Is C++ (one of) the best language to learn at first nowdays?
<p>C++ is one of the <a href="http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html" rel="nofollow">most used programming language in the world</a> since like 25+ years.</p>

<p>My first job as programmer was in C++ and I coded in C++ everyday for nearly 4 years. Now I do mostly PHP, but I will forever cherish this C++ background.</p>

<p>C++ has helped me understand many "under the hood" features/behaviors/restrictions of many other (and different) programming languages like PHP and Delphi.</p>

<p>I'm a full time programmer for 7+ years now and since I have a quite varied programming background I often get questions by "newbies" as where to start to become a "good" programmer.</p>

<p>I think C++ is one of the best language to start with because it gives you a real useful experience that will last and will teach you how things work under the hood. It's not the easier one to learn for a newbie, but in my opinion it's one that will reward in the long term. I would like to know your opinion on this matter to add to my arguments when I guide "newbies".</p>

<p>After this introduction, here's my question :</p>

<p><strong>Is C++ (one of) the best language to learn at first nowadays?</strong></p>

<p>Since it's subjective, I've marked this question as community wiki.</p>

<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> This question is not about why Java (or C# or any other language) is better than C++ to start with, it's about what's make C++ a good choice or not a good choice to learn as <strong>one of</strong> your firsts languages. For example, for me C++ made me understand how the memory works. Now today in many languages everything is managed by the garbage collector and some people don't even know that. I'm glad I know how it works underneath and I think it can help you to write better code.</p>
