Thread: Beginners, C++ or C#?

  1. #1
    #junkie
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    Beginners, C++ or C#?

    What should i start learning? Totally from "C Scratch" if you will. Right now i am going through online tutorials about C++ but i just wanna make sure learning C++ is worth it when C# exists.

    Anyway thanks

  2. #2
    VA National Guard The Brain's Avatar
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    i think a lot of colleges teach c++ or java for their CS students.. so if you plan on taking CS courses at all in college.. i would lean towards c++ or java.. (i think a lot of colleges are switching over to java though)
    • "Problem Solving C++, The Object of Programming" -Walter Savitch
    • "Data Structures and Other Objects using C++" -Walter Savitch
    • "Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers" -Kip Irvine
    • "Programming Windows, 5th edition" -Charles Petzold
    • "Visual C++ MFC Programming by Example" -John E. Swanke
    • "Network Programming Windows" -Jones/Ohlund
    • "Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours" -Michael Morrison
    • "Mathmatics for 3D Game Programming & Computer Graphics" -Eric Lengyel

  3. #3
    public static void Main() HopeDagger's Avatar
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    I suppose one can argue either way. I find C# to be a lot easier to grasp and use, but a beginner to programming (or at least OOP) would get lost quickly in the way things are structured.

    At least with C++ you don't need to jump into pure OOP immediately, but C# forces you into it. On the downside to C++, you've got pointers, memory management and other ugly things to concern yourself with.

    Personally, I think that C# would be a very nice starting ground provided that you have the patience to understand the concepts of OOP before you can really get into it.

    Good luck in your programming ventures! :)

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    I would go with C++. It has a lot in common with some of the higher-level languages used for Rapid Application Development, but it maintains very low-level abilities found in straight C. It's a great way to learn the basic of programming in such a way that you're well prepared regardless of which road you choose to take in the future. It's also very versatile, and will be a useful skill in almost all cases.

    C# is a great language, but I don't recommend going into it first. I love it because it lets me do what I want to do so easily, but I'd be useless if I didn't understand what was going on underneath that skin.

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    i would say c++.....if you can use c++ you can learn any programming language with ease..
    (except for maybe COBOL, which i never got into, but it looks like a joke to me)

  6. #6
    public static void Main() HopeDagger's Avatar
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    Nice points, Sean. :)

    Why are you limiting your choices to C++ or C# anyways, Zeusbwr? Personally I think that there are easier places than both of these to get started with programming. With our current collection of replies, we've established that both of them can be a pain. ;)

    Personally, I think that Pascal or BASIC -- no comments from the Basic haters :P -- are excellent starting grounds for someone who is just getting started with programming. BASIC is just simple enough that you can get the basics and fundamentals of programming down so that you can apply it towards learning a more complicated language. Pascal has its own merits too: the syntax is clean, which will (hopefully!) help you keep your coding clean in the future as well. Myself, I've found Pascal to be a very nice transition language towards C++.

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    Hey! That's exactly my problem also. I've taken this course in some school here with three modules,namely;cc++,vb, and java. I've finished with the c course and we've only covered up to basics. I havent been taught about arrays pointers and other preprocessor definitions.
    I really wanna learn to program but I don't wanna go into vb because I feel that it'll muddy up little knowledge. What would you suggest? Just skip the vb part?Go straight into java? Granted I will continue with c learning along the way..thanks.

  8. #8
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    My advice: don't rely on your school courses for your sum total of programming education.

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    I learned C++ from a similar language used online, Javascript. (No comments from the people that think JS is a whole different thing.) I personally prefer C++ over the low-level for the beginners AND high-level for advanced users. Also, if you don't have a budget, if you want to learn how to make stuff that do something very well, but you don't mind if the programs have a lot of lag, choose Visual Basic. If you use Visual Basic, you'll never be able to learn C++, but if you learn C++, you can learn any language except COBOL and FORTRAN.
    Child who knows C++
    Using Borland C/C++ Compiler 5.5 (Command Line Version)

  10. #10
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    VB is terrible.

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    C++Child, just so you know, saying something to the effect of, "No comments from ... people" does not make you exempt from severe wrongness. It's like saying, "See I'm right? Look how defensive people get when I say something they don't agree with!" Just to demonstrate how dumb this strategy is: If you reply to my post, you must be wrong because you're getting so worked up about it.

    HopeDagger: BASIC is a good suggestion for a complete beginner to programming, as it will introduce the concepts found in any language, but I would caution that since few commonly-used languages are similar to BASIC, when one is learning a language like C/C++ after learning BASIC, that they act as though C++ and BASIC are completely different things. Don't try to relate anything in BASIC to equivalent code in C++. It just gets you muddled up.

    Diding: In your case I would recommend continuing with C for the time being. It'll solidify your knowledge of the basics, and will prevent confusion caused by an incomplete knowledge of C (since you will invariably be comparing VB or something else with C)

  12. #12
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    I learned BASIC first, then C/C++, then assembly, then Java, then VB and then puked. You can learn any language and one language is not going to cause you to unlearn another. It is not impossible to learn VB and C++, but you'll never go back to VB once you get the hang of C++, or at least I didn't.

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    I've many times heard the complete opposite of VB vs. C++ - so just try both and see what works for you.

  14. #14
    public static void Main() HopeDagger's Avatar
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    Bubba, I can understand your point of view regarding VB after learning all of those other languages. However, I am a firm believer that *every* language is fantastic at at least one thing. VB, although I don't use it, happens to be very good for creating quick small GUI win32 applications. Writing any win32 applications with C++ is a nightmare in comparison. I prefer Delphi, but let's not get into that. ;)

    I somewhat agree with you, Sean. C/C++ differs immensely in contrast to BASIC, which is why I think Pascal is a nice branching language between the two. Or at least it was for me. I remember when I first started learning C, it was just so overwhelming because of the sheer amount of concepts that you had to wrap your mind around that just didn't exist in simpler languages. Preprocessor statements, pointers, memory management, static typing, structures, etc. all really disorient a newer programmer. I feel that it's best to move in a direction through programming languages that introduce new concepts in a slower fashion than all at once. BASIC gets you the foundation stuff down, Pascal solidifies that gets you going with structures and static types, and then C/C++ introduces you to the big brave world of all of the other goodies.

  15. #15
    Registered User Elhaz's Avatar
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    I started out with Liberty BASIC (it was free!).

    With C++, as a beginner, I've been staring into the black and white text of of the console for the past two months. With Liberty BASIC, after only two days I had drop-down menues going, graphics boxes, nifty turtle graphics, clickable buttons and, COLOR! It really encouraged me to see such flashy results in such a short time. But soon the novelty wore off and I began to look elsewhere. C++ seemed to be where it's at so I picked up a couple books and now can't imagine going back to BASIC.

    Besides giving me some initial encouragement and helping me build the confidence I needed, I think BASIC was a good intro and made it easier for me to slide into C++. I didn't use it so long, though, that its syntax got burned into my brain and couldn't be replaced by C++.

    I think starting with C++ from scratch would have made it a lot tougher for me to keep hammering away at it.

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