Thread: So... How did you learn?

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    48

    So... How did you learn?

    Right now I'm able to program some simple console program. I'm starting to get the feeling of some fairly simple functions and getting started with using various libraries.

    So this question(s) is for all you super gurus or for that matter anyone out there.

    How did you learn? What are all tutorials you used? What kind of stuff did you start out with? And how long did it take you to start making more complex programs?

    But really, I would appreciate replies to this just so I can advance more and make some freakin cool progs like you ppl can. THX!

    Oh yeah, and I use Visual C++ 6.0 (Standard).
    Hey, you gotta start somewhere

  2. #2
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    9,897
    Read. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on that concerns programming. This will give you a knowledge base that you can use for when you actually sit down to program. By reading I mean books, manuals, newsgroups, forums, emails, signs of the zodiac if they pertain to C++.

    That's really as simple as it gets, read about programming and write programs that use that knowledge.

    -Prelude
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  3. #3
    Registered User NewbieVB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    41
    I am in the same boat as C++n00b I also just started C++ but have a bunch of my buds helping me out. They showed me a good site which is:

    cplusplus.com

    also there are plenty out there go to yahoo and type in "C++ Tutorials" thousands of websites will come up
    Compiler: Metrowerks Codewarrior 7
    --- I may be a newbie but theres no need to make fun ---

  4. #4
    Pygmy Monkey ErionD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    408
    Why do all the new guys choose names like "I-am-a-newbie"?
    You don't get more help because of that so you might aswell have something that you can use when you have become good enough to not be newbies anymore...

  5. #5
    Fingerstyle Guitarist taylorguitarman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    564
    I had great college professors. One professor especially, good old Ahmad. (no one ever could say let alone spell his last name)
    If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to see it, do the other trees make fun of it?

  6. #6
    I'm Back
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    556
    reading books, boards like these, good teachers.. thats the way to learn anything

    IMHO there's nothing better than a good teacher with whom you can actual learn [ face2face]. Books and Boards aren't always the solution esp if you know nothing or little.

    but unforunately you dont get good teachers all the time


    >>I had great college professors.<<
    our first program in c++ class started with -->

    void main()..

    and would have probably used it forever [infact i used it a lot early] hadn't it been for people here.
    -

  7. #7
    It's full of stars adrianxw's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,829
    Basically echo Prelude. Read and practice.
    Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity unto the dream.

  8. #8
    Fingerstyle Guitarist taylorguitarman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    564
    Ihsir, nothing wrong with starting like that. Ahmad actually started with void main() so we didn't get confused early. When he taught us about functions then he introduced us to
    int main( void ) and
    int main( int argc, char **argv ).

    He liked to do things in small steps so that everyone followed along. Sadly, I had him for a Java class and we were moving at a pretty fast pace, and then stopped to review for a whole week. When a few of us asked him why, he said he was worried that he was losing some people in the class and wanted to make sure they didn't get completely lost before he moved on. I think a good teacher can make all the difference.
    Last edited by taylorguitarman; 04-12-2002 at 12:29 PM.
    If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to see it, do the other trees make fun of it?

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    589
    Read and think about what you are reading. And get your hands dirty. read a chapter then go write a prog with what you just learned,something that you thought out your self that use what you know.

  10. #10
    I'm Back
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    556
    taylorguitarman:

    sorry i didn't give enough info. we had already started learning basic/medium level c++ programming in last year at school [classes/files etc] so it was assumed that we'll go into higher stuff when in college.

    our school teacher also started with void but had also briefed us about int main and said that since we wont be programming real stuff and since our programs wont be large void will be ok.

    In fact your Ahmad and our school teacher were quite similar in teaching methods.

    I remember when we started learning classes he said that classes has 2 types of members Public and Private, when on of us said "What about protected" he replied that right now there are just two types for you people later i'll increase it to 3

    -

  11. #11
    Registered User hk_mp5kpdw's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Northern Virginia/Washington DC Metropolitan Area
    Posts
    3,817
    So many people who post to these boards asking if a certain piece of code works or not don't want to spend the 30 seconds it would take typing the code into their compiler and testing it out for themselves. They seem to have an aversion to this for some reason. Instead they come here and ask the question and it may take 5 minutes or an hour or a couple days to get a response from somebody plus they may get chewed out or flamed for whatever reason. People, if you want to learn, you got to get your hands dirty. Try out your bit of code on your machine first, then if you can't get it to work, post a message here.
    "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
    -Christopher Hitchens

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Am I too late to learn programming?
    By maccat in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 02-17-2009, 08:49 AM
  2. Looking to learn C++
    By Fuzzy91 in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 04-13-2006, 02:38 AM
  3. Can you actually learn c++ in 21 days?
    By Raeliean in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 07-27-2005, 03:41 PM
  4. You have to learn C in order to learn C++
    By gandalf_bar in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 07-16-2004, 10:33 AM
  5. Witch to learn first?
    By Unregistered in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-17-2002, 12:06 AM