Members Uncle_Milton Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I know that some of you guys that stare at computer screens all day do various types of programming, so I figured this was a good place to go. I've run into the need to directly program in C/C++. Matlab is the basis for most of my programming as it's highly specialized for stuff I need to do, and it holds your hand like you're a little baby. I've used the compiler in Matlab to turn some stuff in to independent programs that run in on their own, but that's as far as I've needed to go. So, now that I need to get to the nitty gritty, without all the hand-holding and easy code that comes with Matlab. I've ventured into the realm by following the steps at Cprogramming.com, using Code::Blocks as they suggest, and running through their tutorials, but I figure you guys who know your stuff would be able to point me in useful directions. BTW, I have access to copies of visual Please help the C/C++ n00b. :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Hope your programming will be better than your ability to define what you need. Are you looking for books, tutorials, programming forums? What exactly? :poke: PS: I'm not a C/C++ programmer, tho I've dabbled, and made a living from programming in other languages for > 25 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lucius Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I don't think your transition will be hard. Doesn't the matlab compiler use C? Just pick up a book like "practical Visual C++" and start at page one. It helps you get to know the language and its uses. As you get more into it you'll want to learn all the concepts behind what makes C++ good. Anyways good luck. Start with Hello World and go from there. Cheers, Lucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KCTigerChief Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I don't think your transition will be hard. Doesn't the matlab compiler use C? Just pick up a book like "practical Visual C++" and start at page one. It helps you get to know the language and its uses. As you get more into it you'll want to learn all the concepts behind what makes C++ good. Anyways good luck. Start with Hello World and go from there. Cheers, Lucius This. The only way to learn is to start at the beginning and build your foundation...It's not one of those things you can just start in the middle and think you'll be able to do what you need at anytime. So many books, so many websites and so many ways to learn. Just pick one and run with it. I don't program in C/++, but I took 3 semesters of it in college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Uncle_Milton Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Lol, can't be any more specific than that Izzy. Adviser - "You're going to need to start learning how to program C/C++." Me - "Oh, ok. How should I get started." Adviser, "Eh, go buy a book and work through it." Me, "Yes Sir!" I don't have specific enough questions for forums yet, specific books and tutorials are certainly welcome. There are so many, that it would be nice to have the "good" ones pointed out. Sage words of advice are always welcome too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KCTigerChief Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Lol, can't be any more specific than that Izzy.Adviser - "You're going to need to start learning how to program C/C++."Me - "Oh, ok. How should I get started."Adviser, "Eh, go buy a book and work through it."Me, "Yes Sir!"I don't have specific enough questions for forums yet, specific books and tutorials are certainly welcome. There are so many, that it would be nice to have the "good" ones pointed out. Sage words of advice are always welcome too. The "____ Bible" books are great (C++ Bible, Java Bible, .NET Bible, etc..) They are brick {censored} houses full of information. I'd imagine they would definitely get you going. Unless you just want to get the basics, you could always do a "For Dummies" book...as strange as they sound, those books actually give you a very good introduction, and some humor to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Learning to program is the same as learning to play guitar. You can read all you want but unless you actually play you won't learn {censored}. Define real, but simple problems, code up the according solution. Define increasingly difficult, ambitious problems as your knowledge increases. Have at least 2 good programming references. Prata's C++ Primer is a good good one, Eckel's is also considered pretty good. Stay away from anything Schildt has written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MRAAJR Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 The "____ Bible" books are great (C++ Bible, Java Bible, .NET Bible, etc..) They are brick {censored} houses full of information. I'd imagine they would definitely get you going. Unless you just want to get the basics, you could always do a "For Dummies" book...as strange as they sound, those books actually give you a very good introduction, and some humor to boot. Brick {censored} house full eh? What the {censored} does that mean exactly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KCTigerChief Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Brick {censored} house full eh? What the {censored} does that mean exactly?Use your imagination? It's just an expression, no need to get offended, sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayman121 Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Make a bias calculator program . That was one of my first programs but it was pretty tits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sbrett Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I build web and desktop apps using C# all day long, and ya, you just need to find something that has basic examples that you can work through. Whether that be a book or something online. The actual language is less important than understanding the logic--loops, function calls, recursive functions, types, classes, etc. All languages use these things. If you can't figure out how these work from a basic standpoint you will be screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sabrex Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Lol, can't be any more specific than that Izzy.Adviser - "You're going to need to start learning how to program C/C++."Me - "Oh, ok. How should I get started."Adviser, "Eh, go buy a book and work through it."Me, "Yes Sir!"I don't have specific enough questions for forums yet, specific books and tutorials are certainly welcome. There are so many, that it would be nice to have the "good" ones pointed out. Sage words of advice are always welcome too. Total C++ nerds will direct you towards Stroustrup's C++ book (the one defining the language), but its more of a reference book than a tutorial with examples. That said, take your pick. Go to amazon and find a well reviewed C++ book. Or search on google; many colleges have their programming material online. There is nothing equivalent to java.sun.com or msdn.microsoft for C++. Make sure you are picking the right language. If you are doing math or algorithms, I suspect that Matlab will do a great job and wonder if C++ will help you. If you are doing text processing, use Perl or Ruby. Java is a better general purpose dev language than C++, with many well supported APIs, and is platform independent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Depends on what you're doing, what OS you're targeting and what IDE you're using. If you want to develop Windows apps with C++ you have a huge learning curve ahead of you. Just basic C style console apps are easy. If you want to take full advantage of C++ with its OOP features and the standard template library, prepare to put some real time into learning. First step is find out what you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Sam's C++ in 24 hours is good for getting the basics going. But really, jump in and swim fast. Brick {censored}house should be your first program! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RiffDaemon Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Learn C first, then C++. C++ made more sense to me after learning C first because I was able to make more sense out of what C++ was offering. Plus, if you jump into C++ first and only use it and its OOP paradigms, you'll be taken aback when you stumble across a file written in pure C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Lol, can't be any more specific than that Izzy.Adviser - "You're going to need to start learning how to program C/C++."Me - "Oh, ok. How should I get started."Adviser, "Eh, go buy a book and work through it."Me, "Yes Sir!"I don't have specific enough questions for forums yet, specific books and tutorials are certainly welcome. There are so many, that it would be nice to have the "good" ones pointed out. Sage words of advice are always welcome too. Do a course it will make you work harder than teaching yourself. I am doing Java right now and it can be a painfull but rewarding experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Learning to program is the same as learning to play guitar. You can read all you want but unless you actually play you won't learn {censored}. Define real, but simple problems, code up the according solution. Define increasingly difficult, ambitious problems as your knowledge increases. Have at least 2 good programming references. Prata's C++ Primer is a good good one, Eckel's is also considered pretty good. Stay away from anything Schildt has written. Agreed I can read a book understand it all, but when it comes to writing I think err wat? You need to do it to learn it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Learn C first, then C++. C++ made more sense to me after learning C first because I was able to make more sense out of what C++ was offering. Plus, if you jump into C++ first and only use it and its OOP paradigms, you'll be taken aback when you stumble across a file written in pure C. A lot of people do not subscribe to that learning path, eschewing C in it's entirety, going straight to C++ and jumping feet first into OOP. I'm not one of them. Learn C, fundamental data structures and algorithms. Then take on C++. However most don't have the patience to go this route, suffering from the McDonalds "instant gratification syndrome". Succumb and pay the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Learn C first, then C++. C++ made more sense to me after learning C first because I was able to make more sense out of what C++ was offering. Plus, if you jump into C++ first and only use it and its OOP paradigms, you'll be taken aback when you stumble across a file written in pure C. On the other hand, C++ is a completely different language and that's based on C's syntax and OOP is a completely different way of programming than top down. If you learn C, you'll likely develop habits that you'll have to unlearn to use C++ properly. If you know C++, you'll be able to figure out C code, even though the style may look different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Don't agree. ^ Unless you spend years and years coding C for a living you won't develop any "hard to break" habits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MadKeithV Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 I don't have specific enough questions for forums yet, specific books and tutorials are certainly welcome. There are so many, that it would be nice to have the "good" ones pointed out. Sage words of advice are always welcome too. Books: Start with the books from the "C++ in depth" series (http://www.informit.com/imprint/series_detail.aspx?ser=334643)I recommend Accelerated C++ and Essential C++ to start with, and then C++ coding standards. The others may be way deep for you, especially "Modern C++ Design" which is a total-brain-meltdowner the first decade or so that you are working in C++. Second: Stackoverflow.com. Lots of good answers to questions, and you can ask your own! Oh, and important last note: There is no silver bullet (http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/SoftwareEngineering/BrooksNoSilverBullet.html) - and that includes Object-Oriented programming. Don't get too fixated on it, it's not the best answer to everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Books: Start with the books from the "C++ in depth" series (http://www.informit.com/imprint/series_detail.aspx?ser=334643)I recommend Accelerated C++ and Essential C++ to start with, and then C++ coding standards.The others may be way deep for you, especially "Modern C++ Design" which is a total-brain-meltdowner the first decade or so that you are working in C++.Second: Stackoverflow.com. Lots of good answers to questions, and you can ask your own!Oh, and important last note: There is no silver bullet (http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/SoftwareEngineering/BrooksNoSilverBullet.html) - and that includes Object-Oriented programming. Don't get too fixated on it, it's not the best answer to everything. I've read both the bolded books, and while excellent books sans any fluff, if the OP is a programming n00b they may be too succinct, assuming much requisite knowledge upon the reader. But awesome books, I envy the author's respective knowledge and ability to put it into print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RiffDaemon Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 On the other hand, C++ is a completely different language and that's based on C's syntax and OOP is a completely different way of programming than top down. Absolutely, which is why the C/C++ moniker annoys me. Programmers too often treat C++ as "C with classes." Edit: But that's when I'm in a purist mood. For my personal projects, I'm guilty of using "C with classes." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MadKeithV Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 Absolutely, which is why the C/C++ moniker annoys me. Programmers too often treat C++ as "C with classes."It started off annoying me. Now, with 10 years professional experience, I wish more people thought of it this way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RiffDaemon Posted February 25, 2010 Members Share Posted February 25, 2010 It started off annoying me. Now, with 10 years professional experience, I wish more people thought of it this way See my edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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