Im trying to get in to programming and I'm wondering what programs to download

What kind of programming are you interested in doing? What kind of programs would you like to write?

Like I’m getting into microsofts XNA

Game development

but xna is for more advanced users so I’d like

something a little easier

Well iirc, XNA uses the .NET 2.0 framework and that means C#. Game development can be complicated no matter which platform or language you’re using – you’re often going to need math skills for physics or spatial calculations. When it comes to Microsoft platforms, there’s a lot of documentation out there so you could probably do a lot of learning right on the web.

Its a bit hard to say where to start. If your goal is game development like that I’d suggest you start learning about object oriented programming as that will be the foundation of any development you do (unless you’re doing something like Gameboy/DS development). There’s a lot of languages out there but if you’re shooting for XNA then you could start right away with C#. You won’t need to worry about things like memory management and its pretty forgiving (though I’ve used it very little so I might be wrong).

thx

@Beat170 If the games you develope look anything like your answers to your own (this) question, then you’ve got a long road in front of you. Good Luck!

In that case: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/aa937795.aspx

You could also learn programming in general in an “easier” language, then apply your knowledge to the specific area you’re talking about. Plus you don’t have to “download any programs” ... just go here: http://tryruby.hobix.com/

@segdeha, you could argue that Ruby is actually “harder” since it is so flexible. Its simple to do simple things but it takes pretty thorough knowledge of the principles behind it to develop something significant (a game, for instance). I love the language but I could see it being equally difficult as any language to begin with. Having said that, I can’t really think of a good alternative :P Maybe JavaScript? Easy to get started, all you need is a web browser and a text editor.

True, JavaScript is a great choice, partly because of all the information and tutorials available. Not meaning to start a programming language debate, but when you know it well, you discover that JavaScript is every bit as expressive and powerful as Ruby. Python is considered a good beginner’s language because it was developed as a teaching language from the outset. And, it has an interactive mode that makes it easy to get started with.

Game development is not something you can just start doing on a whim. If you are serious, and are not a genius, your best bet is to grab a book like ” Windows Game Programming for Dummies ” . Not comprehensive and will likely provide you with no real insight in to the specifics of getting it done. But what it will do is give you an very general idea of what you are about to embark on, and worse case scenario, you are out 20 bucks for the book.

People who develop games for a living are generally “lifers”. In other words, their entire life revolves around math, science, physics, further education and gaming. These people typically live in caves and fear sunlight. If this sounds like you, you * MIGHT * have a shot. I forgot to mention, the industry is incredibly cutthroat and high stress.

Yep, I have the highest respect for game programmers. They typically get down the hardware level to try to squeeze out a few more polygons per CPU cycle.