do you guys think it is better to learn visual c++ and then once i''m comfortable with that start reading books of strictly c++ code without the visual or visa versa? Thanks

Usually, people do it the other way around: learn the core C++ language then learn compiler-specific extensions.

so you''d recomend learning the language before learning how to use the visual c++ program way?

VC++ is often refered to windows programming and will need good understanding of "c++".

If you are a beginner, you could start with a good c++ book:
Deitel&Deitel - How to program c++

Then you could move toward windows programmng, or using powerful programming tools like VisualStudio.

The problem with c++ is that the entire Deitel book doest let you program any fancy stuff. It''s all about techniques and understanding of the language itself. Once you master it, you can move on too cool stuff.

Java, just to use an example, let you do fancy stuff right away. But you will have to accept that alot of the code you are using is "unexplainable" until you reach a level of knowledge that make you understand it...which could take alot of time.