A Few Questions Bout C++

[timebomb208]

Ok here we go:

1. Is C++ good for programing games oncee learned properly?
2. Which compiler is better for beginners, MS Visual or Borland?
3. Are there any well written tutorials online?
4. Are there any well written books for begginers?

Forgive any mistakes made i'm flyying from the coffee mixed
wit hot coa coa i just drank.

Tanks in advance for any help.

[LoveJones]

--1. Is C++ good for programing games oncee learned properly?

Yes it is. I dare say it's the language of choice amongst most cutting age games. Unless you are talking about platform gaming which is entirely different. But for most PC games they are written in a combination of C/C++ and partly in assembly at times to interact with specific hardware.

--2. Which compiler is better for beginners, MS Visual or Borland?

I am biased here. I learned everything in Linux, so I'm very partial to Borland 5.0, it's in many ways similar to g++. If you are dedicated I think you will get more "real world," benefits to learning to use MS Visual.

--3. Are there any well written tutorials online?

Yes, Google is your friend. On the flip side, C++ is rather intimidating to beginners. In fact, C is also intimidating. Even moreso I'd say that most all programming is intimidating at first. You really have to be dedicated and you also have to challenge yourself. If you are afraid to mess with things, or frustrate easily, you will be printing out "Hello world!" forever. If you don't think you are motivated/dedicated enough, that is fine. I honestly believe that at least half of programmers that have stuck with it probably couldn't have done it without some sort of teacher... as in real life person.

If you go the book route, I STRONGLY suggest doing examples of every single new technique or command that you learn. The only way you learn to program is learning specifically what the function of each command is and applying it to different scenarios.

--4. Are there any well written books for begginers?

I recommend you Google around a bit and get comfortable with the basics of C++. That way you will know if you are getting a good book or not. I have not had good experience with C++ books even after knowing C. I think there is enough added to C++, that if you aren't familiar with the basics of C, you are going to find yourself very lost with concepts like classes, inheritance, polymorphism and overloaded operators. But then again, everyone is different.

Hope that helps

[timebomb208]

Thanks. I geuss i'll get started with C then work my way up.
I plan to go to a school for programing and game development after i get out of high school, and i figure if i already have a grasp on the basics it'll help me get in.

[doctorgonzo]

If you don't program at all it wouldn't be a bad idea to start with Java. Java is similar to C++, but it is completely object-oriented and so you will have to program that way from the beginning. Learning how to design a program well is more important than the actual language you use.

[TdM]

I wouldn't start with C if I were you it is alright but it can be confusing when you try to switch to ++ because some of the most basic commands you have to re-learn.

If you want a good C++ book try

"SAMS teach yourself C++ in 24 hours" it's written by Jesse Liberty

you can find it on amazon it comes with a good compiler and everything you need it starts basic and works you up to very usefull and practical concepts - give it a go it's quite cheap too

[Paul Victorey]

I've recently switched from Borland land to MS land, and I think I like VC++ better. Dunno if OWL (Borland's window wrapper classes) is better now, but when I last used it, it couldn't handle Unicode, among other things. VC++ is confusing to use at first, but has a lot of power once you figure out where they hid the feature you want. It is nice in that it can quickly make skeleton code, and it's very easy to add event handlers, too.

If you are never going to program for windows, or you plan to learn pure WinAPI (which is good to know, but a pain to use) then either is equally good. If you want to program for Windows a lot, and plan to use wrapper classes/macros to make it easier, you probably want MS, because it has a lot of features that make your code creation much faster.