[quote author=charred link=topic=1477.msg6859#msg6859 date=1201393587]
thats what i was wondering about. should i learn something, then learn ash? or try ash first? what uses ash, just mafia? i was thinking theres probably more info(books, videos,etc) on other languages than ash
[/quote]
ASH was invented for KoLmafia and is used only there. But, it's a real programming language, and is not bad at all, in my opinion. It has the advantage that it's all interpreted and you can invoke scripts from the gCLI, edit them, and invoke them again, without having to learn extra stuff so you can invoke a compiler, link your program and then finally execute it. And it's got all the control constructs and functions and data types - and even records and maps (which are similar to arrays) - that you find in "real" languages. You don't even have to log in, if you want to experiment with things that don't actually interact with the kingdom; go to the menu bar when the Login Frame is up, choose Graphical CLI, and voila! the gCLI window pops up and you can invoke scripts right there.
Yes, there are books and such about other languages. But if your eventual goal is to be able to program ASH, then I suggest that you just dive in and do it. Look at the documentation that does exist, look at the hundreds of sample scripts that are posted here, try things out, and just do it!
Not all of the posted scripts are great examples - but published books don't automatically provide examples of "good" programs, either. Try things out, post your works-in-progress here and ask for comments, and more experienced programmers will most likely be more than happy to help you out.