Learining C++

[Donkey]

Now I am a beginner in learning C++. Can anyone answer me three
questions:
1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
2. What books or reference should I choose?
3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
study C++?
I will appreciate your help.

[Jaspreet]

Re: Learining C++


Donkey wrote:[color=blue]
> Now I am a beginner in learning C++. Can anyone answer me three
> questions:
> 1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?[/color]

http://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/cpp.shtml

[color=blue]
> 2. What books or reference should I choose?
> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
> study C++?
> I will appreciate your help.[/color]

[opalpa@gmail.com opalinski from opalpaweb]

Re: Learining C++

>> 1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
g++ http://www.cs.wm.edu/cspages/computi...orial/gpp.html
[color=blue][color=green]
>> 2. What books or reference should I choose?[/color][/color]
Lots of options. I do not have a specfic recommendation.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
>> study C++?[/color][/color]
Road to mastery is long. Keep your wits about you and question what
you read. Try to write simple code, no matter how large the project.
Write code in small increments, compile frequently and verify that code
does what you expect frequently.

Opalinski
opalpa@gmail.co m

http://www.geocities.com/opalpaweb/

[michaelkatsilis@yahoo.com]

Re: Learining C++

As well as learning the language and having a solid grounding there,
build your design skills because that's where it all fits in.

Regards,

Michael

[loufoque]

Re: Learining C++

Donkey wrote :
[color=blue]
> 2. What books or reference should I choose ?[/color]

Accelerated C++ is a good introductory book.
You could also consider the C++ programming language by Bjarne
Stroustrup, which can act as a reference.

[Daniel T.]

Re: Learining C++

In article <1143517864.196 977.73180@z34g2 000cwc.googlegr oups.com>,
"Donkey" <newsdonkey@hot mail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> Now I am a beginner in learning C++. Can anyone answer me three
> questions:
> 1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?[/color]

I don't know anything about your OS, so I can't say... Do a google
search for "free c++ ide [your OS]"
[color=blue]
> 2. What books or reference should I choose?[/color]

<http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews>
[color=blue]
> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
> study C++?[/color]

Start high level. Many books try to teach C++ "from the ground up" and
that leaves you so caught up in the minutia of the language that you
can't seem to get any useful work done.

There's enough at this site to keep you going for a long time:
<http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_c_plus_plus. html>


--
Magic depends on tradition and belief. It does not welcome observation,
nor does it profit by experiment. On the other hand, science is based
on experience; it is open to correction by observation and experiment.

[Roland Pibinger]

Re: Learining C++

On 27 Mar 2006 19:51:04 -0800, "Donkey" <newsdonkey@hot mail.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>Now I am a beginner in learning C++.[/color]

.... and, I assume, a beginner in programming in general.
[color=blue]
>Can anyone answer me three
>questions:
>1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
>2. What books or reference should I choose?
>3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
>study C++?
>I will appreciate your help.[/color]

First you should learn C, not C++, which shall give you a good basis
for learning C++. You will not understand the numerous traps and
gotachas in C++ without the C foundation. For beginners learning C is
best done in a course, not from a book. You need someone who
demonstrates how to invoke a compiler and assists you in how to
interpret the inevitable error messages.
When you have a basic understanding of C (esp. pointers and memory
management) you can move on to C++ (probably also in a course). IMO,
books for beginners should introduce the language as simple as
possible. In that category are:
Deitel & Deitel: "C++ How to program" and
Schildt: "C++ from the ground up"

Good luck!
Roland Pibinger

[Roland Pibinger]

Re: Learining C++

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:57:58 +0200, loufoque
<loufoque@remov e.gmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
>Donkey wrote :
>[color=green]
>> 2. What books or reference should I choose ?[/color]
>
>Accelerated C++ is a good introductory book.
>You could also consider the C++ programming language by Bjarne
>Stroustrup, which can act as a reference.[/color]

Both are not for a "beginner in learning C++".

[Roland Pibinger]

Re: Learining C++

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:34:50 GMT, "Daniel T." <postmaster@ver izon.net>
wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
>> study C++?[/color]
>
>Start high level.[/color]

What should be the high level of the 'multiparadigm language' C++?
[color=blue]
>Many books try to teach C++ "from the ground up" and
>that leaves you so caught up in the minutia of the language that you
>can't seem to get any useful work done.
>
>There's enough at this site to keep you going for a long time:
><http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_c_plus_plus. html>[/color]

Last revision: 2002-Feb-11 14:11:17 (GMT)

[Phlip]

Re: Learining C++

Roland Pibinger wrote:
[color=blue]
> What should be the high level of the 'multiparadigm language' C++?[/color]

The OP is advised to start with A> a softer language like Ruby, to learn
programming in general, then B> /Accelerated C++/ by Koenig and Moo.

--
Phlip
http://www.greencheese.org/ZeekLand <-- NOT a blog!!!

[Thomas Tutone]

Re: Learining C++


Roland Pibinger wrote:
[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> >> 2. What books or reference should I choose ?[/color]
> >
> >Accelerated C++ is a good introductory book.
> >You could also consider the C++ programming language by Bjarne
> >Stroustrup, which can act as a reference.[/color]
>
> Both are not for a "beginner in learning C++".[/color]

Why is Accelerated C++ not for a beginner learning C++? It may not be
ideal for someone without programming experience at all, but it's
pretty darn good for someone with basic skills in another programming
language.

Best regards,

Tom

[Marcus Kwok]

Re: Learining C++

Roland Pibinger <rpbg123@yahoo. com> wrote:[color=blue]
> On 27 Mar 2006 19:51:04 -0800, "Donkey" <newsdonkey@hot mail.com>
> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Now I am a beginner in learning C++.[/color]
>
> ... and, I assume, a beginner in programming in general.
>[color=green]
>>Can anyone answer me three
>>questions:
>>1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
>>2. What books or reference should I choose?
>>3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
>>study C++?
>>I will appreciate your help.[/color]
>
> First you should learn C, not C++, which shall give you a good basis
> for learning C++. You will not understand the numerous traps and
> gotachas in C++ without the C foundation.[/color]

This contradicts the advise given in the FAQ:

http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/how-to-learn-cpp.html#faq-28.2

They recommend not learning C first, since many of the idioms that are
good C style are bad C++ style, and thus must be un-learned.
[color=blue]
> For beginners learning C is
> best done in a course, not from a book. You need someone who
> demonstrates how to invoke a compiler and assists you in how to
> interpret the inevitable error messages.[/color]

Yes, having someone around to help you can be extremely worthwhile.
[color=blue]
> books for beginners should introduce the language as simple as
> possible. In that category are:
> Deitel & Deitel: "C++ How to program" and[/color]

Not recommended:

http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?review=cp003204&term=deitel

[color=blue]
> Schildt: "C++ from the ground up"[/color]

Also not recommended:

http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?review=cp001728&term=schildt

In fact, most of Schildt's books are not viewed very highly:

http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=search.xqy%3Fx&term=schildt&field=author

Check out the other book reviews on http://accu.org/ for recommended
books for learning:

http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?subject

--
Marcus Kwok

[JCR]

Re: Learining C++

Another way is to download QT 4 at trolltech.com (if you run Windows,
you can get the open-source version with the compiler MinGW (a perfect
compiler at least for the first few months of your learning cruve). You
can start then making nice little programs with GUI in C++! My point
is that C++ in the console is pretty boring and does not bring much
excitement for a beginner... There are plenty of online resources
(qtcenter.org) to learn the basics. You can also chose a different C++
toolkit with GUI capabilities; QT is a very good one but is not the
only one! Other candidates are WXWidgets,FLTK. .. and my apologies for
those not named here! Try to pick one that is cross-platform. If you
don't understand something not related to the QT/wxWidget/...
libraries, you can post here your question after having spent at least
one night on it. After a few weeks, pick up any of the books suggested
to put things together. Books and courses are more useful if you
already know a little about the topic. You can then explore the STL and
see how it fits in your programming interests. Maybe visit boost.org
and see which libraries you could use in your programs. Try to redo the
same programs using a different design or a different libraries just to
experiment... Strive for readability and efficiency. Try to learn one
new thing every day.
Enjoy!
JCR

Donkey wrote:[color=blue]
> Now I am a beginner in learning C++. Can anyone answer me three
> questions:
> 1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
> 2. What books or reference should I choose?
> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
> study C++?
> I will appreciate your help.[/color]

[Noah Roberts]

Re: Learining C++


Roland Pibinger wrote:[color=blue]
> On 27 Mar 2006 19:51:04 -0800, "Donkey" <newsdonkey@hot mail.com>
> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >Now I am a beginner in learning C++.[/color]
>
> ... and, I assume, a beginner in programming in general.
>[color=green]
> >Can anyone answer me three
> >questions:
> >1. What free compiler is appropriate for a beginner to use?
> >2. What books or reference should I choose?
> >3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
> >study C++?
> >I will appreciate your help.[/color]
>
> First you should learn C, not C++, which shall give you a good basis
> for learning C++. You will not understand the numerous traps and
> gotachas in C++ without the C foundation.[/color]

Definately not. C++ and C are different languages. Learning one does
not help learn the other and in fact those that start with C often find
themselves stuck in several paradigms that are not optimal for C++.
Good habits in C end up being bad habits in C++. What you get are
people that code C in C++ and this is just not the best way to do
things; it ends up in beasteal code that makes C++ programmer's brains
explode.

Learning to avoid C traps doesn't help learn to avoid C++ traps and
often leads you into them (memset this anyone?). Only a good working
knowledge of C++ will help you avoid gotchas is C++.

Such problems as using char[] instead of the much better std::string,
piss poor object design, and total inability and unwillingness to deal
with templates are but a few examples of what results from that path.

If the OP wants to learn C++ they should start by learning C++, not C.
Learning C first will not help and is likely to greatly steepen the
learning curve. Instead of learning the most efficient way to do
something in the language you are using you may very well end up using
what you know, C.

I spend sooooo many hours every day weeding through C code written in
C++ that could otherwise be spent adding features and fixing things ...
it is just sad. All the wasted time and effort...

Don't waste your time. Learn the language you want to use. I don't
think there is much need to learn something "easy" like Ruby first
either...and certainly not C with the goal of learning C++.

[Daniel T.]

Re: Learining C++

In article <442997ec.44750 39@news.utanet. at>,
rpbg123@yahoo.c om (Roland Pibinger) wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:34:50 GMT, "Daniel T." <postmaster@ver izon.net>
> wrote:
>[color=green][color=darkred]
> >> 3. What should I pay attention to or What is the key points when I
> >> study C++?[/color]
> >
> >Start high level.[/color]
>
> What should be the high level of the 'multiparadigm language' C++?[/color]

What I mean is, learn <vector> and <string> before you bother with c
arrays and <cstring>. Learn the contents of <iostream> <fstream> and
<sstream> before you poke your nose in <cstdio>.

I'd hate to say it, but basically the exact opposite advice you gave. :-/


--
Magic depends on tradition and belief. It does not welcome observation,
nor does it profit by experiment. On the other hand, science is based
on experience; it is open to correction by observation and experiment.