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    #46
    It would be nice if we agreed on a book thats available on Kindle, as then everybody can get it instantly for a very decent price. If we intend to use a book that is.

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      #47
      Hmm-I haven't heard of c# before (I've been advised against anything thats microsoft exclusive-but I'm definitely willing to have a go if it really means transferable skills for C++. If I do this (I'm likely to be busy a few months from now) I would like to know that I can use this experience for non-microsoft as well.For now its yes(IM IN). Need to know more about whats going on under the hood. And I am currently absolute beginner. The experts I spoke to offline a while back recommended pascal-but I had an absolute nightmare just trying to find a working version)-I feel I really need something a little more newbie friendly. (Or maybe just full explanations-difficult to do by correspondence). I have been given the suggestion I should get an amiga 500 just for pascal ( i can think of many more reasons)-I wonder how much they go for now?

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        #48
        C# is basically Microsoft's take on C++ with a sprinkling of Java influences. The key thing to note here is that it's an Object Oriented language. Once you learn one OO language, it's not too difficult to move onto other OO languages (eg - Java, C++, etc).

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          #49
          C# is also a *managed* language, like Java. But NOT like C++, which isn't.

          The skills transfer easily enough, but there are concepts in C++ you won't come across in Java or C#. They won't matter to someone learning to code, but are pretty crucial when you're doing it for a living...

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            #50
            Transferring to C++ from C# is not going to be a pleasant experience. Not having to understand memory management and pointers in C# is going to make you hate C++ I reckon. Essentially C# = Microsoft only. Going the other was would be an easier transition although you may lament the lack of multiple inheritance and proper template classes.

            Learning how to make a simple game by typing in someone else's code and reading the explanations is one way to go about things but I do wonder if it would make you artificially feel that you'd made more progress than you really had. Better to learn the fundamentals such as data structures, sorting, searching and OO techniques first IMO. Once you understand that then you're equipped to tackle anything really.

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              #51
              Originally posted by FSW View Post
              Not having to understand memory management and pointers in C# is going to make you hate C++ I reckon.
              Those elements alone might put you off programming forever. C++ really isn't the best beginners language. By all means use something other than C# if you can't stand the prospect of using a Microsoft langauge, but C++ is not a good place to start.

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                #52
                I started off learning c++ with this book: http://www.steveheller.com/cppad/Output/dialogTOC.html

                Never finished it, which is why I only know a very, very limited amount of c++. But it does teach you the fundamentals of programming and c++. A bit dated in some aspects, but it's aimed at someone who has no programming experience whatsoever, and I found it to be excellent.

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                  #53
                  Well, I'd have to disagree with you there bcass (my opinion is no more valuable than yours of course!). FWIW I'm not saying go in full steam ahead with every feature of C++. Treat it as C to start with perhaps. But learn about how memory is used and allocated/deallocated etc. instead of just pretending it's all done by magic. That's just my opinion though. Different people will have different goals.

                  Anyway, this is a good topic and has stayed alive long enough that it needs to be stickied I think. It probably ought to move to the PC section though rather than gaming? Also, I think there might already be another coding threading kicking about. I'll see if I can find it and maybe merge it.

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                    #54
                    I really didn't want to get into that argument, there's *never* universal agreement because there's a lot of snobbery regarding people's favourite programming languages. My main reason for recommending C# is because it's good for beginners. Even most C++ die-hards I know or have worked with would not claim that of C++. There's more to C++ and it *is* more demanding to get your head round those additional concepts.

                    Also, the only beginner-friendly C++ game development library that I know of (Allegro) isn't as beginner-friendly as XNA Game Studio. XNA is also updated much more regularly with new features being added all the time. It's a technology that Microsoft are pushing hard now that it's supported across a wider range of hardware platforms. I've coded in both (learnt C++ first, then C#), so can speak from experience there. Incidentally, here's the site I used a couple of years ago to teach myself C++:



                    It doesn't teach you everything (few tutorials/books do) but most of the core stuff is there.
                    Last edited by bcass; 17-05-2011, 14:43.

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                      #55
                      Good points well made. YEah, making a game in C++ is gonna be problematic. I was also confusing the request of the OP of this thread with that of the original thread that I've no merged.

                      FWIW my favourite language is Objective-C. Sadly I have no cause to use it these days :-(

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                        #56
                        Originally posted by bcass View Post
                        Those elements alone might put you off programming forever. C++ really isn't the best beginners language. By all means use something other than C# if you can't stand the prospect of using a Microsoft langauge, but C++ is not a good place to start.
                        I don't see why you'd think that, what's so especially hard with C++ and memory mana*NULL POINTER EXCEPTION*

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                          #57
                          Originally posted by bcass View Post
                          Incidentally, here's the site I used a couple of years ago to teach myself C++:



                          It doesn't teach you everything (few tutorials/books do) but most of the core stuff is there.
                          Having a read of the first few pages and that seems a much better tutorial. Again, it does miss out explaining about some of the 'basic' concepts (not everyone may know what a CPU is and how exactly it works?), but it seems to be a good starting point.

                          I would prefer to learn something like c++ over any other language. As long as you're taught well (reading from a good source of material in this case) you would only be learning the more simple aspects first, therefore more advanced concepts that are too difficult for beginners wouldn't be touched on until I'd have a firm grasp of the basics.

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                            #58
                            Good balls learning c# guys, I'm still loving programming after a few years. After you've grasped the basics (3 or 4 weeks, 6 hrs a day or whatever) I highly recommend this book for taking it up to the next level...



                            Send me a pm if there's anything you don't get and can't google

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                              #59
                              Decided to do something on iPhone. Not sure what yet but the arrival of google's API for google tasks brings possibilities. There's already a hundred todo apps on the store but none look all that great to me. Time to brush up the Obj-C skills (well, relearn it all from scratch really, it's been so long).

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                                #60
                                Help me get a job! Had an interview on Friday which went really well, now I've been shortlisted and have one more step to pass, a test! Now this isn't a do the test for me sort of thing, I have however been asked to use VBscript, I've never, ever used scripting languages before, so don't really have to the time to sit down and go through a book or anything, I could get enough of what I know from this test If it works. So here's what I've been asked to do:

                                Every 5 minutes retrieve the current value of USD to GBP from the Internet.
                                Display the current value to the user
                                Show how that value has changed since the last retrieval
                                Record the application’s activity in a log


                                Code:
                                Option Explicit 
                                'On Error Resume Next
                                
                                Dim dblRate, strFromCur, strToCur 
                                
                                dblRate = 0.6217
                                strFromCur = "USD"
                                strToCur = "GBP"
                                
                                WScript.Echo GoogleFinance(dblRate, strFromCur, strToCur) 
                                
                                dblRate = 
                                strFromCur = "USD"
                                strToCur "GBP"
                                
                                WScript.Echo GoogleFinance(dblRate, strFromCur, strToCur)
                                
                                Function GoogleFinance (myAmount, myFromCur, myToCur) 
                                Dim dblConvert, dblExchange
                                
                                If IsNumeric (myAmount) Then
                                	If myAmount <= 0 Then 
                                	  GoogleFinance = "Error: " &myAmount & "Is not a valid amount"
                                	  Exit Function
                                	End If
                                End If
                                Now I don't fully understand what I'm trying to do, since I've never scripted before, I have no idea where to output, and howto retrieve the values from online. Any advice would be great.
                                Last edited by Rep; 18-07-2011, 15:33.

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