Learning C++

[camgear]

Hi guys, anyone know C++ here? Can they recommend a book to get started? And a free compiler/IDE?

Are there any online training courses that are worth doing, that give a good qualification?

Thanks

[Spam]

Local college might do a night course?

[Dupont666]

camgear said:

Hi guys, anyone know C++ here? Can they recommend a book to get started? And a free compiler/IDE?

Are there any online training courses that are worth doing, that give a good qualification?

Thanks

why C++ and not C#?

what do you want to learn in C++?

I know a few books, but is it for work or for pleasure and creating games, etc?

[camgear]

That's a good idea, I'll look into that

[Fetchez la vache]

Might want to ask / look this in the computers & stuff forum. Plenty to ask in there..

[camgear]

Dupont666 said:

camgear said:

Hi guys, anyone know C++ here? Can they recommend a book to get started? And a free compiler/IDE?

Are there any online training courses that are worth doing, that give a good qualification?

Thanks

why C++ and not C#?

what do you want to learn in C++?

I know a few books, but is it for work or for pleasure and creating games, etc?

Hi, it's for work and games, I have some experience with programming and scripting but not much (PHP, VB, VBA, Javascript, etc)

[camgear]

Fetchez la vache said:

Might want to ask / look this in the computers & stuff forum. Plenty to ask in there..

Cool, thanks, could I get this moved then please, any friendly mods?

[Dupont666]

camgear said:

Dupont666 said:

camgear said:

Hi guys, anyone know C++ here? Can they recommend a book to get started? And a free compiler/IDE?

Are there any online training courses that are worth doing, that give a good qualification?

Thanks

why C++ and not C#?

what do you want to learn in C++?

I know a few books, but is it for work or for pleasure and creating games, etc?

Hi, it's for work and games, I have some experience with programming and scripting but not much (PHP, VB, VBA, Javascript, etc)

So why not C# as that would be easier to learn and loads of stuff on the net, its difficult to suggest as their is so many things to reference....

Type into google, 'How to program in C++' and see how many sites pop up.

[grumbledoak]

I'm assuming you know how to program, as learning C++ and learning 'programming' are two very different things...

If you are a youngster (recent member) you'd have to be out of your mind to learn C++ now; it's legacy stuff for most uses. It certainly will be by the time you've got good at it. Learn C# on .Net - You can download "Express" editions from MS for free and the online docs are good. Or Java if that floats your boat - free environments are also available. (Both do much the same job, though IMO MS have a better track record than Sun when it comes to languages and compilers).

hth.

[camgear]

Thanks, I'll check the local colleges!

Grumbled, I'm 24 and do know the basics of programming, I'll check out c#

Edited by camgear on Wednesday 8th October 20:50

[Dupont666]

camgear said:

Thanks, I'll check the local colleges!

Grumbled, I'm 24 and do know the basics of programming, I'll check out c#

Edited by camgear on Wednesday 8th October 20:50

if you can do JAVA, look a cross compliance course to C#

I did and have JAVA and C# on my CV, which seems quite desirable and means i should be back at work in 2 months.

[camgear]

I don't know Java I'm afraid, this would be my first low(er) level language.

[grumbledoak]

camgear said:

Thanks, I'll check the local colleges!

Grumbled, I'm 24 and do know the basics of programming, I'll check out c#

http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/

HTH

[Dupont666]

My first thought would be to look at:

Sams Teach Yourself C# in 21 Days

http://www.teachyourselfcsharp.com/TYCSharp/

book here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/203-04035...

Its not the ideal solution but gives you a good start and then you can look at more specific books.

[deckster]

Purely for interests sake I've just gone onto Jobserve - the results are not at all surprising:

C# - 2417 jobs
Java - 2319 jobs
C++ - 1625 jobs
VB - 1314 jobs

I know which two I'd be putting my effort into

As has been said - knowing a language and knowing how to program are two very different things. In fact there's a lot to be said for learning how to program in a language you don't actually intend to use (Delphi might be a good example) and then switching over to something more useful afterwards, that way you get a decent understanding of what is a core transferable skill and what is language-specific.

Learning out of a book or on a course are both equally valid, depending on the kind of person you are. A course leading to a real qualification will have more clout with employers but don't go thinking you'll walk into a job. There are a tens (hundreds) of thousands of code monkeys out there, and several million more in India, so competition is rather tough at the moment.

Guess who's been looking for a new contract for 3 weeks with barely a sniff

[deckster]

camgear said:

I don't know Java I'm afraid, this would be my first low(er) level language.

Bloody hell. I know I'm old, but is Java really considered a low(er)-level language these days

[Dupont666]

deckster said:

camgear said:

I don't know Java I'm afraid, this would be my first low(er) level language.

Bloody hell. I know I'm old, but is Java really considered a low(er)-level language these days

not really, its still 4th gen, just C# is more powerful and is better supported than JAVA. It really depends who you talk to, JAVA people will say C# is crap and vice versa, to know both is quite good tho

[sstein]

When you say you know the basics of programming what do you mean?

Do you understand concepts like Object Orientated models, Polymorphism, Inheritance, Operator Overloading etc, n-tier development.

If we know what your experience is it could be easier to recommend a book or website depending on wether you want something to teach you object oriented programming in C#, or C# with .NET or just a basic C# book to learn the syntax ?

Also what are you going to be programming, web services, windows applications etc etc ?

I have a few books in pdf format, PM me and I will send you a couple.

-

Stuart

[dern]

Dupont666 said:

deckster said:

camgear said:

I don't know Java I'm afraid, this would be my first low(er) level language.

Bloody hell. I know I'm old, but is Java really considered a low(er)-level language these days

not really, its still 4th gen, just C# is more powerful and is better supported than JAVA. It really depends who you talk to, JAVA people will say C# is crap and vice versa, to know both is quite good tho

I've done both commercially and they're more or less the same - I'd go with whatever had more jobs associated with it. I do Java as I have 10 years Java and 1 C# so can get a better rate. I would choose either over C++ to learn.

[Don]

If you want to learn C++ it's for a reason.

C# and Java are high level languages intended for the construction of business applications for the most part. Both of them have evolved into being more general purpose but anything that gets re-compiled at load time or runs "p-code" ain't close enough to the metal for certain purposes.

And this is the reason you should be learning C#/Java because they're NOT close to the metal, they are for lots of generalised purposes.

C++ these days is for writing system code. Much like C was "back in the day". It's also for stuff where performance is all, and productivity a convenience.

Do you want to be a games programmer? Device driver programmer? Or do you want to write comms protocols or systems software? These things C++ is FOR.

Love it, personally, use it a lot for all sorts of things but there isn't a scrap of it left in the source code base of the applications we sell.