As the title says which is the best scripting language for a beginner. I wouldnt mind if it had some OpenGL support also.

Python

Python.

Python is a great language not only for simple scripting.
You can do OpenGL as well as many other complex things within it. I've been recently using it for server-side scripting on a website.

Python has a very simple syntax and everything is well defined in it. What I can do in C++ in 10 minutes, I can code in Python in just one minute. That's how this thing works.

If you're concerned about efficiency, Python has JIT compiler, Psyco which can increase its performance to about half that of C++


Other alternatives to consider are:
- LUA - Less powerful than Python. Also extremely simple and its bytecode is faster than Python's
- Ruby - Not as popular as Python. A relatively new one, Has more power than Python yet it's syntax is harder, unless you're a Perl lover
- Angel Script - developed here by Witch Master, heralded for having simple integration with C++


And that's the answer I expected to get when I was asking about the best scripting language, yet I only got that 'Python." statements w/o any explanations. I don't regret learning it though :)

If you like C, then Small is the obvious choice. If you like high level stuff, then LUA or Python would be ebtter options.

Quote:

Original post by Raduprv If you like C, then Small is the obvious choice. If you like high level stuff, then LUA or Python would be ebtter options.

Small looks awsome, thanks for the indirect suggestion. [smile]

*is a fan of C*

NP
We use it in our server, and so far I am very very happy with it.

An interesting alternative is &#106avascript</a>, which also has the advantage of being well-known to any script kiddie who's made a website. I don't know how easy it is to set up from C++, but the Java embedding (<a href=http://www.mozilla.org/rhino/ >here</a>) is very simple to use.

ScriptBASIC

As the name tells you, it's basic.. Got lot's of string support and other basic stuff, and I'm currently using it as script language in my engine.. Lacks GL support though, but ASCII graphics can be cool too [smile]

[pointless information follows]
It's 40 years since John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz developed the original BASIC language.

I'd go with Python or Lua (both are in my signature). Python will introduce you to OOP programming more quickly, which could be confusing.

LUA