Confused and distraught

[Crogn]

Hey,

I'm a noob at c++ and have a problem with a few things in C++. I get how to use a lot of stuff but dont understand the theory or the use behind it which is bothering the hell out of me, it feels like I'm not getting the full picture..just scattered bits of information and facts about C++. Is this normal? what should I do?

Also what i was really here for is I don't understand what the point of pointers and references are.....how does memory play in programming...like whats the point of "new"?..I know "it gets more memory" but more memory of what? from what?...to what bank of memory am I adding to? where did that original bank of memory come from?

[konstance]

I've been there and I am still learning myself. I found very useful reading tutorials and coding along making sure I understand every bit of what I was writing. There is plenty of material online answering every single one of your questions.

like what's the point of "new"?

I could explain this to you but I believe that reading this will explain it better so take a look here :
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/dynamic/

Now about pointers and references I am not sure if your question is about what they are or when they are needed. Anyway you can read about pointers here :
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/pointers/

[Codermik]

Personally, if you are completely new to c++ then pointers and memory allocation should be the least of your worries - crawl before you walk :)

It looks to me like you are jumping about different sites, different information including more advanced topics and getting yourself frustrated. My advice to you is start from the bottom and slowly work up, don't jump about and expect too much from yourself at such a short time or you will only become more confused and frustrated.

If you are a complete beginner then you don't need to be looking at the new operator, or even worrying about memory allocation :)