C++ Offer
DY357LX
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Should I?</div> I was wandering aimlessly around my local PC WORLD and spotted
a hefty box containing Mirco$oft's C++ for £90.
($144.270 according to www.xe.com )
Personally i'd love to learn how to code and write my own
programs etc. But is this going to by something i'll buy and
i'll never be able to use due to lack of experience, or will
it come with a nice big book with beginner tutorials?
So my question to you lot is:
"Should someone with no C++ exp splash out £90
on it?"
Questions, thoughts, opinions and banana's here please.
a hefty box containing Mirco$oft's C++ for £90.
($144.270 according to www.xe.com )
Personally i'd love to learn how to code and write my own
programs etc. But is this going to by something i'll buy and
i'll never be able to use due to lack of experience, or will
it come with a nice big book with beginner tutorials?
So my question to you lot is:
"Should someone with no C++ exp splash out £90
on it?"
Questions, thoughts, opinions and banana's here please.
Comments
I put that there so the American viewers would know
roughly how much £90 was.
Can some people who hhave experience and knowledge of
C++ please post and give me some advise please?
1)First, you must be a high-school student. Bear with me.
2)Apply to take CS classes at a local university.
3)If you can get accepted, most public school boards will pay for your college classes.
4)TA-DA! Free gnowledge of CS is gained!
I do this at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. We haven't really gotten to C++ yet (they ease you into the entire process with two semesters of Java - start there if you don't know a thing about programming, as Java is super-intuitive), but we do start out on Java in CS III. The hardest requirement to meet is the advanced math - at U of I, Calc I, Calc II, Linear Algebra, Discrete Structures and more are needed down the course of CS. This was not a problem for me, as I took the AP equivalent of Calc I last year as a freshman. Unfortunately, not everyone has had the opportunities I have had, so this may not be an option for you.
In any case, some kind of CS or programming class would be a lot better than just reading a book. It's a lot easier to learn from people, as you can ask them questions, have discussions with them, and branch to other topics to learn things that may not be part of the root curriculem.
My CS teacher in high school was the former lead programmer at IBM, so we actually learned *a lot* of stuff.
I wouldn't shell out $150 for something you don't know how to sue and expect to pick it up immediately. Take some programming classes at school first, You'll learn more in the first 3 weeks then in monthes of trying to teach yourself.
If you go to <a href='http://www.gametutorials.com' target='_blank'>http://www.gametutorials.com</a>, and can understand what the hell they are talking about right off the bat, more power to you. However, I would recomend getting some other programming experience first (Pascal is good to learn on), so that you understand the logic first, then you can port your knowledge over to C++, then get into programming API's, (D3D, OpenGL, Allegro).
I'm in the process of trying to tach myself, and it's hella hard. Made harder by the fact that all the tutorials I've seen are written for the VC++ libs, and I only have limited DevC++ Libs, so things hardly, if ever, compile correctly. <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='mad.gif'><!--endemo-->
I've known several very intelligent people who could only seem to be able to write code if the problem and answer were solved and coded by someone else. They could work through the problem on paper, but couldn't visualize how to convert their own solution into code. I've found that their difficulty with programming was most likely due to the fact that they were studying the code, but not the methods and ideas.
Programming is an art. If all you do is copy-and-paste what other people have done, you will fail. If you understand their method and improve on it using your own ideas, you'll succeed.
If you think you're already mentally-prepared to be a programmer, try downloading a free compiler and go through some basic online tutorials. If you can grasp the concepts immediately, then you're likely already capable.
This response seems to have strayed a little from your original question of "<i>Should someone with no C++ exp splash out £90
on it?</i>", but hopefully what I've said is helpful. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Exactly. Algorithms are the foundation of programming. And they're tough. If you're good at figuring out algorithms, you should do fairly well as a programmer.
I have a roommate that actually created a <b>non-recursive</b> algorithm to the old Tower of Hanoi problem. The one where you have 3 pegs, and have to move a stack of objects from one to another, and can't stack a larger one on a smaller one... you'd know it if you saw it.
Anyway, it's a fairly easy problem if you use recursion. But by using fixed iteration... damn. I still can't figure out how he came up with it...
I'm 21 so doing a course seems to be the best thing.
But apparently I can only have a maximum of 18 hours per week
on a course due to my current work hours. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
I also have to have rather high grades and this isere I regret
being a wise-**obscenity** in school and not paying much attention.
Living through being a fast learner has paid off so far but if you don't a piece
of paper say you have a certain Grade in a certain subject then it's a dead end.
Time to go see about those courses methinks