Making applications

[x-ecutioner]

hi there,

i am good with html, i have somewhat of a grasp with PHP
and i did turing in grade 10 computer science and understand all the concepts taught in the course

what languages will I need to learn in order to build an application such as uTorrent, adobe photoshop, paint, or notepad

to clarify, obviously, building these applications would be complicated and i expect a series of different things ill need to know; but im asking what kind of languages will I need to know to design an application of similar format?


thanks,

x-ecutioner

[wtd]

There are any number of languages which would work. The toolkit you use is more important.

On Windows you might program in straight Win32, or some combination of .NET libraries. If Win32, C. Otherwise you'll likely be using C#, and might very well use something like IronPython or XAML.

On Mac OS X, if you're even remotely wise, you'll be using Cocoa, and the language of choice will be Objective-C, though there are other options.

On Linux you'd likely be using GTK+ or Qt. Languages of choice are going to be C, C++, C#, Vala, Python, Ruby, etc.

You may choose to use Java, which means you'll likely be using either Swing or SWT.

[ecookman]

i think wtd is right on this one.

but to see kinda what the programs look like you could find a similar opensource program (for a photo editor try GIMP it is similar to Photoshop). if the source code doesn't have an immediate download link, E-mail the author of the program and ask for the source code. They should give it to you because Open Source programs are made under the Open Gl License...so they have to share

[DemonWasp]

@ecookman: There are a multitude of open source licenses. The most common ones are the modified-BSD/Apache, GPL, LGPL and GPLv2/v3 licenses. These all share the source code freely, they just differ on the requirements on any application using them; some are lenient and let you just use the library / code, while others require branding or full open-sourcing.

[jeffgreco13]

word of advice... just starting? don't set your sights on making a program of uTorrent or Photoshop's magnitude... have you ever launched photoshop and taken note on the amount of developers involved on the splash screen?

anyway im sure you'll start slow...

My advice start with Java. It's a cross-platform language that has a great learning curve, in my opinion, and can set you up for learning C later on.

[[Gandalf]]

ecookman @ 2009-04-27, 7:19 am wrote:

Open Source programs are made under the Open Gl License...so they have to share

Open GL

[wtd]

Hey! The Open Gastro-Intestinal License is an important license.

[ecookman]

wtd @ Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:10 pm wrote:

Hey! The Open Gastro-Intestinal License is an important license.

lol nice

[saltpro15]

wtd @ Mon Apr 27, 2009 wrote:

Hey! The Open Gastro-Intestinal License is an important license.

couldn't agree more

[x-ecutioner]

thanks for all ur advice guys

I've decided to go with C++ after comparing the languages and what i tihnk would be best for me.

I'm just confused as to
what kind of compiler do you suggest i use? do you know of any compilers for beginners?

thanks.

[x-ecutioner]

okay well
i settled on visual c++ express edition

any feedback?

[wtd]

I suggest GCC, a text editor (not Notepad, but something decent like Textpad or Notepad++) and the command-line.

Visual Studio is huge and horrifyingly confusing for newcomers. But then, so is C++. Patience and humility will serve you well in learning C++.