Visual Basic?
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O.k. I''m 13 years old and i just started programming in August. I am learning C++. There''s a problem though, i don''t have a compiller.
My Uncle is a programmer for a fairly large company and says i should start out on Visual Basic. I think C++ make perfect sense but he keeps telling me VB. He has everything i need. should I do it or stick w/ C++? HELP ME PLEASE!!!
Compilers for C++ are available for free, and if you feel comfortable learning C++, fine. It''s not the easiest, but it certainly isn''t impossible. Visual Basic is easier, but you have to buy it.
The most popular free C++ compiler is GCC, from GNU.org. However, it''s for Linux; you''ll want a Windows port. Cygwin is good: http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/
However, you''ll have to learn a thing or two about the Linux command line before using it. But that''s what you get for the price of a free compiler, I suppose.
If you''re willing to spend money, you can get Microsoft''s compiler; you should start with console applications. Learn ANSI C++ before you decide whether or not you want to program only for Windows, or if you want to make your programs available to other Operating Systems as well. Believe me, this is a BIG choice, and will affect what you learn about C++ in the future. Programming only for Windows and programming for portability are almost like programming in seperate programming languages.
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away" --Henry David Thoreau
The most popular free C++ compiler is GCC, from GNU.org. However, it''s for Linux; you''ll want a Windows port. Cygwin is good: http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/
However, you''ll have to learn a thing or two about the Linux command line before using it. But that''s what you get for the price of a free compiler, I suppose.
If you''re willing to spend money, you can get Microsoft''s compiler; you should start with console applications. Learn ANSI C++ before you decide whether or not you want to program only for Windows, or if you want to make your programs available to other Operating Systems as well. Believe me, this is a BIG choice, and will affect what you learn about C++ in the future. Programming only for Windows and programming for portability are almost like programming in seperate programming languages.
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away" --Henry David Thoreau
quote:
The most popular free C++ compiler is GCC, from GNU.org. However, it''s for Linux; you''ll want a Windows port. Cygwin is good: http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/
There''s another port of GCC for Windows and DOS systems: DJGPP, which I personally think is much better than Cygwin.
when your uncle is programmer, then he surely use C++, and then I think he can help you learning c++ like he could learning you vb. its harder to learn c++, but me, i have started learning, it has about half a year, and im programming currently 3d-games, editors (for them), and currently a complete windows system in opengl (NOT FOR, like glut, no for using IN opengl-games for nice userinterfaces)
I think c++ learning is best, when you wanna programming nice things like games and so.
vb is nice, too, but its best use is (for me), for macros in office 2000 and so(there it is fantastic, my father has such a vb-macro for excel, with wich he controls a roboter for some dna-stuff. all the informations of the roboter would be put then all the data right into the .xls-files.. really nice, but i dont think you wanna programm such things
we wanna play, not watch the pictures
I think c++ learning is best, when you wanna programming nice things like games and so.
vb is nice, too, but its best use is (for me), for macros in office 2000 and so(there it is fantastic, my father has such a vb-macro for excel, with wich he controls a roboter for some dna-stuff. all the informations of the roboter would be put then all the data right into the .xls-files.. really nice, but i dont think you wanna programm such things
we wanna play, not watch the pictures
well , i''m 13 too and i started programming not long ago . I did want to start with C++ , but I decided to try VB , i finished with VB and i''m now learning C++ , i think that its just good to try out VB , because its really easy to start with as everything is done visually , but you can''t do much with it , so C++ is good for going deeper into programming. =)
It would seem that C++ is better suited to game development than VB, but VB is easier to learn
Well, VB is getting a lot of nice things in VS.Net.
VB is getting
* multithreading and power over threads.
* structured exception handling.
* inheritance and other truer forms of OOP ideologies.
However, C++ still has a speed advantage. I can see VB becoming a pretty decent tool for DirectDraw oriented games however, the Direct3D games would probably still need to be C++.
Both languages are good and I have seen fairly decent games come out in VB.
VB is getting
* multithreading and power over threads.
* structured exception handling.
* inheritance and other truer forms of OOP ideologies.
However, C++ still has a speed advantage. I can see VB becoming a pretty decent tool for DirectDraw oriented games however, the Direct3D games would probably still need to be C++.
Both languages are good and I have seen fairly decent games come out in VB.
When you say you can''t do much with vb, I have to disagree with you. VB can do almost anything C++ can, just not as fast. And for making GUI''s, there''s nothing better.
...but, I guess this is a game programming forum... so speed is one of the most important things...
...but, I guess this is a game programming forum... so speed is one of the most important things...
However you could try to get the best of both worlds and learn Delphi. It''s easy to learn like VB, has enough power to match C++, and is built on top of Object Pascal. Pascal as we all know has been around a long time, and has proven itself both in the classroom as "the" language for teaching good programming practices and concepts, as well as in the comercial industry as solid well defined and language with easy to maintain code. And Delphi is compiled, unlike VB which is interpreted, so you get better performance out of it... (Plus you don''t have to mess around with all those VB Runtime Libraries)
Well, I kind of have issue with people who use the ''C is faster than VB'' argument. It''s true... If the person writing the code knows what they''re doing. Poorly written code is poorly written code. I''m not suggesting that you learn VB, although it is a very handy language to know if you need to write quick applications to test COM objects etc...
For User Interfaces on utilities that aren''t production, I use VB. For ALL production code I write, I use C++. If you decide to learn C++ *a complex language, I don''t think that _I_ would have had the focus needed to learn it at 13* pick up a book called "Object Oriented Programming in C++" by the waite group. Great book if you work through all of the tutorials.
For User Interfaces on utilities that aren''t production, I use VB. For ALL production code I write, I use C++. If you decide to learn C++ *a complex language, I don''t think that _I_ would have had the focus needed to learn it at 13* pick up a book called "Object Oriented Programming in C++" by the waite group. Great book if you work through all of the tutorials.
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