[AGRAC393]

Hello all,

Over the last couple months, I have been learning c++. I now feel that I am comfortable using it in the console form. My question for you is; do you think I should start using something like Visual c++ or keep going in the console form with Dev C++? I was also considering going over to Visual Basic as well. I would just like to know if there are any advantages that any of these languages have over others. If you could, please leave a link to any tutorials. All help and suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Aaron

[Dantheman]

Learn whatever you want to learn. There's no strict path to follow.

[apw5020]

Give Java a shot.

[RudiVisser]

Forget Visual Basic, if you're looking at a C(++) style language to learn that will be both easier and more practical whilst leading to faster development times in the real world, look into C#.

It will be basically what you've learned from C++, plus the .NET Framework with a pretty syntax. Obviously you can't use standard C/C++ functions, but the .NET Framework will undoubtedly contain replacements that will make more sense and be easy for you to understand/pickup.

You could try C++/CLR if you want to get into the world of horrible syntax coupled with the .NET Framework, and having to marshal all of your native types to managed types depending on what code you're working with at any given time, but it's a pain in the ass.

Forget Java.

As I've posted elsewhere, for C#, I've created a few video tutorials, they will go over the basic functions and should give you a stepping stone into C# from C++, if you're looking more advanced, I'm currently in the process of writing text based tutorials and snippets that will range from basic -> advanced.

This post has been edited by MageUK: 23 June 2009 - 04:31 AM

[NickDMax]

Quote

Forget Java.

???

Now see things like that is just a troll to start some flaming.

Why would anyone want to forget java? If someone wants to be employed I highly recommend Java.

I think your advise is terribly bias, nearsighted, and wrong. Java is a great platform to learn and a wonderful area to work in.

However AGRAC393 didn't ask what other languages to learn but rather what to do next in C/C++. I would recommend learning a GUI environment. One could move on to Visual C++ or one could take on something like Qt or GDK (platform independent libraries).

Since you seem to be on windows then learning about the windows API might be a fun adventure. Parts can still leverage your console knowledge while other parts will give you a low level understanding of how the windows graphic subsystem works.

[RudiVisser]

NickDMax, on 23 Jun, 2009 - 05:03 AM, said:

Quote

Forget Java.

???

Now see things like that is just a troll to start some flaming.

Why would anyone want to forget java? If someone wants to be employed I highly recommend Java.

I think your advise is terribly bias, nearsighted, and wrong. Java is a great platform to learn and a wonderful area to work in.

Not really, it's an informed guess on what he required. If he was planning on writing cross platform applications, I would of course not have said "Forget Java.".

The fact he's looking into Visual C++/Dev-C++ says Windows. This means that as a C/C++ developer, he will have probably played with the WinAPI. Moving away from this to a virtual-machine type environment, a different style of documentation (he will have probably used MSDN and the format will be familiar) and a different development environment (from Visual Studio to another) will be hard, I've tried it numerous times.

I think you perhaps missed this part of his post:

Quote

I was also considering going over to Visual Basic as well. I would just like to know if there are any advantages that any of these languages have over others.

I outlined the advantages that C# has over C++, it's both familiar and will speed up development time, they're two key factors in anything.

Your comment about employment, well, I've never seen a local job advertised for a Java developer, C# and VB.NET developers, yes, more than enough. Probably due to the RAD it allows and standardisation/compatibility (.NET Framework, which is ofc included with Windows Machines), again, as outlined above.

Sorry that my comments/opinions come out biased, that's probably because they are. Difference being, however, is that unlike most biased posters they come along with very good reasoning. Also, at the end of the day, that's all it is, an opinion - Each language is better for different solutions, in my opinion C# is better in this situation.

This post has been edited by MageUK: 23 June 2009 - 06:15 AM

[computerfox]

i agree with nick. one language is not better than the other. they are actually used for different things and in general are completely different languages, but have similar syntax since JAVA is built off of C++ in a way. also in order to run a JAVA program you have to compile it each time so you would need some type of JAVA compiler on the computer. at the same time JAVA is easier to understand classes with since it's very OO.

C++ like i said has it's advantages and is a standard for computer science. for example it creates an automatic exe file so you can just export that as a small application to your friends.

to answer your question, i would say make sure you understand the basic concepts of program. then give JAVA a try since it's very close to C++. then you might want to try out C#. after that go into visual basic. it's really up to you and what route you want to take. you can even add in PHP and MySQL somewhere between C#. whatever route you take, i'm sure you will enjoy it.

in conclusion, like i said earlier, one language isn't better than another, it's just a different language. best of luck and if you have any other question, don't hesitate to ask someone.

[NickDMax]

I was just offended by the "forget java" remark.

C# is really a very good language that has the advantage of having learned much from its older brother java. My only problem with it is that I learned it and then never got to use it.

I did miss the bit about VB -- Personally if one really wanted to get into GUI programming fast I would not recommend C/C++ at all -- GUI programming is much easier and has a lower learning curve in .Net/Java. So here C# would be a good choice, VB.Net would be ok, Java would be a good choice.

Much of my early GUI work was done in TCL/TK -- I don't recommend this route. Oh its ok in a pinch but really...


But -- 2 months in a language means that you have barely scratched the surface... you DO NOT know C/C++. Heck I have been programming in C/C++ for 15 or more years and I don't know it yet.

[RudiVisser]

NickDMax, on 23 Jun, 2009 - 05:34 AM, said:

I was just offended by the "forget java" remark.

Again, sorry about that, was just taking the details of the post into consideration.

I did (would you believe it!) use Java at some point in time and I actually liked it for the most part, although there were some caveats that forced me to eventually move on.

[computerfox]

you were just saying your opinion and you were very confident in it. the problem i see is that even though you reasoned through it, you still shouldn't have said "forget JAVA"

[athlon32]

AGRAC393, on 22 Jun, 2009 - 05:38 PM, said:

Hello all,

Over the last couple months, I have been learning c++. I now feel that I am comfortable using it in the console form. My question for you is; do you think I should start using something like Visual c++ or keep going in the console form with Dev C++? I was also considering going over to Visual Basic as well. I would just like to know if there are any advantages that any of these languages have over others. If you could, please leave a link to any tutorials. All help and suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Aaron

Well, if i were you, I'd look at beginning to learn how to program GUIs. One of the greatest toolkits out there is Gtk+. It's easy and well designed.

Then, once you've got a little of experience, head for Win32. After that, look at where you think you'll be specializing, and learn technologies related to that

Here's a few links:
Gtk+ Stuff
- http://www.freesoftw...ui_toolkit_ever
- http://zetcode.com/t...ls/gtktutorial/

Win32
- http://zetcode.com/tutorials/winapi/

[prabh]

Try WinApi's
after that try
Learn java


and try also some web designing


do anything but don't forget practice what learned before

[xiii1408]

You might want to consider QT (click here for the Wikipedia page). QT is an open-source toolkit used to make such prestigious applications as Google Earth; Adobe Photoshop Album; Linux MultiMedia Studio, a free, open-source digital audio workstation; Last.fm Player; Opera; Skype; VLC Media Player; and many others (check the Wikipedia page for a more comprehensive list).

A commercial license is also available for producing closed-source applications (you are bound under the license of the open-source version to make the source code of applications you develop with the open-source licensed version of QT available).

If you're interested, check out the QT Software website here.

[AGRAC393]

NickDMax, on 23 Jun, 2009 - 05:34 AM, said:

But -- 2 months in a language means that you have barely scratched the surface... you DO NOT know C/C++. Heck I have been programming in C/C++ for 15 or more years and I don't know it yet.

Thank you all for your responses!!

@NickDMax: I know, I don't know everything, but I'm just looking for other things to do!...


I have downloaded all the express editions from Microsoft and I am wondering if there are any good tutorials to pick up the basics?
You all have been very informative!

[NickDMax]

Quote

@NickDMax: I know, I don't know everything, but I'm just looking for other things to do!...

Trust me I know... I for one tend to think that programmers should have a goto-language - one that you can do just about anything in and can whip something together in a pinch in.

It takes some experience to find this language.

For me it is actually more than one - but it used to be QBasic -- I could do just about anything I ever needed in QBasic (until the evil world of windows GUI came about) -- then it became VB6 -- then... well It is split between C++ and Java.