C++ is a nice programming language, I wish I got more into it. I might try to relearn it, and further advance my knowledge of programming with it. The best thing I ever did with it was make a 'Guess the number' game, and a calculator. Pretty basic, I know.

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You shouldn't start off like: "Oh wow! I want to learn C++"!

I very savvy with programming and I indeed know C++ and "C".

Do you know C? Usually, people don't try to go off and learn C++ without learning C first. C is basically the basics (In my eyes) to C++. Then C programmers migrate to C++.

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Cool, I started learning Visual Basic when I was 9. Now I am saving up for C. Someone just can't make good industry standard games with Visual Basic. It's a good beginner programming language though. I can't wait till I have enough money to buy it. That will be the day I tell you what.

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It seems that everyone has a different opinion, and that everyone is an expert when it comes to how you should learn different programming languages and in what order. So here's my two cents.

Visual Basic is not a very good language. There are certainly things that it is useful for, and if you need to develop something quickly then it can do the trick; however, as it is a relatively high-level language, it is significantly slower and less powerful than some of it's lower-level counterparts, such as C. If you don't mind this, and you don't intend to ever learn a lower-level language, Visual Basic is probably going to do you fine. But because of the almost pseudo-like coding involved, it is going to teach you to become a 'lazy' programmer (regardless of whether or not you want to acknowledge that), and it is likely you will have difficulty moving to another language such as C which is significantly more complex - the majority of people that attempt to make this move usually end up frustrated and give up.

It is not required that you learn C and then C++. You can learn either in any order, or only one, and be just as good a programmer as you otherwise would be. C++ has pretty much superceded C, so you are probably better off 'knowing' the latter than the former, but neither requires knowledge of the other. Although some people may find it easier to pick up C++ if they have previously worked with C, others may find it just as difficult either way, and some people may even find it more difficult to move to C++ after C because of some of the differences in the two languages.

If you are looking to learn a comparatively simple language before moving on to C/C++, I, personally, would recommend going with one of the scripting languages PHP or Perl, or both, in that order (PHP is generally easier to learn than Perl). The two of these languages slightly resemble C in syntax and in some of the functions.

But anyway, there are no shortcuts to learning a programming language, much like learning a spoken language. You can read all the tutorials and books you like, and download all the example source code you can find, but it is still going to take time, practise, and dedication. Although people may be able to help with the learning process, no one is going to be able to teach you all there is to know about the language in question. And remember that it's the same for everyone - some people may pick it up quicker than others, but every single person who learns a language has to go down the same long road, and through the same things. So don't get discouraged and give up if you think you aren't learning fast enough.

 

 

 

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Here you need to actually define the term "learn". I remember as a youngster looking at some programming languages and thinking that it'll be cool to program a bit. now I'm at University, doing my second degree and have already studied how to do C++ thoroughly(and by the way many universities teach C after C++, like my university) and there is a great degree of maths and understanding that comes with a language as intense as C++ can prove to be. If by "learn", you mean create the odd small program, then yes, by all means it's very possible to know it at any reasonable age but to be able to program at a level where you are required to create massive projects from scratch in teams and produce 100's of pages of code... then I think a professional teacher is the way to go.

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I guess I went in with the wrong attitude as well.

All I managed to do is link a bunch of "if" statements together. I pretty much forgot the little I learned. I want to start it up again, my dad has "The C Programming Language" which he said was a classic, but I havent gotten into it much. I guess I should start it up again.

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If you ask me, c++ is not like c++. c++ is much difficult. In c++, there are voids, classes, but in php, you don't need to use them. Php r0x!

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um sorry buddy, i didn't quite follow you there....

anyways, i migrated from Visual Basic 6 to C++ (actually there was a bit of Java in between but that doesn't count because i didn't do anything with it).

Also i think that Visual Basic 6's overhead doesn't hugely affect the speed at which a program runs (in practical terms). by that i mean, i'm making a game at the moment (in C++) and it is currently running at 60 frames per second on an AMD Duron 1300+ with a 64 MB GeForce 2. So unless you are doing anything full scale or crazy, i don't think it makes a huge difference.

as far as where to learn C++ from, i learnt with a combination of a book introducing C++ used soley with the .NET extensions. THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED. i then spent about 4-6 months of pure trial and error and forum posting to get my head around the language properly and work out exactly how to use ANSI C++. tragic. buy a book, like "C++ For Dummies." I've obtained a copy of it months after i needed it and am wishing i had it from the start.

ok good luck

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