

Reading your blog now... great stuff...

Thanks! I usually put up a new item every Wednesday.

[8O]

Reading your blog now... great stuff...

Thanks! I usually put up a new item every Wednesday.

The Ableton Forum is great for this kind of random discovery - thanks ark, I'll be tuning in!

[AceLuby]

Programmer here... one thing to realize is that if you're looking to learn programming the language means very little. Yes, there are little things about each one and knowing one language extensively has its pluses, however, in general if you know how to program you should be able to program in almost any language as long as you're connected to the internet. I've programmed in more than 20 languages for different things and different projects, the language means very little IMO.

[jimmynitcher]

I am interested in this too - where do you begin if you want to get to C++?

[Moody]

The Dietel How to Program C++ is a good start. This is a very common book used in academia for learning to program. Their C book is pretty good as well. The other stuff has not gotten as much praise, but I found the format is similar in most of them so it does work well if have already started with one of their books. From there it is nice to have a reference handy. I am not sure who is putting out one of the better ones at this moment, but you will figure out which one you like best as you build your skills. Good luck!