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  1. #1
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    Question beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    What do you recommend as far as a beginners course or tutorial in C++? Is C++ for Dummies good? Or Cprogramming.com? I recently attended idTech camp for the beginners' programming course for a week, but I want to extend my knowledge farther. What do you think?

  2. #2
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    http://www.amazon.com/C-Complete-Ref...0046489&sr=1-1

    Best book I've ever endeavored upon for learning C++. Taught me quite a bit.

    The biggest question about "for Dummies" books. When I ask you what you consider yourself to be on an intellectual level, are you going to tell me "Uh Im a dummy."??? No? Then the book probably isn't a very good investment in money. They teach the basics too, sure... But I would go on the Herbert Adventure train right into Professional Coding Ville. "So to Speak"
    Last edited by Ruined1; August 11th, 2009 at 10:12 PM.

  3. #3
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    thanks. although it should be noted that i am on i small budget (probably not a good thing, but there you go) of about $30, so that book is great with the savings, but just keeping that in mind.

    "The biggest question about "for Dummies" books. When I ask you what you consider yourself to be on an intellectual level, are you going to tell me 'Uh Im a dummy.'??? No? Then the book probably isn't a very good investment in money. They teach the basics too, sure... But I would go on the Herbert Adventure train right into Professional Coding Ville. 'So to Speak'"

    Not meaning to be a jack*ss, but i am a bit above the intellectual level of others my age (13). I got the Dummies book for my b-day which is what got me started on programming, but never really got into the book itself. Do you recommend i finish it, or move on? this is only my second week in the programming world, so i'm not very far along.
    Last edited by Ace of Anton; August 11th, 2009 at 10:19 PM.

  4. #4
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    So books are the way to go on this? Are there any good online courses or tutorials?

  5. #5
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    Lightbulb Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    Some online sites and tutorials are great but will only get you so far. If you are genius you might figure many things out on your own but there are so many different books out there that offer a different perspective.

    Here is an idea. Get a library card. Do you live in America? I'm not sure what other countries might have as far as public libraries go but most major cities and even small communities in America have public libraries. Check out some books for free until you find some that you really like and then shop around and buy only the ones that seem the most useful.

    Moreover, this question about which are the best books has been asked and answered many times. Search the forums for "books" or "best books" or something like that and I'm sure you will find many other threads related to this subject.

    By the way, I do not like cprogramming.com. I hate the pop-up ads and ads that are placed right in the middle of articles. I find that website to be very annoying. Personally, I prefer the tutorials on cplusplus.com myself. I also have a better appreciation for their site layout. Don't forget to check out the FAQ links here at code guru to see what is there that might be useful. You can find a lot of small examples that you can compile and run and that will help you as well.

  6. #6
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    yes i have a library card, but when i looked at the public library where i live, all it had was "Making games with C++", or something to that effect, and java, and im not near good enough to contemplate either.

  7. #7
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    I don't know where you live but in San Diego you can request branch libraries to ship books from branch to branch so that you have access to books at all branches and the main hub of the sytem. If you live in a small town or city it may be possible to do something similar. You shouldn't be restricted to one library unless you are in a really small town that has only one. If that is the case, what about neighboring towns? You can also buy used books on amazon if your budget is small.

  8. #8
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ruined1
    But I would go on the Herbert Adventure train right into Professional Coding Ville.
    A word of warning concerning Herbert Schildt's books: from what I have seen, Schildt has strong pedagogical skills, but some, if not most, of his C++ books tend to have blatant mistakes in content that may not be obvious to a beginner.

    As an alternative, I recommend Accelerated C++. Stroustrup has also written a beginner oriented book more recently, but I have not read it myself so I cannot comment other than to say that a C++ book by Stroustrup is much less likely to have content errors than a C++ book by Schildt.
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  9. #9
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    Lightbulb Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    If you want my copy of C++ The Complete Reference you can have it for free. It is the worst C++ book I have ever read, personally and it simply collects dust on my shelf. However, if you had a low budget and couldn't afford any books I guess it is better than nothing. I can't say that I have found any "wrong" information in the book. However, the author's claim of it being a complete reference is exaggerated. PM me if you want it. I had forgotten that I even had the book until someone else mentioned it.

  10. #10
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    i didn't say i could afford books i said i was on a low budget. i don't want to blow all my money on a guide book. so don't get the"C++: The Complete Reference, 4th Edition" book?

  11. #11
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    If you're on a budget then take a look at some of the free C++ books available online, like Thinking in C++.

  12. #12
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ruined1 View Post
    http://www.amazon.com/C-Complete-Ref...0046489&sr=1-1

    Best book I've ever endeavored upon for learning C++. Taught me quite a bit.

    The biggest question about "for Dummies" books. When I ask you what you consider yourself to be on an intellectual level, are you going to tell me "Uh Im a dummy."??? No? Then the book probably isn't a very good investment in money. They teach the basics too, sure... But I would go on the Herbert Adventure train right into Professional Coding Ville. "So to Speak"
    In addition to this the "for Dummies" book is poorly written especially considering it is aimed at complete beginners.
    Rich

    Visual Studio 2010 Professional | Windows 7 (x64)
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  13. #13
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    i'm going to state this right here right now: i SUCK at programming right now. SUCK at it. so i need an easy to read book that explains things the way you would explain long division to a toddler, because i have NO idea what i'm ding beyond the bare-bones basics. I'm smart, but i still won't understand what the heck you're talking about if you come in and start with anything but the beginning in plain english.

  14. #14
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    so... suggestions

  15. #15
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    Re: beginners' guides/ tutorials/ courses recommendations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace of Anton View Post
    i'm going to state this right here right now: i SUCK at programming right now. SUCK at it. so i need an easy to read book that explains things the way you would explain long division to a toddler,
    Well, I'll be blunt with you. There are brilliant people who are experts and intellectuals in other fields, even other technical fields, but cannot make heads or tails of writing a computer program, regardless of how hard they may try. I have seen "A" students in other subjects go away distraught when they need to take the mandatory programming course, and just can't handle placing logical reasoning into a series of discrete steps.

    A "trick" that many computer science professors use in beginning classes is this -- they lecture and/or tutor very little. The goal is to see which one of the beginning students can figure out for themselves with the little notes given in the classroom and the books they're reading, how to write a program. This may sound cruel, but the professor has a method to this madness, and that method is to weed out anyone who just doesn't "have what it takes", and quickly let him/her to not waste their time trying to pursue their goal as a programmer.

    There are a finite number of beginner C++ books to choose from. Choose 3 or 4 of the recommended books at www.accu.org. If after reading these books, going through each exercise as best as possible, if you still don't understand things, then maybe it's time to think about whether this field is for you.

    Regards,

    Paul McKenzie

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