Knowing where to arrive

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3 comments, last by jpetrie 11 years, 10 months ago
Hey! I'm a beginner and I'm learning C++.
I know some of you may think it's better to learn C# or other languages, but I'll learn more than one language so I'm starting with C++.
Well, I'd like to learn to work at Blizzard or Ubisoft (names may change, but the fact is that I wanna work for a good company).
Do you have any advice? What should I study better and what do you suggest I should do?
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I would suggest you start with a language other than C++, but you already knew that and don't really want to hear it, so why I should I waste my time dispensing more advice that you might have arbitrarily predetermined you don't want to hear because you think you know better?
I don't want to let you waste time; it's just that I have already started with C++ and then I looked at some forums and people suggested to start with another one.
The problem is that I started learning PHP, then I left it; I started Python, then I left it; same for C#. I thought I should start somewhere and I've found a good C++ book, that is not so cheap and I was already reading it.
I wrote I know someone was gonna tell me to start with another language, but I don't want to throw my book out of the window, that's why I keep on studying C++.
That's all, sorry if I didn't explain it well!
Learning C++ is roughly five things:

  1. Learning C.
  2. Learning about object orientation (OO).
  3. Learning how this combines into C++.
  4. Learning STL.
  5. Realize that you didn't actually understand what it was about until you have used it for a couple of years.

The reason people discourage you from starting with C++ is simply that it is a VERY big and complex programming language. It is easy to program classes without knowing what basic OO is about, but then you will miss the point and do not take full advantage of C++.

It is a little like design patterns. You can teach them, but they are difficult to understand until you used one to solve a problem.

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C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off.[/font]

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I don't want to let you waste time; it's just that I have already started with C++ and then I looked at some forums and people suggested to start with another one.
The problem is that I started learning PHP, then I left it; I started Python, then I left it; same for C#. I thought I should start somewhere and I've found a good C++ book, that is not so cheap and I was already reading it.

Okay, that makes much more sense. Your first post read as if you were starting from scratch with C++ to me. It is true that it is better to pick something and commit to it than to waffle about trying every language under the sun, so even if that one thing you commit to is C++ it's better that you are committing.

In that case, I have two bits of advice:

  • Disabuse yourself immediately of the notion that C++ is representative of the functionality of the actual hardware you are running code on.
  • Write games. Start with simple games -- guess-the-number type things, or hangman. Move up slowly, each time trying to improve upon or add something. Build and complete projects, it's one of the best ways to learn stuff.

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