LUA vs. C++

[jack_561]

The lowdown is that I am very new. When I say very I actually mean very very. Whats the best way to get started LUA or C++. From what ive seen LUA is easier for noobs but C++ is way more advanced and powerful. So basically I would appreciate it if I could have your views on it as I hope it will help more people than myself.

[Andorien]

Originally Posted by jack_561

The lowdown is that I am very new. When I say very I actually mean very very. Whats the best way to get started LUA or C++. From what ive seen LUA is easier for noobs but C++ is way more advanced and powerful. So basically I would appreciate it if I could have your views on it as I hope it will help more people than myself.

While I have no knowledge of LUA, other than that it's an interpreted scripting language and not very close to the hardware, if you have little to no experience programming, I'd suggest starting with LUA. Alternatively, you could start with C if you want to learn on a more... widespread and accepted language.

[Kos]

lua most deinitely altho lua is still hard to learn so ud be best not to start on anyting too hard.

theres soem great tutorials by both whitehawk and pspmilliomaire whihc you can find easily in the homebrew or dev setion of these forums i think. gd luck

p.s. i apologise for my spelling, i got bored and cracked open the vodka. lol...

[Xodiac21]

lol, if i wern't about to go i'd make a beautiful "posting while intoxicated" sig for u....AWW WELL see yaz

btw. go for lua if your not 100 percent ready to engulf urself in hard arse coding

[Andorien]

I think we have a verdict. Use LUA to learn your basic programming concepts. When you're ready to take the next step, move on to C or C++.

[jack_561]

Thanks for the help people. I think ill start with LUA.

[cyanide]

start with c++.
trust me, youll appreciate the decision few months down the line...
it might be difficult right now, but once you get the hang of it, you can make the psp dance..ok maybe not, but you get my point

[mannymix03]

C++ is really hard to learn but i think in the longrun it is worth it...(c++ is more accepted and can be used in more situations)

but as your just starting out try learning lua first

[jack_561]

Originally Posted by cyanide

start with c++.
trust me, youll appreciate the decision few months down the line...
it might be difficult right now, but once you get the hang of it, you can make the psp dance..ok maybe not, but you get my point

Ok, C++ it is then.

Originally Posted by mannymix03

C++ is really hard to learn but i think in the longrun it is worth it...(c++ is more accepted and can be used in more situations)

but as your just starting out try learning lua first

Now im not sure.

Ok well how about I start with C++ and if I find it way too hard then I will just move down to LUA?

[Moonchild]

I'd say go for C. It's quite simple and when you know it it's simple to just move to C++.

[Andorien]

Originally Posted by jack_561

Ok, C++ it is then.


Now im not sure.

Ok well how about I start with C++ and if I find it way too hard then I will just move down to LUA?

If you're unsure between the two of them, start with C. You'll be able to do more than you could with LUA, but you don't have to worry about a lot of the complicated aspects of C++. Also, once you've gotten the hang of C, it's very natural to step up to C++.

[Slasher]

Originally Posted by jack_561

Ok, C++ it is then.


Now im not sure.

Ok well how about I start with C++ and if I find it way too hard then I will just move down to LUA?

Have you ever coded before...ever? If not, I strongly suggest starting out with Lua and then working your way into C. I sort of took that route and its a good feeling seeing some of the similaritys between the two languages, and then in the end when you work your way into C its really not all that hard after learning all the things you learn in Lua. So basically if you have no coding experience, go Lua, if you have a good grasp of coding go C/C++.

[cyanide]

its always better to jump in the deeper end of the pool when you dont know swimming

[AnonymousTipster]

Ok, here's what I think:
If you think you might want to progress seriously into programming, learn C/C++. If you'd just like to make a few simple games, learn LUA.
Thing is, most people starting programming don't find that the language is the problem, it's the logic. E.g collision detection - it's basically the same in both languages, only the sytax is a little different. So if you're learning C, you'll probably encounter only a few more problems than in LUA.

Pros of both:
LUA:
Slightly faster to learn
Simple syntax (no messing with pointers and dereferences)
Image loading code pre-created
Programming on-the-go with TTLDE
C/C++:
Much more powerful and fast
More widespread language for other platforms
More reference material (the web's full of generic C help)
Ability to port C/C++ games to the PSP
OOP can be massively useful (c++ only)
It's what the cool people use :icon_wink

So there's my 2 cents/pence/rupees.

Just in case you're interested, this is how my programming progressed:
QBasic/Spectrum->Java->C++->C/C++

[PSPHax0r9]

Originally Posted by AnonymousTipster

Just in case you're interested, this is how my programming progressed:
QBasic/Spectrum->Java->C++->C/C++

? So you went from C++ to C/C++....

One thing to remember also, is if you want to program games or not. If you want to program a game and are just starting out, I would definitely recommend LUA. C/C++ has a lot of advantages, but it isn't as game-friendly as LUA is for beginners. If you're planning on making programs, LUA isn't the best language for that. If you're planning on making games and you're just starting otu, I would go with LUA. That way, if you want to make better games afterwards, it will be easier to learn C/C++

Also, one thing little OT, has anyone made a 3-D LUA game yet? I know that LUA has 3-D capabilities, but I don't remember a game ever being made in LUA that was 3-D.

[TheEmulatorGuy]

Here's a rundown of the two:

C++: Fast, but hard to use
Lua: Slow, but easy to use

If you want to gain respect, I'd suggest coding in C++.

[AnonymousTipster]

Originally Posted by PSPHax0r9

? So you went from C++ to C/C++....

Yes, I learnt C++, and all the quirks that C++ had were second nature to me when I used C, so it was easy for me to program C as well, but many people who learnt C find it hard to move to C++ as it's a little more restrictive.

[PSPHax0r9]

Originally Posted by TheEmulatorGuy

Here's a rundown of the two:

C++: Fast, but hard to use
Lua: Slow, but easy to use

If you want to gain respect, I'd suggest coding in C++.

Well...not exactly. You could get the same respect if you made a great LUA game. Like a 3-D LUA game. I don't think there's really that much of a "respect" difference there, unless you mean from other coders.

[fullerlee]

My coding background is C, and more recently I've been working in Java.

I first started coding for the PSP using C. I've recently switched to LUA because I can be way more productive in LUA than C. No compiling, and I don't have to copy the executable to the PSP to test, I can just test in the windows luaplayer.

The only reason I'd choose to write a game in C is if performance was a concern. I recently wrote a game proof-of-concept with loads of floating point ops which was unplayable in lua, but ran fine when I ported it to C.

Lee

[Devun_06]

I believe LUA is more like a scripting language so if you're familiar with html or vbs and java I think you'll be okay with LUA. :mrgreen:

but ofcourse you'll find C++ to be a bit more complex and scary at first than you would LUA (for some people)

[soccerPMN]

Originally Posted by homer

I'd say go for C. It's quite simple and when you know it it's simple to just move to C++.

Agreed. He put it wonderfully. Honestly, I don't see how people say how C is difficult. They must have just not have ever used it, or be extremely slow.

[matriculated]

I'd say go for either language. C can seem hopelessly complex (writing a Hello World program in C is waaaay more complex than writing one in Lua. See this: PSP Programming Tutorials in Lua - Lesson One, Hello World ) but in the long run C/C++ is going to do you more good if you're going to get into programming as a career. It's the standard.

However, if you're impatient (don't want to screw around with programming environments, toolchains, etc) and want to get programs up and running right away, I'd go for Lua. Lua is really a capable language - people really underestimate it. It has a lot of stuff built into it so you can access the PSP filesystem, 3D/2D graphics, WiFi sockets, etc. With Lua Tables you can do full-on object oriented programming with classes and Inheritance - people think tables are arrays - they can be but then you aren't taking full advantage of them. I'm not saying that you can't do this stuff with C but it's alot easier doing it in Lua.

However with this ease of use there's also some serious deficiencies with Lua:
-can't launch eboots (for security reasons)
-graphics are a bit limited (images sizes of up to 512x512 pixels)
-3D functions are really poorly documented
-it's a bit slow
-cannot and will not ever play mp3s

[jack_561]

Cheers for the help guys. Im going to follow Yeldarbs tutorials word for word then see how it goes from there.

[TheEmulatorGuy]

Originally Posted by PSPHax0r9

Well...not exactly. You could get the same respect if you made a great LUA game. Like a 3-D LUA game. I don't think there's really that much of a "respect" difference there, unless you mean from other coders.

I did mean other coders, Mr. Hack-Saw.