Visual Basic or Fortran? -I need your advice

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the choice between learning Fortran and Visual Basic for a programming course requirement. Participants share their experiences and opinions regarding the difficulty of each language, their applicability in the job market, and the learning process involved in programming.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty with Fortran, questioning whether it is due to the language's complexity or their inexperience with programming.
  • Another participant claims that Visual Basic is easy to learn, suggesting it is a better choice for beginners.
  • A third participant notes that both languages are not ideal choices but considers them easy overall.
  • A career-oriented perspective is presented, indicating that Visual Basic offers more transportable skills, while Fortran is seen as rare knowledge that can command higher pay but may not be as widely applicable.
  • From a technical standpoint, it is mentioned that Visual Basic is suited for database manipulation and GUI development, whereas Fortran excels in numerical computations but struggles with application integration.
  • One participant emphasizes that fundamental programming concepts are often more challenging than the specifics of any one language, suggesting that switching to Visual Basic may not resolve underlying issues with understanding programming concepts.
  • Another participant suggests that switching languages could be beneficial, as it allows for comparison and deeper understanding of programming concepts.
  • One participant expresses a strong preference for Visual Basic, citing its popularity and ease of use, while dismissing Fortran as outdated.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the ease of learning Fortran versus Visual Basic, with some favoring Visual Basic for its accessibility and job market relevance, while others acknowledge the strengths of Fortran in specific technical applications. There is no consensus on which language is definitively better for beginners.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various factors influencing their opinions, such as personal experiences with programming concepts, the job market, and the specific applications of each language. The discussion reflects a diversity of perspectives without resolving the complexities involved in choosing between the two languages.

Spirit
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Hey everyone,

I have a course requirement for taking one programming class, the choices are Fortran and Visual Basic.

I am not doing well as i expect in fortran, but not sure if its because its my first time in programming or the language difficulty. I am thinking to swap to Visual Basic.

What is your advice? Concerning the language difficulties.

On a side note, I would love it if any links to free good material about the languages online that helps beginners like me.

Thanks!
 
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Visual Basics is really easy.

I never used Fortran, but I'd still imagine Visual Basics is easier.
 
Fortran or Visual Basic? They sure don't give you decent choices. Either way they're easy though.
 
From a career point of view:

Visual Basic = Transportable Knowledge. Friends of mine have done very well by quitting technical jobs and becoming VB programmers in other disciplines who pay better than engineering, financial institutes etc.

Fortran = Rare Knowledge. We routinely hire in contract Fortran programmers as nobody really learns it any more. We have to pay them what they ask asd there are not many about and they are not always that good; but then we lay them off after a couple of months once the job is complete.

From a technical point of view:

VB is really designed for database manipulation but has reasonable mathematical and graphical capabilities. It is well suited to quickly cobbling together Windows GUIs but is not very efficient for major number crunching.

Fortran is the industry standard number cruncher. If you need to churn out serious maths fast then fortran makes good efficient code. It is pretty poor when it comes to integrating it into an application.

The company I work for do some serious programming and in general the maths is written in Fortran, The GUIs are written in VB and programme control is done in ADA and C, we then employ a department dedicated to trying to integrate these separate components.

I would recommend VB, as transportable knowledge gives you a door to escape through when the mid-life crisis kicks in.
 
Spirit said:
I am not doing well as i expect in fortran, but not sure if its because its my first time in programming or the language difficulty. I am thinking to swap to Visual Basic.

I've taught programming courses using a few different languages. In my experience, concepts are usually a bigger stumbling block than the details of the particular language. That is, students have the most trouble with fundamental concepts such as sequential execution, boolean logic, selection, looping, subprograms, arrays, etc. and seeing how they are used to solve problems. These concepts are pretty much the same from one language to another.

If that's the sort of thing you're having trouble with, I doubt that switching to VB would help.
 
Switching can be good because you probably picked up some things in Fortran and can hopefully compare that to VB. Seeing things in more that one language can really help.
 
I would recommend vb for its popularity and its ease of use.Personally i think that no one cares about Fortran anymore because it is very very old. Besides in vb the GUI development is extremely easy and simple.
 

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