I want to start C++ coding

[Khaeotixs]

As the title says, but i have absolutely no experience coding except for hacking bits around in HTML, and i have absolutely no idea where to start...

[daap]

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dummies ... 68523.html

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

[Forceflow]

http://www.mindview.net -> good C++ books for free.

On the other hand, I'd suggest you start with something easier. I always thought that learning Java to grasp object-oriented forms is a lot easier.

Otherwise, start with C. Write that for a couple of monts, just simple command-line stuff to calculate area's, text-based games, ... then advance to C++ (which is object-oriented, thus harder if you have never heard of the OO principles).

[Sauce]

DO NOT LEARN C FIRST!

You will just have to un-learn it.

Start with C++, naturally! I find books easier than html tutorials, so go down to your local bookstore and see what they have. A good one is "Sam's Teach yourself C++ in 24 Hours".

[zombie@computer]

DO NOT LEARN C FIRST!

You will just have to un-learn it.

Start with C++, naturally! I find books easier than html tutorials, so go down to your local bookstore and see what they have. A good one is "Sam's Teach yourself C++ in 24 Hours".

bull. c is a very good basis to start when learning c++

[ChopperDave]

I agree with zombie -- C is critical. I also think C++ should not be your first language.

C++ is a hybrid language combining the low level capabilities of C with OO aspects. The easiest way to learn C++ (IMO) is to learn its components separately, then put them together once you grasp the concepts.

So for starters, I would learn a language that is pure OO, like Java. You'll learn how classes are constructed and used, without having to worry about low level details like memory management and pointers.

Then I would move on to C. It's pretty much on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. You'll focus on low level techniques like direct memory management, the heap and stack (crucial concepts), pointers, and others. C can be a tricky language to learn, so it may take you a while to fully grasp it.

Once you've got C and Java under your belt, learning C++ is pretty much just learning the syntax. You'll have already mastered the basic concepts to make use of it.

C++ does have some features that aren't in those two languages (i.e. templates), but those are more advanced features you shouldn't be concerned with for now.

Check out Kernighan and Ritchie's C Book for learning C. It's old, but C hasn't evolved much (if at all) for the past several years.

For Java, I don't really know any good books. Maybe one of the other guys around here knows a good one.

[Forceflow]

We had introductory courses into Java with http://www.bluej.org/ and that book. It really helps visualising the object-oriented idea.

[zombie@computer]

oddly enough, OO programming is pretty easy once you realise how usefull it is

[longshanks]

I basically agree with ChopperDave, I started with Java programming and was able to transition to C++ reasonably well. I never learned C so if you want to take that step you can, you can do it without but its probably very valuable knowledge to have.
Just don't start with visual basic or some other basic language, the syntax and structure is so different than OO languages that you'll just have to unlearn everything. Although I have heard (haven't really looked into it) that C# is sort of an inbetween basic java and c++ thing that might be interesting to use (if others think negatively about C# please say so, I don't wanna give bad info), especially since it all works with windows forms etc so you can put together some simple windows apps, and all the memory is managed.

[ChopperDave]

C# is syntactically similar to Java -- if you can code in one you can pretty much code in the other.

I would avoid C# for the time being though, because then that opens up .NET, and given what you've told us it sounds like you're not ready for that yet.

But it may prove useful further on down the road, especially if you plan on playing around with XNA.

[Khaeotixs]

God! more responses than usual...

Well, ill look at the links, and lok at some books...

Thanks you huys

[Forceflow]

God! more responses than usual...

The Coding board is alive and kicking, thank you.

[Sauce]

DO NOT LEARN C FIRST!

You will just have to un-learn it.

Start with C++, naturally! I find books easier than html tutorials, so go down to your local bookstore and see what they have. A good one is "Sam's Teach yourself C++ in 24 Hours".

bull. c is a very good basis to start when learning c++

sure, c is good to learn, but alot of the syntax and bad habits it teaches you end up causing problems. By no means should c++ be your first language, as someone else already stated, but honestly, c is no good!

unless of course alot of the tutorials you will be using in your learning process involves c code instead of c++, in which case you will need to know how to convert it, but this shouldnt be the case anyway, as you are never meant to copy and paste tutorial code and then modify it - just take the concept of a specific aspect taught in a tutorial and then apply it by your own methods.

[zombie@computer]

DO NOT LEARN C FIRST!

You will just have to un-learn it.

Start with C++, naturally! I find books easier than html tutorials, so go down to your local bookstore and see what they have. A good one is "Sam's Teach yourself C++ in 24 Hours".

bull. c is a very good basis to start when learning c++

sure, c is good to learn, but alot of the syntax and bad habits it teaches you end up causing problems. By no means should c++ be your first language, as someone else already stated, but honestly, c is no good!

c has the exact same syntax as c++, and you need those basics if you ever want to turn oo in the first place. You got any idea what c is? not confusing it with c# ?