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Hi,
I'm learning Directx9.0 from a book that was published in 2004. I'm worried that the knowledge i gain might be useless in the future. Should I get a latest book or is it alright to use that book?
most books will cover the same fundamentals. if you learn DX once through any source then updating your knowledge for the latest methods/extensions/whatever shouldn't be a problem, provided you have an understanding of the API.
Newsflash: APIs change every 2 years.
Learn one, then learn second, then learn third. Repeat until end of career.
For a complete beginner, self-taught, it doesn't matter. For a paid course, with guidance, choose one with biggest bang for buck.
But since it takes years before one gets into a position where such up-to-date and latest-greatest details matters, start with whichever is most accessible to you (within limits, some things really are obsolete).
IMHO, learning engine programming for a self-taught beginner is wrong way to start, since it takes years (literally) before being able to do something useful. Starting with some third-party engine is generally better, modifying small pieces of code. And one shouldn't attempt to develop any kind of framework or engine without years of practical and hands-on experience.
Learn one, then learn second, then learn third. Repeat until end of career.
For a complete beginner, self-taught, it doesn't matter. For a paid course, with guidance, choose one with biggest bang for buck.
But since it takes years before one gets into a position where such up-to-date and latest-greatest details matters, start with whichever is most accessible to you (within limits, some things really are obsolete).
IMHO, learning engine programming for a self-taught beginner is wrong way to start, since it takes years (literally) before being able to do something useful. Starting with some third-party engine is generally better, modifying small pieces of code. And one shouldn't attempt to develop any kind of framework or engine without years of practical and hands-on experience.
Quote:Original post by Antheus
And one shouldn't attempt to develop any kind of framework or engine without years of practical and hands-on experience.
Not sure I agree with that thinking. One should try, you might not get anything to work but the act of trying will teach an awful lot. You don't need to complete a project for it to be valuable, sometimes trying and failing is just as useful.
a 2004 book is fine, even if it misses a topic or 2, just try to absorb everything from the it, then when you're done, move onto another book. There's no one book that will teach you everything anyways.
On top of that, frankly programming techniques don't change much in a 4 or 5 year period, and al these books usually do is give you a foundation to get experience while you figure out WHY things are done the way they are
On top of that, frankly programming techniques don't change much in a 4 or 5 year period, and al these books usually do is give you a foundation to get experience while you figure out WHY things are done the way they are
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