Would you recommend learning C++ first?

Question

hi, im new to programming but am thinking about learning c++ first.. i figured i might use the "teach yourself c++ in 21 days book" would you recommend this book.. here is a link to it so u can check it out and tell me if its a good start http://newdata.box.sk/bx/c/index.htm
so anyways.. if this isent a good idea or you have a better recommendation please leave it thx

Answer 1

I've taken several such courses. I really don't think it matters in which order you take your classes in. What's most important is that you understand the logic of programming. You only need to learn that once. Get that down, and all you really have to learn is the syntax of any new programming language. But your 21 day book is a good start.

Answer 2

I think your learning C++ first via the 21 days is fine to do. Because you are new to programming there are alot of different bits you have to understand. C++'s main claim to fame is its use of Object Oriented programming (OOP as it is called). Because it is a 21 day book it might assume you need to know "C" first since it will just gloss over what a variable and memory usage is etc. Recall that "C++" is the sequel langauge to "C". So maybe you might want to look into a "Introduction to C" to get those basics before jumping into C++'s OOP style of programming. If it were me i would go "C" first and then C++...And as other people have indicated, once you get the foundation under your belt of how programming works then its easy to move from one language to the next.

Just to let you know C and C++ are old lanugages and although it is a very good idea to learn because most modern languages are based on it in appearance (e.g. Java, php, C#, Flash's ActiveScript) they are also a little harder to grasp than modern languages. For example, most people have a hard time grasping pointers of C and C++...In modern languages they dropped pointers in favor of garbage collection (dont worry about that term since they system handles that for you). I've used C and C++ for a while in my life and i can honestly say they are archaic and ancient languages that should not be used in a career but only as a learning foundation before jumping to the modern langauges....C and C++ was made at a time that didnt know what internet was and event handling and so it is alot harder to write stuff in it and get this finished on time.

I personally feel the best modern language at the moment is C# and PHP. Both are OOP languages (as C++) but without the hassle that C++ has. Java was the first of these modern languages to really clean house in C/C++ and make it easy for the rest of society. Hats off for Sun (who made Java) for kick-started the modern day movement in programming languages.

You know now that i think about it more, i really believe you should read "C" to get a know how on what the basics of coding is like (e.g. variables, functions, memory allocation, etc) and then skip C++ in favor of Java or C# or PHP simply because those 3 languages are made for "today" so they know what Internet is and it cuts out the silly things of C++ that aren't useful today.

Answer 3

There are many programming languages you could start off learning. And you'll find that many of the languages follow similar logic, you just have to learn the syntax. I started with java, which is very similar to C++. Either way, you'll eventually learn most of the common ones. Good luck.

Answer 4

C++ is a perfectly good language to start in, and is extremely similar to java, so if necessary you could always migrate to that too. While visual basic is easier to learn at first, C++ is a much more like other languages in my opinion. I too am a programming newbie :)

Answer 5

No. Learn C# from Microsoft .NET platform. You can download their development tool, Express version, for free. You will be able to do HUGE amounts of more work with C#...and faster, than C++.

I did C++ for years and years. Now that I do C#, I'll never go back.

Answer 6

I wouldn't recommend learning C++ first, and I'm saying this as (I think) a reasonably advanced programmer. The language is extremely powerful and useful while remaining compact. But mastering C++ is a whole lot tricker than the average "I luv C++" fan would lead you to believe. I recommend (very) high level languages instead.

Programming languages are really a manner of expressing our logic into something the computer can understand. We don't think in 1s and 0s, we think in abstract concepts. High level languages have the syntactical tools and design that make it easier to express such logic. The price for such convenience is lack of power. Higher level languages in general lose power over the computer.

Which brings me to a simple point. You're asking whether to start learning C++ first or not. How many high performance applications do you think you'll be writing anytime soon? If the answer is 0, you're right. You may eventually want to learn C or C++, but for now, you'll find a high level language more valuable.

There's two impressive high level languages worth recommending. I recommend them because:
· They are high level languages
· They are mainstream. You're biggest challenge right now is finding enough resources to learn on your own. If you pickup a language not many people know or wish to know, it's going to be harder to find help.
· They are versatile. That means they don't confine you to one specific usage. For example, PHP confines you to web applications. You haven't mentioned a desire to program *only* web applications, so I'm recommending something with a bigger versatility.
The two languages I recommend are Python and Ruby.

Python: http://python.org
Ruby: http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/

If you do go ahead and decide to learn C++, it is critical you get the right books for it. Not only do many people think it is simple, but many authors have decided to write low quality and sadly sometimes incorrect books for it. There's a good list maintained by ACCU (http://accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=search.xqy?field=subject&term=beginner's+c%2b%2b ). I recommend either C++ Primer by Stanley Lippman or Accelerated C++ by Koenig.

I hate to bicker over other people's answers, but I don't like it when people post highly questionable technical answers. My gripe is with BS9999's answer.

"C++'s main claim to fame is its use of Object Oriented programming"
No. It's claim to fame is higher level programming and support for generic programming. It's claim to fame comes from better typesafety and syntactical tools. Among such tools is syntax for OOP.

"So maybe you might want to look into a "Introduction to C" to get those basics before jumping into C++'s OOP style of programming." No. You really don't want to do that. C++ is not C + a few things. The languages are different, the paradigms in usage are completely different. Moreover, it's easy to miss the differences and screw up. Take for example, the use of const on a global variable. What is the linkage for a const variable. In C++, it's internal linkage by default, but in C it is external linkage. Or the fact that C++ has four typecast operators that I bet you'll never bother to learn if you program in C. Or that you'll not understand why in C it is p = malloc (n * sizeof p) but it is in C++ type p = (type*)malloc(n * sizeof p). Learning C++? Learn C++ first, then learn C, when you can understand the difference and appreciate it.

"I've used C and C++ for a while in my life and i can honestly say they are archaic and ancient languages that should not be used in a career but only as a learning foundation before jumping to the modern langauges"
Because...? They are old? C++ got revised in 1999. Might want to take a look at some of those changes. I bet you'll be in for a shock. Take a look at that ACCU book list I mentioned.

"C and C++ was made at a time that didnt know what internet was and event handling and so it is alot harder to write stuff in it and get this finished on time."
What does C and C++ have anything to do with the internet? If you're confused, look up sockets programming under C or C++. Or exception handling under C++. Don't post misleading statements.

"You know now that i think about it more, i really believe you should read "C" to get a know how on what the basics of coding is like (e.g. variables, functions, memory allocation, etc) and then skip C++ in favor of Java or C# or PHP simply because those 3 languages are made for "today" so they know what Internet is and it cuts out the silly things of C++ that aren't useful today."
No, you want to skip C entirely, or learn C fully. You don't need to learn C to understand variables and functions. What things of C++ are silly? Streams, STL, templates, exception handling. Take a pick.

Answer 7

initiate out with C# first; you will desire to have some wisdom approximately computer shape first earlier you would be able to desire to do C++. yet once you are going to application video games, initiate out with recreation Maker by Mark Overmars as a exchange. you will learn a sprint approximately some OOP thoughts with recreation Maker too.

Answer 8

Learn PHP. It's C++ like, but much simpler and with much quicker results.

http://php.net

Answer 9

I would start with python or basic or something like that. Then Java then C++.

Answer 10

try javascript, then java, then C++