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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?
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"
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.
So books are the way to go on this? Are there any good online courses or tutorials?
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.
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.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruined1
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.
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.
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?
If you're on a budget then take a look at some of the free C++ books available online, like Thinking in C++.
In addition to this the "for Dummies" book is poorly written especially considering it is aimed at complete beginners.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruined1
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.
so... suggestions
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
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
What link on that website contains the recommended books? The book reviews page is completely empty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul McKenzie
Strange, I can't get to their site. They are listed first in Google,Quote:
Originally Posted by kempofighter
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...aqi=n1g5g-s1g4
so I'm assuming they're still around.
Regards,
Paul McKenzie
The more I read this FAQ, the more I like it. It seems to cover a wide range of issues from beginner issues, to complex technical issues, to big picture issues and general questions about the language. Evidently there is also a book. Has anyone read it? I don't know if it is a good book for a beginner or not. It definitely seems like the type of book that would serve as a nice supplement to a language reference.
http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/index.html
If you are learning on a windows platform, there are always free microsoft resources. The second link is to the free compiler.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/3bstk3k5.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vc/Default.aspx
There is no reason that you can't start with free webstuff and see how far you get. In my opinion, you should be able to cut and paste, compile, execute, and debug example code. Certain things just make sense to some people but not others. If you have it in you to be a programmer, then you shouldn't have any trouble copying and pasting examples and learning quite a bit from online resources.
Personally I dislike "C++ for Dummies". IMHO it's too slow and dull course. It, of course, could change from edition to edition.
I've got C++ from a huge number of small pieces of text. Especially Borland C++ 3.1 help, Allen Hollub's "Rope Short Enough...", Shildt's Programmer's Reference, by reading the standard and Google.
But I've already had QBasic, Pascal, Modula-2 and C experience.
You can't just learn programming language by reading books. You must write programs, just crispy, at first, but they will get better and better with time. Try to solve your PC related, and school math and physics problems with C++. When you run into problem, try to read docs and search Google or ask here. If you already know any programming language, try to find similar constructions in C++.
Hello,
Check out this book, "Learn to Program with C++, John Smiley" if possible. I've not read it myself but some of my friends from a non technical background read it and found it very comprehensible.
Since you've had no prior exposure to programming, i believe more advanced books may demoralize you, which will be very disappointing. This one explains the basic features without going into too much depth.
I think you should have a serious look at Programming - Principles and Practices Using C++,Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
http://www.research.att.com/~bs/programming.html
It's written by Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++. I was curious about what he would come up with so I bought the book. He's expressed some concern over the ever growing complexity of C++ and that it's maybe become very hard to learn. I also knew he's had actual teaching experience (first year university students).
I must say I'm impressed. This is over 1000 pages packed with C++ knowledge. It's as far as you can get from a Dummy book. It respects the reader and assumes you're intelligent. It's definately worth every single one of the 50 buck it will set you back.
You're 13 right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
Well, then you shouldn't buy the book I suggested because it's written for 20 year olds starting their university studies.
I suggest you drop your C++ project alltogether and concentrate on ordinary school subjects instead. Only if at least half your grades is A+ should you diverse your interests. This is because concentrating on school now gives you the best future options. If you want to pursue a career in programming it's very important you get a degree from a well respected university. And to get that you need good grades so you get accepted by one of the top ten. This means your main objective at this point in your life must be to finish number one in your class, not to learn C++.
oh believe me, i'm going to do this. i already started, so i'm going to finish it. besides, 8th grade is DULL, even with all AP classes.Quote:
Originally Posted by nuzzle
oh, and i have had a little programming experience. I attended IDtech camp recently for a beginning programming course. I've written a couple of programs.
God forbid that teenagers should have any interests or hobbies outside of school. I mean, who would want to encourage them to do something that they enjoy?Quote:
Originally Posted by nuzzle
If the only way to have a career in programming was to be high school valedictorian and then attended MIT or Stanford, this would be a very small field. If he is able to pursue his interest in programming without neglecting his schoolwork, there is not reason whatsoever that he shouldn't do so.
thank you, speedo. now, back to the topic at hand...
Age means nothing. My first attempts to program are dated to the age of 11-12.
These were on C (without having a compiler =), based on the Soviet translation of the American book dated to early 80s ), MS Excel macros (without connecting program to document), QBasic. Then finally I've got TP7 and MS QuickPascal (on the February of 2004). Later I've moved to Strannik (non-standard Win32 compiler and learned some WinAPI). On FreePascal I wrote some rather advanced programs like text editor for DOS, with handling multiple files, (that's without any frameworks like TurboVision!). I also had lo learn some basics of Assembly language. Also I've got C++ on Borland C++ 3.1
Last year (I was at the age of 18) I went to the University. This was the first time I've header about complex data structures like linked lists. I knew about trees but never used them.
What about my success at school I was one of the best in my class with an average mark of 9.2 ( of 10, here and below ). ( For exams I had A and A for Math and Physics, B and B for English and Latvian ).
This payed with some loss of "sociability", though.
As you can see you also could have good marks at school and waste some time to programming. I never went to any additional courses (I'm about coding).
As you can see you can achieve _something_ yourself, but you knowledge wouldn't be systematic. Now I repent of wrong spending my time from the age of 12 to 18. I could get a better programmer in this 6 years.
So don't repeat my mistake! If you have free time and money, go to this article:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html and follow it (I'd recommend partially)
While this is a propaganda of subculture, it contains some very-very good ideas.
By the way, ability to program helped me at school.
I got eights for Math and tens for Physics without any sweating. You should know Math good, because some of thinking processes you use solving math problems, are similar to those in programming. Later at the University you'll also will be forced to learn Math. There is not any use of math, while programming(almost)!
And the most important. Are you going to become a programmer? Not a Web-designer, not a system administrator, not a computer-help-guy?! Are you sure? Then...welcome to hell, though here's also rather funny sometimes! Otherwise even don't waste your time on programming!
Back to the original question...
Why do you find school dull? Is it because you're not doing well or is it because you're doing extremely well and are understimulated. Whatever it is you should talk to your parents about it. Maybe you need extra help. Or maybe you should skip a class.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
Regarding your question I've suggested a very good book in one of my previous replies. You probably can find it in a local library.
Sure, but better safe than sorry. For people with a certain predisposition, programming has a tendency to become compulsory. It may easily lead to neglect. And even if a college degree from a prestige university isn't necessary for a career in programming it doesn't sit in the way. It's the single best way to tilt the Wheel of Fortune in your favour.Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedo
Teenagers who find school dull usually fall into one of two categories; They don't keep up or they're gifted and understimulated. There are lots of things that can be done about it. Turning them into C++ hackers isn't on the list.
Learn either C or Pascal (better both)! C is almost the subset of C++. Pascal lacks some C tricky constructions, but modern extensions seem to provide even some C++-like constructions.
Buy the way, what kind/level of complexity of programs have you already written?
If we're talking other languages, there's an optimal choise for the OP, namely Java. It's much easier than than C++ in many ways and it's the language the OP is most likely to encounter in his further education.Quote:
Originally Posted by andrey_zh
You really think that the kind of teenager who would abandon schoolwork to become a leet hacker is going to stop programming and become valedictorian just because you tell them to?Quote:
Originally Posted by nuzzle
...i think i'll just look at the local bookstore
i got SAMS teach yourself c++ in hour a day. is that a good choice?
I havn't read that book. But if it's one of those "master something in 21 days", then, I'd say big no to that, for the reasons you will see clearly as you wade through the sea of C++ in the future.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
By the way, they have AP courses in J.H.S now? dang...
Hello Speedo, it's been awhile since I saw your post! (isn't it? ....not sure)Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedo
I'm afraid, I must disagree with you on this, and say that
Nuzzle made a valid (and realistic) point about having the degree.
For the past two years, I've completely devoted my heart and soul in learning C++.
I can say this,
because I've looked at a full 3 sememster(1 and 1/2 year) C++ course at two different
local colleges, and was pleasantly surprised that the highest level of C++ was something I
learned long, long before (thanks to all the CG members!)
But two years of self-devotion doesn't come even close to having an associate degree.
For God knows how long I've tried to find intern position,
but I havn't got a single reply... Why? because almost all employers require a 4-year degree,
and now, I'm 99% certain that my resume doesn't even make it to the HR desk.
The field itself might be big, or small, I don't know.
One thing I do know is that the doors surely is prejudicous.
Well what do I know. There's never a guarantee people will listen to you but that's a risk I'm willing to take.Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedo
it isn't a teach yourself in 21 days book. so far, it's pretty good. btw, why do most guides/tutorials put loops in the middle or end? i learned those almost immediately. hm.Quote:
Originally Posted by potatoCode
oh, and not normally. but i'm a special case :o
one of the authors is a guru here, it says in his bio in the book. does the name jesse liberty ring a bell?
So you're a troll.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace of Anton
Well what did you accomplish?
To be a troll you should have an agenda.
come again?
Take this advice, it'll save you a lot of time:
http://www.cplusplus.com/
That's ALL YOU NEED.
Good luck!
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
.. to be exact.
an hour and a half and counting! 12 reloads, lots of frustration. well, the link doesn't work.
oh wait. nvr mind! thanks!