Anyone know of a forum where beginners can get help??
when i came to this forum, i was under the impression it was for beginners to get help in C++ programming. but the last three questions i asked were all described as being 'too vague' or 'not having enough information'. so clearly i am not advanced enough for this board. does anyone have an address for a board where someone like myself can get help?
No, the problem is that you didn't explain yourself enough so that people could help.
There are many new programmers who pop up here and most receive help. You just didn't specify your questions well enough.
Originally Posted by Adak
I guess it depends on what sort of help you want. This forum tends to supply you with "small" help, as in you have a SPECIFIC problem that you want help with.
Also it is a bit of "give and take". You are much more likely to get a good reply if you post some code in your question.
One of your questions ask for source for something like WordPad - that is quite a stretch from a beginner application, even if you are just LOOKING at it. It may not seem very complicated, but ANY GUI application is quite complex just to get a window up, and if you want to actually do somehting more within the application, it gets even worse.
--
Mats
Compilers can produce warnings - make the compiler programmers happy: Use them!
Please don't PM me for help - and no, I don't do help over instant messengers.
This is by far the best help forum I have ever seen. Most people here are very friendly and polite and also often explain things with a lot of details.
And if you post a syntax/error question you often get an answare in less then 20min. Thats faster help then I got in several of my school classes.
When I first posted on this forum I thought the same thing. People were rude, not willing to help, or didn't care. Then I realized I was being really vague, and they were right. Once you re-read you're questions and try to look at it like you don't know what you're asking, you'll learn how to ask questions in a way that others can help you the most.
And like said, posting code gets you a better response, and answer.
Also if you are just starting to learn Win32 API, I suggest reading www.winprog.org until your eyes bleed.
Last edited by scwizzo; 03-12-2008 at 02:40 PM.
[QUOTE=Elysia;728928]No, the problem is that you didn't explain yourself enough so that people could help.QUOTE]
the thing you guys aren't realizing is that i dont know what to say to explain myself better. if i did know what to say, i promise you i would be including that information. perhaps you guys could tell me what type of information i need to be including, then i will know. simply saying 'you didnt explain yourself well enough' does not help a beginner.. at all.
matsp gave me actual helpful information when he said to post some code, i will try that from now on. and someone directed me to www.winprog.org if i'm learning Win32 API... what is that? how do i know if that's what i am learning?
I know it doesn't. However, I didn't have a look at your other posts, so I couldn't really say what was missing.
I was merely replying to your question in general. Because even if you do find another site, they'll end up just as confused.
You need to work a little on how to provide enough information. We can help, of course.
Win32 API is functions provided by Windows, simply put. You can get access to all these if you include Windows.h.matsp gave me actual helpful information when he said to post some code, i will try that from now on. and someone directed me to www.winprog.org if i'm learning Win32 API... what is that? how do i know if that's what i am learning?
The easiest way to know is simply to consult your documentation. Remember that documentation is one of the programmer's best friends. Very important.
If possible, you should stay away from Win32 API, since it will only work on Windows. Relying on the Standard Library is far better, if you can since it is portable.
Note that this is primarily a C and C++ board. If you're using .NET, Managed C++, C++/CLI or some other Microsoft extension, you might want to look for another forum. There is a difference between plain C++ and those other things. While there are people here who can help you, you might find other forums with more specific expertise in those areas.
If you have questions about beginner C++ specifically, this is by far the best forum I've encountered.
By someone saying you wanted code to Wordpad I assumed you wanted to learn something to do with Win32 (Console programming is where you should start, which is not the same as Windows programming/Win32). If you want to know what it is google or wikipedia it. Otherwise, if you are just starting to learn go through the tutorials on this site starting at the beginning.
Some sites for starting...
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
Its kinda strange because you say you're a beginner in a c++ board and still you're asking win32 questions elsewhere.
Arent we supposed to know C++ well enough before moving to Win32?
Last edited by Ducky; 03-14-2008 at 12:51 AM.
Using Windows 10 with Code Blocks and MingW.
Well i have a good grasp on the basic fundamentals of C++ programming (loops, arrays, functions, classes, etc) because all i have ever done with C++ until recently was console programming. but i've been doing the console programming for so long, the other day i decided to mess around with my Borland builder and see what else i could learn (like buttons, boxes, lists, panels, etc). basically i wanted to move on to making programs with a GUI (atleast i think thats the correct term).
so i feel i'm a beginner because all i've EVER done was console programming, which i didnt think was even scraping the surface of real programming (and by real programming i mean that which would be used in a modern day job).
Borland is such an old, outdated IDE... But Windows programming has never been easy.
good to know, do you have any suggestions for what i should be using? i would really like to be familiar with an ide that is more standard among programmers.
Here are a few examples listed:
http://cpwiki.sourceforge.net/Integr...nt_Environment
I tend to use Visual Studio.
If C++ were a car and you were studying to be a mechanic, you've effectively told us that you have a good grasp of what a wheel, window, bumper or headlight is.
You have some grasp of the fundamentals of basic programming, but probably negligible grasp of the guts of C++. I would guess that you have almost zero experience or understanding of the SC++L, exceptions, templates, boost, multiple inheritance, Koenig lookup, the rule-of-three, constructor initialiser lists, RAII, RTTI, SFINAE etc...
That's okay, you've said you're no expert, and nobody's arguing with you there. You do however need to be aware that if you can't describe what you're doing, then others wont have any idea what you're doing either. You do need to take some time yourself to first understand enough to ask questions better.
You wouldn't try and ask somone that speaks a different language from you, a complex question, when you barely speak a few words of their language. However nobody is saying that you have to learn the whole of that language before you speak to the other person either. Just take a little time to learn enough for what you are after, and people can usually fill in the gaps.
If you haven't already, have a read of the following excellent article. It is something that everyone should read:
http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
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