Guess I'm going to have to give in and learn a language

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the necessity of learning programming languages for a physics major with no prior programming experience. Participants explore various programming languages suitable for research and engineering applications, considering factors like ease of learning and practical utility.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses a reluctance to learn programming but acknowledges its importance for research and engineering jobs.
  • Another participant suggests several languages, including Matlab, Fortran, and C/C++, highlighting their historical use and suitability for intensive programming tasks.
  • A third participant mentions that Python is a good first language for beginners, noting its libraries for scientific work and its potential as a foundation for learning C.
  • There is a query about what specific programming tasks the original poster expects to undertake, indicating a need for clarity on their goals.
  • One participant shares their past experience with Python and inquires about recommended resources for learning it.
  • A suggestion is made for specific books to learn Python, tailored for someone starting without prior programming knowledge.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple programming language options and resources, but there is no consensus on a single best choice or approach, reflecting a variety of perspectives on the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference the status of programming languages in scientific contexts without providing definitive information on their current relevance or usage trends.

Who May Find This Useful

Students or professionals in physics or related fields seeking guidance on programming languages for research or engineering applications.

Shackleford
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I'm a junior physics major/math minor. I don't have any programming knowledge whatsoever. I'd rather not hassle with learning it, but I know it's a prerequisite if I want to do any research or engineering job. What should I learn? No more than I should and no less than would be prudent.
 
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Matlab, if you consider it a language.
Fortran has been used for quite some time, in fact if, memory serves right, people at CERN program Fortran but I don't exactly know the status of the Fortran development scene.
You could also learn C/C++ if you are going to be writing processing intensive programs, plus there is a lot of libraries written for them.
These are just a few things from the top of my mind.

Can you be clear what is it you are expecting to program?
 
owowo said:
Matlab, if you consider it a language.
Fortran has been used for quite some time, in fact if, memory serves right, people at CERN program Fortran but I don't exactly know the status of the Fortran development scene.
You could also learn C/C++ if you are going to be writing processing intensive programs, plus there is a lot of libraries written for them.
These are just a few things from the top of my mind.

Can you be clear what is it you are expecting to program?

I have no idea whatsoever. If I remember correctly, my vector analysis professor last semester said I should learn at least C. I could be mistaken though.
 
Python is a very good first language for someone who doesn't have programming experience. It's not exactly the most popular language out there for scientific work, but there are excellent libraries available for doing calculations and simulations in Python (SciPy/NumPy for instance), and besides it'll give you a good foundation on which to learn C, which is probably the most practically useful language to learn.

Matlab actually wouldn't be a bad start, it does have some similarities to Python (or vice-versa, if you like).
 
I think I started to look at Python a couple years ago, but I didn't get anywhere with it. Is there a good book out there for it?
 
Since you're starting off with no programming knowledge, I would probably suggest a book like Mark Lutz's Learning Python. I learned Python using Alex Martelli's Python in a Nutshell and David Beazley's Python Essential Reference, but I already had programming experience in C, Java, and MATLAB.
 

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