Hi I am exremly experianced Visual basic programmer, I have just finished a almost 2 year project, and now I want to move to c++ I have never programmed in it in my life! whenever i see a bit of code I get scared! but now I want to start it. I have visual studio 6.0 so I have everything i need to get started... I think. I also got a cheap copy of visual sudio .net I was wondering apart from the ide looking better, what actually is .net and how does it improve my programs e.t.c. (sorry i know this has probably been answered before! but I have never used it, and I do not understand it yet!) I was wondering if anyone can refear me to a few sites that give me examples for c++, as i said i have never done it before and will be learning from scratch. I learn quickly! also another thing is I have seen some cool forms wih diffrent shapes, and I was wondering how are these made? as I said I am trying to move away from visual basic, but if it is possible please can i have a link to a example, also if I can have a example for visual c++ when i move to it in the future. Sorry... it is 3:50 in the morning and I am tired (uk) just wanted to post this quickly so I can read replys in morning! also sorry about spellings! Thanks

specifcally with C++, .NET...

well, the compiler will let you write normal C++ applications, and it will let you write C++.NET applications.

the .NET version is microsoft specific, and compiles your code into MSIL instead of machine code. Running the MSIL code requires the .NET runtimes installed on the machine, and oh yeah. it will do garbage collecting.

Personally, I see that as a list of negatives, but some people like GC...

er, as for learning C++.

We really recommend books.

Go to your local book store, and find a C++ book, first make sure it explains everything from the ground up (so it doesn''t assume you know basic stuff) and also make sure it covers templates and vectors/lists. That should get you started

from there the internet is a good resource...

quote:Original post by blabla4
I was wondering apart from the ide looking better, what actually is .net and how does it improve my programs e.t.c.

What Is .NET?
.NET Basics FAQ

quote:I was wondering if anyone can refear me to a few sites that give me examples for c++, as i said i have never done it before and will be learning from scratch. I learn quickly!

Here''s where things get a little contentious. I and a few others would argue that you stay away from Managed C++ (aka "C++ .NET"), opting for either ("plain") C++, C# or learning both. In fact, I''ll go out on a limb and recommend C# to you. It''s got a shallower learning curve than C++, is closer to Visual Basic, and is performant enough for the majority of hobbyist needs. I''m in the process of migrating to it for all my Windows programming myself.

quote:also another thing is I have seen some cool forms wih diffrent shapes, and I was wondering how are these made?

Owner-draw controls in Win32, Paths in GDI+. I''m yet to look it up for Windows.Forms (.NET), but that''s the method I''d recommend as the other two are significantly more painful!

Good luck, and learn to use Google for general information and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) for Windows-specific; there''s a wealth of stuff there.

Hi

as a follow up, I have uninstalled visual studio 6, and I have installed visual studio .net

I was wondering how do I switch between compiling in .net and normal. I really have no idea as I have never before used .net

I have tried opening my old project in .net, and now I click on build nd options, and it says .net and there is nothing else in that coloumn. I only plan on my software being released on microsoft windows, so does this really matter,

basically I am asking how do i build a program that will not be in .net?

Also from Amazon I have just ordered a few books to get me started!

but as for the language I want to learn next, should I use c++ or c# I really dont know, wich one is more powerful, i guess c++... but wich one has more potential in the future? I dont want to spend time and money on learning a languge if it goes out of fasion!


and a little bit of a embarrasing question, I was just messing around, and I loaded the c++ wizard thing, and now when I go to the create a new project screen I have a option on it that is just useless! how do i remove this?

Thanks

please someone?

quote:Original post by blabla4
I was wondering how do I switch between compiling in .net and normal. I really have no idea as I have never before used .net

Just start with a Win32 solution/project and start coding. You don''t switch between .Net and normal. If you want to work with .NET then you would put in the ‘#include’s like you would with DirectX.

quote:
but as for the language I want to learn next, should I use c++ or c# I really dont know, wich one is more powerful, i guess c++... but wich one has more potential in the future? I dont want to spend time and money on learning a languge if it goes out of fasion!

C++ is very powerful and will be around forever—maybe. C-Sharp is for the future—at least that’s what everyone is saying. But if you want to program games on the windows platform, go with C++ because it’s the ‘standard’.

quote:
and a little bit of a embarrasing question, I was just messing around, and I loaded the c++ wizard thing, and now when I go to the create a new project screen I have a option on it that is just useless! how do i remove this?

In the help menu there should be a repair/restore option. It will prompt you for the CDs and afterward all should be back to normal.

Hi

Thanks for all of your help.

so when I want to create a game I will use c++ but I am getting so confused from reading all of these messages about normal programming and compiling for .net

anyway, all my programs will just be for windows I think.

For my next project it is not a game, but I want to try and create a webserver program that will allow people to easily share their hard drives online... but with many features!

so should i try and learn c# for this? As i said I am experiance at visual basic, but I really want to start a more complicated language, Should i learn both c++ and c#, or is this overkill?

I am sorry, I just dont know what to say, and i am so tired, so I am having problems trying to phrase this neatly!