Joining a future class of C/C++ *help* . What was C/C++ made for?

[Gustaff]

Hi there.

I need a little help from you. I'm thinking to take a class of C/C++. I know a little about it. I have programmed code in C (NOT C++) for about 10 years, but I think I have just spent 25 hours in it.

I know Pascal and Basic. I'm good at algorithms (in C) but have not used files finctions. Let's say I know 10% of the whole package.

The course starts tomorrow, or can be also taked from the first days of next month. It last a month, from Monday to Friday, two hours each day.

My question is (I'm a little insecure of what course offered I should take), What was C/C++ made for?
Do I have a chance of earn decent amount of money doing C?
Is C a modern tool for modern industry?
Is there a decent propotion of programmers in C than in any other modern language?

I'm Thinking of other alternatives like : Introduction to Data Bases,
Acces, FoxPro, Java..etc. I have just heard about them, I don't know anything about them.

I studied computer science about 10 years a go, so I want to refresh my knowledge and learn more.

Please, I need some advice. Thanks in advance.

Gustaff

[Shiro]

>I have programmed code in C (NOT C++) for about 10 years, but
>I think I have just spent 25 hours in it.

You mean you've programmed 2,5 hours a year in C? :-)

>My question is (I'm a little insecure of what course offered I
>should take), What was C/C++ made for?

C was invented to write an operating system and is still used a lot in writing operating systems, device drivers, embedded software, but is also a general purpose language.

C++ is an extension to C, with C++ it is much easier to develop software in an object oriented way. Since object orientation is quite important these days, C++ is very popular. I think that soon more technical applications will be written in C++ then in C.

>Do I have a chance of earn decent amount of money doing C?

Yes. But perhaps it's better learning C++, since many companies are object oriented these days. And object orientation is getting more and more popular.

>Is C a modern tool for modern industry?

I don't know if modern is the right term. But it is used a lot in modern industry.

>Is there a decent propotion of programmers in C than in any
>other modern language?

Depends on the sector you're looking at. In embedded software the languages C and C++ are used a lot. But I don't know about others. I've heard that programmers who create software for Windows platforms use C++ a lot in combination with MFC and things like CORBA and COM. And I'm told that database programmers use languages like Oracle a lot.

>I'm Thinking of other alternatives like : Introduction to Data
>Bases, Acces, FoxPro, Java..

Well, I'm not involved in database technology. So I can't help you with that. but I know that Java is a quite important language these days. At the company where I work, which is involved in embedded software, more and more Java is part of our software. There's even a smartcard which has Java on it. Mobile phones, televisions, cars, they're all equipped with Java. And ofcourse many internet applications use Java.