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RonaldFuckingPaul
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How hard is it to learn C++?
#14913443 - 08/12/11 09:42 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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I've started watching some tutorials on youtube and it doesn't seem to hard. But I'm pretty sure when you go super advanced it requires an understanding of difficult mathematic concepts. Is this the best language to learn for programming video games?
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JT


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4 years ago or so when i thought i was going to get into comp science, i did an internship with a friend's dad at his software company. i found c++ pretty difficult to learn (i never really did) but i didn't know anything other than basic html.
one of the really good programmers there told me that if i was going to start learning a language, then python is the way to go for the future. much easier to read, more intuitive, etc i guess. that's what i'd look in to.
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RonaldFuckingPaul
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Re: How hard is it to learn C++? [Re: JT]
#14915923 - 08/13/11 01:29 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
JT said: 4 years ago or so when i thought i was going to get into comp science, i did an internship with a friend's dad at his software company. i found c++ pretty difficult to learn (i never really did) but i didn't know anything other than basic html.
one of the really good programmers there told me that if i was going to start learning a language, then python is the way to go for the future. much easier to read, more intuitive, etc i guess. that's what i'd look in to.
k i'll look into python.
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cortex
[ H ] ψ = [ E ] ψ


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Most computer science people in my experience will push you toward python for various reasons.
I learned C++ up to an intermediate level with little difficultly, and I really enjoy it. The last language I learned was QBasic back when I was about 12 :p
I think, but I could be mistaken, that comp. scientists push for python because of its clear and simple syntax combined with it's power, but I can only vouch for C++ as it's the only useful language that I know.
Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed learning C++ and I still love writing programs with it. The complexity of it and the syntax are what I love. It's in incredibly powerful language, and I do not think its syntax is particularly difficult.
I would recommend the book C++ Primer Plus by Steven Prata. You can follow the book from beginning to end and learn a LOT, enough to make some really cool and useful shit.
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Seuss
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I find C++ to be one of the more complex languages out there. It is very easy to code something that works 99% of the time, and yet randomly crashes because you forgot one little tiny thing somewhere. It is a language I really want to like, yet every time I use it I come away feeling abused.
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RonaldFuckingPaul
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Re: How hard is it to learn C++? [Re: cortex]
#14917902 - 08/13/11 09:36 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thanks cortex. I'll be ordering that book soon from amazon. It seems from the reviews that it's heady shit.
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RonaldFuckingPaul
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Re: How hard is it to learn C++? [Re: Seuss]
#14917908 - 08/13/11 09:37 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: I find C++ to be one of the more complex languages out there. It is very easy to code something that works 99% of the time, and yet randomly crashes because you forgot one little tiny thing somewhere. It is a language I really want to like, yet every time I use it I come away feeling abused.
Oh shit. Should I go for python first?
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cortex
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The other cool thing about C++ is that so many big name softwares are written in it (this is from Stroustrup's page, and I cannot attest to it's accuracy or if it is current): Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat; Amazon.com, CERN's data analysis, Google Chrome, Intuit Quicken, everything Microsoft (though that is Vis. C++ and Micro$hit may not be a good example ), NASA/JPL's Mars Rovers OS's, and TONS more.
Like Seuss (and every computer scientist in the world) may say, it can often seem overly complex, especially for personal projects, but I love it. And it just feels cool to write in the same language as the powerhouses I listed above.
Again, though, I am by no means an expert in any sense of the word. I only know pretty basic C++, and that is it. Things like Python may actually be better for you, but in my (limited) experience, I am very, very happy that I chose C++ as my first (and thus far only) programming language.
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Seuss
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> Should I go for python first?
I can't really answer that. Python is a very well respected language. You won't go wrong learning Python, but it may not be the best choice. A lot depends upon you, and what you want to do.
> Is this the best language to learn for programming video games?
I would go with C++ over Python if you are wanting to get into the low level, hard core video game programming. However, a lot of modern video games are using Python to script out the AI behavior of the various game elements.
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Dawks
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Re: How hard is it to learn C++? [Re: Seuss]
#14921924 - 08/14/11 05:40 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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If you want to get into game programming C++ is a MUST. Despite some of this hype surrounding Microsoft's XNA and all that, the fact is C++ dominates the game industry and it's here to stay.
Which language should I learn first? When you first start out your going to have to wrap your head around a few concepts such as variables, arrays, functions and classes. These concepts are pretty much universal to programming languages.
By the time you have finished learning your first programming language, whichever one you choose, you should be familiar with all these concepts. This will make the learning curve for subsequent programming language far less steep.
I highly recommend starting with one of the following as your first language:
C# Microsoft's dotnet (C#) is like training wheels for programming. It handles all the background stuff like memory management and garbage collection on it's own allowing you to focus more on the more straightforward programming tasks.
Learning C# as a first language will be a great choice because it's a full featured object orientated programming language with the power of Microsoft's .net framework at it's disposal.
Another feature of C# is it's similarity to Java. Knowing one is like semi knowing the other. Kind of like Italian and Spanish. Whichever one (C# or Java) you learn first, the other will come to you with ease.
The downside of C# is it's locked to the Microsoft platform and .net framework. It's definitely the #1 choice for Microsoft only programming however.
For beginners I recommend: C# for dummies (surprisingly well written for a "for dummies" book)
Java Java, Java, Java. Java has it's critics. People call it slow, people call it buggy. But Java is a wonderful multiplatform programming language. Much like C#, Java handles most of the hassle for you allowing you to focus on pumping out code.
The old catch cry of Java is "write once, deploy anywhere". Java is extremely portable. Nearly every platform in existence has some incarnation of Java. This means you'll be able to program from your Linux desktop and deploy directly on OSX and Windows alike, with little to no work on your part.
Java is also Google's programming language of choice for its android operating system. Learning java now would give you a head start if you plan on developing some android apps.
Unfortunately I can't give a book recommendation for Java as I've never read a beginner textbook for it. I really just picked it up one day then worked it out own my own with a few online references.
C++ Learning C++ isn't really harder than learning java or C#, but there's more to cover. C++ gives you many choices about what kind of code you write and how you go about implementing it. Learning C++ will be a great choice if you're into computers and you like knowing how they tick.
Unlike C# or Java, C++ is compiled to machine code and this makes for very fast highly optimized applications.
Personally I love C++. It's fantastically clean when written well. Unfortunately most people's C++ comes out looking like a garbled pile frustration (if you ever get a job working on a game engine you'll see what I mean).
The book I recommend for beginners is: C++ Primer Plus
Where do I go from here? As you'll find, a beginner textbook wont cover everything. In fact a beginner textbook will only really cover the general "core" topics surrounding a language. At the point you should know your desired direction (be it game programming, general application programming, GUI programming or system level programming) and you should be able to choose an appropriate book based on your direction.
Quote:
But I'm pretty sure when you go super advanced it requires an understanding of difficult mathematic concepts
Despite the fact that I took math, the mathematical portion of my brain is dead to the world. Being a good programming has very little to do with mathematics, though there are some similarities (both being languages of logic). Certain fields like game engine programming require a better knowledge of mathematics but that kind of applied math is easily picked up on the job.
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RonaldFuckingPaul
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Re: How hard is it to learn C++? [Re: Dawks]
#14922107 - 08/14/11 06:22 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thanks dawks and all the peeps who contributed to my thread.
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