need help picking langauge. EE

[tmh88]

hey guys, i need help deciding which programming language to study. Im starting school this fall at OU for electrical engineering, and in the winter I have to take a programming elective. I have a c++ book that I've been reading so I understand the basics, but I really dont know if this is the language I shoudl be studying. I know its "the universal language", but isnt that for more of software based stuff? Since I'm in electrical engineering im assuming the programming that I will be doing would be like writing code for hardware rather than creating windows or whatever based programs. Anyway I'd really appreciate some advice. leishi, i could use your expertise here.

[airbornflght]

afaik, if you are doing it for hardware, it can be compiled in machine code just the same. cause most high level languages compile down to machine code anyway. I would think C++ would be a fair bet.

[BLuKnight]

If you've never touched programming before, start with Java. It's fairly simple to learn so you can study many aspects of programming. Pick up a good book, like "Code Complete" which isn't language specific but will teach you proper programming techniques. If you've already had experience with programming, C++ is a good pick. Get a good reference book, there's one by LaFore which is pretty good. Also, for GUI apps, C# is one of my favorites.

Good luck.

[tmh88]

I'm currently learning c++. I also have a decent amount of experience with basic, although I doubt that will be very helpful.

[edcentric]

Back in the day (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) EEs took assembly languages. You know, Snowball, GAS, CP/M, a unique one for each processor.
I have no idea what you need today.
What specialty do you want to go into? Do you have any ideas yet? Don't worry, you've got time.

[sharkydart]

get some object oriented programming (OOP) experience in whichever language (...c++/C#/java) you decide on; in other words, don't stress yourself too much on learning everything you can about a specific language so much as HOW you SHOULD code. i hate writing procedural code - and depending on what you end up doing, a language you use might not support OOP, but it's best to be prepared.

[tmh88]

I think I'll stick with c++ for now and get a good foundation before I move onto something else. thanks for the help

edcentric, to be honest i have no idea what I want to do in the EE field, its all so interesting to me. I'll wait to take my first few intro to EE classes to see what stuf out of that I find the most interesting. I just want to get a head start because I have to take a programming elective no matter what.

[Cyclonite]

I'm getting ready to start my second to last semester in EE. I'd suggest taking C++. It's there more or less to give you a basic understanding of how programming works. Chances are, if you ever have to program something, it's going to be in a microprocessor specific language, so you'll have to learn new things anyway. I believe they include a programming class just to help you understand the general ideas behind programming.