What is the difference between C and C++?
I started taking a class in C, and am also learning C++ on my own...
Am I wasting my time? Are there significant differences between the two? I have heard that C++ is an extension of C - but you do not have to learn C to learn C++
Thanks.
Welcome to the funhouse, where strange mirrors reflect the faces of insanity.
>What is the difference between C and C++?
[diplomatic answer]
They are two different langauges that solve problems in different ways.
[/diplomatic answer]
>Am I wasting my time?
Definitely not. If you know both C and C++ then you'll be better off than if you only knew one of them.
>I have heard that C++ is an extension of C - but you do not
>have to learn C to learn C++
Originally C++ was a superset of C, but over time both languages evolved independently of each other. The syntax can be similar, so if you know C then you are well on your way to knowing C++. But because of differences in the languages, perfectly valid and correct C can be broken as C++, this is why it is not usually recommended that you learn C first. I personally feel that the order in which you learn them doesn't matter as much as learning them both in the end.
-Prelude
My best code is written with the delete key.
OK that helped out a lot
Yes, thank you. That gave me more insight than I had.
I've been programming in Visual Basic for a few years and I never knew just how much I took it for granted. Something as simple as opening a Random Access file, reading the 100th, 200th and 350th record - which I could write in VB in just under a minute (I type about 75 words / minute) - I find is taking me almost an entire day to figure out in C++.
Could be because I'm starting out in the wrong place... Rather than take the time to learn what the different datatypes are and how to us 'em, I just jumped right in and keep my fingers crossed that the compiler will tell me what's wrong.... probably not the best approach?
Welcome to the funhouse, where strange mirrors reflect the faces of insanity.
Bjarne Stroustrop, the main founder of C++, has an article about the differences and compatability of C/C++ here.
Truth is a malleable commodity - Dick Cheney
NEVER SWITCH FROM C/C++ IT'S THE BEST LANGUAGE(FASTEST,MOST ETHICAL),INSTEAD STICK THROUGH IT AND LEARN,YOu WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.
>I just jumped right in and keep my fingers crossed that the
>compiler will tell me what's wrong.... probably not the best approach?
Not exactly, even though I know people who make a very good living doing just that. Not on my project team though.
>NEVER SWITCH FROM C/C++<...snip nonsense>
While C and C++ are two popular and powerful langauges, only a fool would restrict themselves to just those two. The more languages you know, the more marketable you are. Also, some languages are custom tailored to specific jobs and by using them you increase productivity a great deal. This is far more important than shaving off clock ticks with a language that can create faster code in triple the production time.
-Prelude
My best code is written with the delete key.
I don't think it's VERY important to learn C, because C++ has many BETTER things, like CLASSES I can't think of programming without classes(OOP)...
Maybe because I'm new to programming.
Ammar...
Prelude:
I meant never drop C/C++from your reportoire,and if you don't think clock-ticks are important then you are cheating your customers as so many organizations do.
>I meant never drop C/C++from your reportoire
That's wildly different from "never switch from C/C++".
>if you don't think clock-ticks are important then you are cheating your customers
Hardly, I understand that efficiency is important to a point. If you don't ever get your projects onto the market then it doesn't matter how fast the code is. Also, the choice of language isn't nearly as important as the choice of algorithm, so it's best to choose the langauge that is best suited to the task at hand.
But to make a long story short, I cheat my customers anyway. I work at a bank.
-Prelude
My best code is written with the delete key.
Perhaps you could have checked the FAQ board... yawn.
I didn't even know there was a FAQ board. I bookmarked right to the C++ board.
Sorry.
Welcome to the funhouse, where strange mirrors reflect the faces of insanity.
