Learning C++
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
If you want to use C++/CLI based on Nish's book, there's only one real choice - Visual C++.
I hope by Visual C++, you're talking about the IDE (Visual Studio) and not the language. Or you are drunk again. :-D
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Friedrich Nietzsche .·´¯`·->Rajesh<-·´¯`·. [Microsoft MVP - Visual C++]
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
I hope by Visual C++, you're talking about the IDE (Visual Studio)
Yes.
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
Or you are drunk again.
Maybe later.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
Here[^] is my Amazon.com list of C++ books. As you can see, I sugggest starting with "Accelerated C++" which is short, well written and teaches modern C++.
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Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
VC++ is the IDE developed MS for writing C++ programs. VC++ is not a variant of C++.
I have some basic idea on C++. But when I looked a VC++ code, it was entirely different and follow different style of writing than the normal C++, hence I thought it would be other flavor. Thanks for correcting it :) So are you telling that VC++ programs can be executed on any OS or is it windows specific ? And AFAIK, it uses MS C++ compiler, right ?
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
I'll recommend you something simpler, which has words like "beginner", "beginning", etc., in its title.
Any recommendations ?
Christian Flutcher wrote:
So are you telling that VC++ programs can be executed on any OS or is it windows specific ? And AFAIK, it uses MS C++ compiler, right ?
Visual C++ programs (typically) make extensive use of Windows API, and so, clearly you should not expect it to run on other operating systems. But that doesn't stop you from using the VC++ IDE to write truly cross-platform software, sitting on a windows machine. In which case, you will stick to the standard c++ - not making use of Windows APIs and frameworks, template libraries, technologies, like MFC, ATL, COM, etc., if it is windows specific. I will recommend Accelerated C++, C++ primer, Thinking in C++ (my favorite, free and legally downloadable[^] version of this book is available) and there are just too many good books to specify. I am sure you will get plenty of other suggestions for books here by others. Also, everything by Stanley Lippman is good.
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Friedrich Nietzsche .·´¯`·->Rajesh<-·´¯`·. [Microsoft MVP - Visual C++]
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Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
VC++ is the IDE developed MS for writing C++ programs. VC++ is not a variant of C++.
I have some basic idea on C++. But when I looked a VC++ code, it was entirely different and follow different style of writing than the normal C++, hence I thought it would be other flavor. Thanks for correcting it :) So are you telling that VC++ programs can be executed on any OS or is it windows specific ? And AFAIK, it uses MS C++ compiler, right ?
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
I'll recommend you something simpler, which has words like "beginner", "beginning", etc., in its title.
Any recommendations ?
As Rajesh stated, there are different flavours of C++ in use in VC++, such as ATL/WTL, MFC or even CLI/C++. When I developed platform independent C++, I used wxWidgets which can be used with VC++.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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I disagree. I don't regard it as an ideal first book on C++.
Kevin
My same exact thought. I totally agree that it is the best reference book, but that must definitely not be the first book for a beginner. :)
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Friedrich Nietzsche .·´¯`·->Rajesh<-·´¯`·. [Microsoft MVP - Visual C++]
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As Rajesh stated, there are different flavours of C++ in use in VC++, such as ATL/WTL, MFC or even CLI/C++. When I developed platform independent C++, I used wxWidgets which can be used with VC++.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
I used wxWidgets
Just went through that. Looks promising. Thanks.
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I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
Try Thinking in C++[^] by Bruce Eckel. The two volume eBook is free.
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I plan to write a platform independent program on this freetime. So my thinking is, I will write a C++ library which does the business logic. For UI, I will use tools which are specific to that OS. Say use "Perl" when in LINUX. Use MFC SDK when in windows. Is this practical ?
Perl for UI?
Christian Flutcher wrote:
Is this practical ?
Ever heard of Qt? It's platform independent library for GUI programming. It's free open source use (or non-commercial, I'm not sure).
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I plan to write a platform independent program on this freetime. So my thinking is, I will write a C++ library which does the business logic. For UI, I will use tools which are specific to that OS. Say use "Perl" when in LINUX. Use MFC SDK when in windows. Is this practical ?
For UI, you can use WxWidgets as Pete suggested, or you can use VCF, which is written and maintained by one of our fellow CPian, Jim Crafton. VCF Online[^]
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Friedrich Nietzsche .·´¯`·->Rajesh<-·´¯`·. [Microsoft MVP - Visual C++]
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
you're probably talking about frameworks and/or platforms
Yeah. as I am new to this, I don't know how to express it clearly.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Once you've leaned C++, it's a simple matter of learning a given framework for the selected platform
Taking a good beginer level book on C++ and learning is what you mean, right ?
Actually, if you've been a programmer for any length of time, you don't need a book. Besides - pretty much any question you might have can be answered online. My desired method for learning a new language is taking an app I wrote in another langauge, and converting it to the one I'm learning. It's faster that way, and you learn better by doing things wrong at first. You not only learn the right way to do it, but you learn the "why" along with it. You can fill gaping holes in your skill set by applying previous lessons learned.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001 -
I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
Christian Flutcher wrote:
"C++"
Freeze! QMP*! Special agent John Cardinal! You're under arrest for misuse of quotation marks! * stands for Quotation Marks Police.
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I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
Do you know C already? It will be a huge help if you did. VC++ etc are just build environments, and while the like of Microsoft do extend the language, the scope of those extensions are small so VC++, Borland C++ et al, are all C++. As for boks, I cant recomend one, I learnt it just from doing C. After all, C++ is just C with a few bits bolted on such as private class (struct) members, inheritance, polymorphism, and so on. Oh, template classes, STI especially, are very usefull as an addition to C++.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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Kevin McFarlane wrote:
I don't regard it as an ideal first book on C++.
Which one you recommend then ?
Unfortunately, I don't have an alternative. I first learnt C++ back in 1994-5. At that time I found the book Turbo C++ to be very good. This was based on Borland's Turbo C++ for DOS but in fact it was teaching you generic C++. But it would be way out of date now and most likely out of print. There are loads of C++ books around. Problem is some will be excellent and some will be poor. I can only give you a general suggestion that you first choose a book that teaches you the C++ language independent of any framework or libraries. Also, I'd recommend avoiding any books by Herbert Schildt. Although he's apparently popular the C++ gurus don't rate him. This guy might be worth a try: You Can Program in C++[^] Plus he also has an even more introductory book You Can Do It[^] I've not read either of the books but he is one of the gurus.
Kevin
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Actually, if you've been a programmer for any length of time, you don't need a book. Besides - pretty much any question you might have can be answered online. My desired method for learning a new language is taking an app I wrote in another langauge, and converting it to the one I'm learning. It's faster that way, and you learn better by doing things wrong at first. You not only learn the right way to do it, but you learn the "why" along with it. You can fill gaping holes in your skill set by applying previous lessons learned.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Actually, if you've been a programmer for any length of time, you don't need a book.
That may be so, but a book helps. When .NET first came out I bought a book on C#. I also did what you suggest - convert existing apps. But the book still added value.
Kevin
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For UI, you can use WxWidgets as Pete suggested, or you can use VCF, which is written and maintained by one of our fellow CPian, Jim Crafton. VCF Online[^]
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Friedrich Nietzsche .·´¯`·->Rajesh<-·´¯`·. [Microsoft MVP - Visual C++]
Damn - I forgot VCF. Unfortunately, I only became aware of it after I stopped developing in C++, but what I've seen of it looks really good - and there are plenty of articles here on CP for it. I'll second that suggestion - and recommend avoiding Qt because it's expensive if you want to develop commercial apps with it.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Perl for UI?
Christian Flutcher wrote:
Is this practical ?
Ever heard of Qt? It's platform independent library for GUI programming. It's free open source use (or non-commercial, I'm not sure).
Mladen Jankovic wrote:
Perl for UI?
Perl for anything? Sorry, I couldn't resist bashing it. :)
Kevin
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Here[^] is my Amazon.com list of C++ books. As you can see, I sugggest starting with "Accelerated C++" which is short, well written and teaches modern C++.
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:
I sugggest starting with "Accelerated C++"
Not seen it but it looks good from a casual scan of the reference. If I was learning C++ today I'd go for something like that.
Kevin
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I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
Best of luck to you! I tried for years to learn C++, but the Windows garbage and graphic overhead got in the way of learning. I understand the basics now, but there's no way I'd try to use it for a real application.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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I am planning to learn "C++" as I am getting some freetime. I just checked the online articles and books available. Honestly, I am confused seeing many flavours C++ has. Which one should I learn ? I have seen VC++, Symbian C++ (mobile app) and some other flavours for linux. Which one do you recommend ? I have also gone through Nish's book, "C++/CLI in action" and found very interesting.
I learned from a book titled “C++ How to Program” by Harvey and P.J. Deitel. (ISBN 0131173340) This was about 15 years ago, but I’ve seen new editions since that time. I’m not saying this is THE best book for learning C++ - just saying it’s the one I used. I’ve made a good living writing C++ code ever since then, so I’d say it was at least helpful in getting me transitioned to C++ and OOP (from C and COBOL).
_If you continue to do the same things you always did,
don't be surprised if you get the same results you always got.
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Kevin McFarlane wrote:
I don't regard it as an ideal first book on C++.
Which one you recommend then ?
C++ Primer by Stanley Lippman[^] And then follow up with Scott Meyer's[^] I would recommend buying the tomb by Bjarne Stroustrup[^] as a reference. But I can't recommend the first two sources highly enough.
I've heard more said about less.