[pokiaka]

Hey guys

I want to learn C++ and I have a book to teach me the basics, and with already a knowledge in programming I guess it could take me just a few days to learn every basic subject.

By "basics" I mean stuff like:

• Class
  
• Array
  
• Variable
  
• Operators
  
• if, switch etc.
  
• for, while etc.
  
• etc.
  
• etc.

Once I know all of those stuff, I doubt I could make an actual project.
So, what do I do afterward? I can go to courses and classes, but don't know which class to take.
Please guide me through a bit, Thanks!

[Tayacan]

Actually... Doing a small project is probably the best thing you could do. The tricky thing is to pick one which will teach you something new, while not going way above your head.

The thing is that actually creating something from start to finish will force you to solve problems on your own, without having the exact answer in a book. And that's what programming is really about - solving problems.

Good luck with it!

[tlhIn`toq]

Martyr2's mega project ideas list is a great place to start on developmental projectst that you can learn from; rather than trying to make something complex like a game as a self-teaching tool {that never works for anyone}

[pokiaka]

Thank you both always wanted to find something like that list

[AdamSpeight2008]

You learn about Patterns and Algorithms.

[pokiaka]

AdamSpeight2008, on 04 February 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

You learn about Patterns and Algorithms.

Could you please explain a bit more? what exactly are them and how can they be learned.

[NecroWinter]

pokiaka, on 04 February 2012 - 02:19 PM, said:

AdamSpeight2008, on 04 February 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

You learn about Patterns and Algorithms.

Could you please explain a bit more? what exactly are them and how can they be learned.

There are formal algorithms to learn. a few popular ones are:
Binary Search
Bubblesort(terrible, but easy to understand)
Mergesort

You want to understand a bunch of algorithms, and understand how to figure out their respective run times

some of the patterns just come with experience, if im thinking of the same thing

[jon.kiparsky]

Don't worry about design patterns for now. You won't know what to do with them until you've developed some medium-sized problems and caused yourself problems doing things the wrong way.

It's worth studying data structures and algorithms. There are a few good books on this, and you should do it in a systematic fashion. Sedgewick is the standard textbook on this, his text on algorithms is available for several languages, including C and java.

Do data structures and algorithms as a serious thing, don't screw around with just learning a linked list here and a bubble sort there. Get a book and work through it from start to finish, doing all the exercises and writing all the code. You can learn a lot from this, if you do it seriously, or waste a lot of time doing it half-assed.

[AdamSpeight2008]

jon.kiparsky, on 27 February 2012 - 11:04 PM, said:

Don't worry about design patterns for now. You won't know what to do with them until you've developed some medium-sized problems and caused yourself problems doing things the wrong way.

Why do you think the design patterns exist in the first place?

[jon.kiparsky]

So the GoF would have an excuse to feel smart talking about stuff that everyone discovers on their own, that's what I always figured.
None of the writing on design patterns that I've seen is any use to a beginner, you have to have already made all the mistakes, and figured out all of the problems and most of the solutions for it to make sense.

[The Architect 2.0]

i'm with jon here...

its technically possible to understand Design Patterns, but their usefulness isn't obvious until you encounter the problem they solve. Before that point, implementing a design pattern just feels like a lot of work.

[pokiaka]

Please do continue to discuss this, because I really want to know, but as a side note, could anyone recommand a book so I'll have a practical task?
(If the language matters, I'd be happy to have it in the C# language, and not C++ as mentioned in the thread.)

[jon.kiparsky]

Not knowing exactly where you're at, I'd suggest you could do worse than finding a copy of Sedgewick's Algorithms and working through that. It's pretty advanced stuff, but I think there's plenty in there to be learned. It'll give you plenty of code to write, and plenty of good questions to figure out.

You should also try to write some medium-sized programs. I'm not sure exactly what would be reasonable, but you've got some suggestions in front of you now, so pick something that you think you can do and go for it. One thing that'll be very useful about this process is that you'll make lots of very informative mistakes. This is a good thing. No matter how good your finished product is, the point is to make a lot of good mistakes now, so you don't make them later.

(This will be your introduction to design patterns...)

[Nightfish]

pokiaka, on 01 March 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

could anyone recommand a book so I'll have a practical task?
(If the language matters, I'd be happy to have it in the C# language, and not C++ as mentioned in the thread.)

I've just learned C# from "Head first C#". While a book like this isn't everyone's bag, it was spot on for me. It's written in a very funny and memorable way and it teaches you by having you actually DO stuff. It gets you coding in no time and throughout the book you keep coding to learn. You're not reading 800 pages of dull, dry text. This is quite likely the best educational book I've ever seen because it actually keeps you interested in what you're learning. It's full of examples and they're all memorable. You'll see what I mean if you get the book.

What it is not, is a reference book ,and it flat out states this as well. But I don't really use reference books anyway, if I need to look something up I use the internet.

[faheemjan]

jon.kiparsky, on 27 February 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

Don't worry about design patterns for now. You won't know what to do with them until you've developed some medium-sized problems and caused yourself problems doing things the wrong way.

It's worth studying data structures and algorithms. There are a few good books on this, and you should do it in a systematic fashion. Sedgewick is the standard textbook on this, his text on algorithms is available for several languages, including C and java.

Do data structures and algorithms as a serious thing, don't screw around with just learning a linked list here and a bubble sort there. Get a book and work through it from start to finish, doing all the exercises and writing all the code. You can learn a lot from this, if you do it seriously, or waste a lot of time doing it half-assed.

i have also studied cpp basics..and data structure.like link list..stack...ques...i have also learnt little bit tree programs and more theory on trees...like binary trees etc.. what should i do next ??