Jean-marc LEGRAND <jean-marc.legrand <at> total.com> writes: > > > hi all ! > > I'm trying to choose a language to learn programming. i know, it depends en what I want dto do with > it : but I don't have particular project on my table. > > So I was wondering if a good idea wouldn't be to use the same language as lilypond, which is C++, i > think.
Well. See below for that, but C++ is *not* a beginner's language. In my opinion, good beginners' languages include Python and Lisp/Scheme (Scheme is a dialect of Lisp). I don't know enough about Visual Basic to comment on that language specifically, but where I come from Basic-related languages are not considered a good starting point either, as they may tend to shape your thinking in ways that really won't help much when you transition to another language. That said, I started out with Basic (long before Visual anything). > My questions are : > > - is C++ the language used for lilypond sources ? Large parts of them, yes. > - are the different tools, espacially in §12, but also in all chaging default tricks, based upon C++ > ? No; for the kind of tweaks mentioned in chapter 12 of the manual, you need Scheme, not C++. Luckily, Scheme is not a bad beginner's language. It's very logical, very consistent in how it behaves and has a very simple and consistent syntax, yet it is immensely powerful. > Well, if I learn to use C++, will I be able to help, in a few years, lily dev > ? I've learned C++ years ago, and I don't touch the C++ sources of Lilypond with a 10-foot pole. (That said, I don't *use* C++ for anything, and haven't for ages. Someone who uses C++ or even Java daily may have other views.) Anyway, good luck, and if don't despair if you find out that programming is not for you; you can always conttribute in other ways. (I'm a programmer myself, but with the limited time I have to contribute I'm probably more useful sending in detailed bug reports than I would be programming...) -- Arvid _______________________________________________ lilypond-user mailing list lilypond-user@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user