Yes: Most of the concepts you learn in the beginning are the same regardless of the language. Today's modern OO languages are not *vastly* different from each other.

No: Don't expect VB to be 10x easier. Learning to program is difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating, and there is no magic bullet. You may find that VB is just as hard, or harder, than C/C++, or more likely, that it shields you from the exact stuff you're trying to learn.

The important things are to not give up, stick with one language, set small goals, and make sure you truly understand a chapter before moving to the next one. Also, having a more experienced programmer around who can look at your work and give you tips is very helpful.

Mason McCuskey
Spin Studios
www.spin-studios.com

[This message has been edited by Ranok (edited December 11, 1999).]

Best regards,
Sherman

If you don't understand C++ start /w C (which doesn't use OO), but be warned C i not considerably simpler than C++. If you want something really easy, start /w Pascal, although Pascal is very old and hardly any (if any at all) serious programs are written in Pascal nowadays.

A good way to learn (if you know a little about programming) is reading the docs and helpfiles of your compiler and trying to figure out, what the commands mean and do.

If you have no idea about any form of programming look for tutored courses offered by companys all over the world!
This won't be cheap, but if you're really interested it's worth its money!