The beginner's forum is the right place to post, so don't worry about that. You should be able to get answers to all your questions. One thing I'd do is go to the 'for beginners' link under resources and read everything there. Some quick answers, though:

1. IMHO means 'in my humble opinion'.

2. A game engine can mean different things depending on what sort of game you want to support (2D, 3D, racing, platform, FPS, RTS, etc.). Common components are graphics, input, networking, collision detection, sound, and physics.

3. If you have a firm grip on C++ as you say, that's the only language you really *need* to know to make games. If you want to become a professional programmer in other areas there may be other requirements. OpenGL or Direct3D would be next. If you want to write cross-platform apps for Mac/Linux as well as windows, you'll want to learn OpenGL. Otherwise, you can just pick one of the two.

4. Assembler is low-level machine code. The main reason people still write in assembler is to produce code that is presumably more efficient than what a compiler will generate.

Anyway, you should get all the answers you need eventually. Good luck.

[edit] Wow I need to learn to type faster [lol] - replys already [/edit]

Quote:
1)what is a game engine?

A game engine is loosely defined as a set of components that interact together to ease the task of making a game. There are al sorts of engines - entire ones such as the Quake Engine, or graphics engines, such as Orge. They come in various costs and features. Torque is a game engine that costs $100. There is another called Irrlicht that is free. For more on this topic, hit the seach in the top right corner of the page and type in Game Engine - you will get many results [smile]

Quote:
2)i have a firm grip on c++,and a less firm one on sdl.ive done some realllllly simple stuff,but nothing to warrent any intrest.no win32.what do i learn next

Why do you want to move on to another language? I've been doing C++ for quite some time now and I can "claim" I have a firm grip on C++ - but there is just so much to it, it is really hard to understand *all* of it. I would suggest improving your knowledge of C++ and try out some Win32 for fun.

Quote:
ive looked at some programmer jobs site,and requirments have stuff like cobol,pthon,SQL?,XMLetc
and assembler
i have no idea what those are(i know what html is).
where can i learn these and other things.
i am very interested in programming and computers .

Make sure you are not looking at "Web" Programming Jobs. If you know C or some incarnation of it, you should meet the requirments of basic programming jobs. However each job has its own specifics. If you are working with databases, then yea, SQL is a needed language. If you are doing game programming, OpenGL or DirectX. For anything that you do not know - type it in google and start reading! That is how you can learn anything - google is your best friend. keep that in mind.

Quote:
what does .NET mean?

.Net just is the name for a new version of programming languages. The underlying articheture of .Net languages is vastly similar to the predesessors, but they have significant changes added in. Take a look at MSDN for more .NET refrences.

Quote:
3)regareding collages,what are some good ones in relation to physics,engineering,computer science,math,general sciences,along that line.

That question is too vague to get a good answer - you must do that research yourself if you are truly intrested - for that is the nature of programming, independent study!

Quote:
4) what does IMHO mean?

In My Honest/Humble Opinion

Quote:
and what is a kernel?

Generically speaking, a core to some system. One definition online was

Quote:kernel: A module of a program that forms a logical entity or performs a unit function. Note: The most vulnerable portion of code in a secure operating system is a special case of a kernel.

- Drew

Quote:Original post by Wild_Pointer_
assmebler sounds fun

I wouldn't get into assembly just yet, it's a bit... intimidating. If you feel the need though, to ask any questions, you can probably ask us, most of us know at least a bit of it, it's handy to know sometimes when debugging or optimizing things. I wouldn't learn assembly until you're quite comfortable with C++ though.

EDIT: And more specifically, a kernel is usually in reference to an operating system kernel. The Linux kernel, the Windows kernel, etc.

Quote:Original post by Wild_Pointer_
ahh,drewman,nice to see you. you are very helpful

but what are more of these forgien non c++ languages

they sound very interesting

FORTRAN for example
assmebler sounds fun

Well, we used to compare anything we had to do that was super hard with the analogy - at least we don't have to program in assembly. [lol] Assmebler is fun if you have lots and lots of patience. I like it - but I have not had time to develope with it. It is as low level as you can get.

As for FORTRAN take a look at this site. It has a wealth of everything about fortran - including a comparison of it to C.

As for the other languages such as Java, COBOL, and PYTHON take a look at this site for any language you are curious about. Just type in the name and hit go.

I think you also need to work with using google some more. It is one of the most important tool a programmer has [search engine].

Quote:you guys give way better answers,google turns up junk

What to know my secret?
[google]

It's all about knowing what to look for. It takes sometime and patience, but once you learn how, you can find just about anything. Good luck!

- Drew

Note that it is called "assembly" not "assembler."